Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

This may be a silly question but...
If there is anyone out there who has used chicken saddles, and your hens have access to the outdoors, what if it rains and the saddles get wet?
Do you keep them on the hens and let them dry out on their own? Or do you remove them to dry?
I ask because some of our hens don't seem to mind getting a little wet when it rains. And because I'm thinking of saddles for my hens, and it's raining, it made me wonder.
I'm thinking that constant dampness on their skin, for a while, would not be too good for them.

They seem to dry off OK. However they don't stay out in pouring rain. My saddles are 2 layer so it tends not to soak through. The feathers under the saddle do get broken as well. I change them every couple of weeks.

Killerbunny wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 07, 2017 8:57 am

They seem to dry off OK. However they don't stay out in pouring rain. My saddles are 2 layer so it tends not to soak through. The feathers under the saddle do get broken as well. I change them every couple of weeks.

Do you mean that the feathers still get broken by the rooster even with the hen wearing the saddle?

yes they do but the hen isn't scratched up. She still has something on her back.

Killerbunny wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 07, 2017 11:01 am

yes they do but the hen isn't scratched up. She still has something on her back.

And the other hens would not be interested in pecking at her back?

Mine seem fine! No pecking. Takes an hour for them to get used to it then they forget it.

Oh and...
What about hens wearing saddles in the heat of the summer?

They've always been fine, It protects bare backs from the sun too.