Patridge bantam chicken poorly foot?

[dancing cloud]

MIL of work colleague is due to collect her ex-batts soon and hadn't thought about them being cold without their feathers, though she had seen the photos of my little monsters when they first arrived. On Look East the other night they showed an ex-batt in a knitted coat and MIL has now demanded my work colleague (who is very adept at knitting/sewing) make six jackets for the incomers immediately if not sooner . Work colleague is surprisingly willing (for the hens' sake), but she cannot find a pattern.

 

I know some of you have made jackets for your lucky girls, so volunteered to ask you for your usual assistance in finding a pattern for my work colleague to use, either sewn or knitted.

 

Many thanks in advance for all your help

[HENthusiastic]

Thats so wonderful. It almost makes me want to get baldies next time I rescue ex-batts, just so I can tog them up in their little cardies.

No help to you at all I know

[buffie]

To be honest the jumpers are a sweet idea but it's really only necessary to keep them protected from adverse weather and have warm housing and shelter.

 

 

 

Buffie x

[poachedegg]

Do they restrict the chickens from doing chickeny things?

[dancing cloud]

Work colleague's MIL will be keeping them in a home-built wooden house in Wales with a walk-in run, so I'm not sure how warm or otherwise that will be. The jackets I've seen modelled on this forum, and now on the local news, look like vests and don't restrict the wings or interfere with the hens' movement in any way.

 

I have to admit I never even thought of jackets for my little oven-readies, but they arrived in May so it wasn't such a shock to the system. They'd only have argued over who got to wear which colour anyway

[poachedegg]

They'd only have argued over who got to wear which colour anyway

[SAB]

There was something on the forum a while back about these jackets - I think BHWT or some other animal rescue centre had found that they were not such a good idea, but I can't remember why - perhaps someone else can? or you could ask BHWT.

[sandyhas3chucks]

some one told me she uses sleaves of old jumpers. (I would guess fleeces best) She said the cuff bit goues over head with a little roll, & she cuts slits for the wings & I guess for feet too. You have to be careful they don't get too baggy underneath or their feet get caught. she also looks after the real baldies I think for BHWT before they can be rehomed. (might be another rescue tho!) I also saw someones set up with clear plastic around 3 sides of a run (Not an Eglu) also the roof, so this would be fine unless its real iicey I would think. Think the baldies get put up in old grren houses during winter too.

[Lewis]

Someone emailed me the pattern a while back, if you PM me with your email address I can email it to you

[buffie]

I've posted this in NB and just wanted to give you the BHWT official response to hen jumpers.

 

The BHWT does not usually recommend knitted jumpers for hens in cold weather. Although a lovely idea, the jumpers can sometimes cause the birds to get entangled leading to possible injury, especially if the knit is loose. However, they can be useful if the bird is unable to move around, perhaps through injury, and extra warmth is needed.

 

Our general advice on keeping threadbare hens warm in winter is to keep them well protected from the wind and wet by providing not just a good hen house, but also storm shelter outside the hen house. The cold weather itself will stimulate the bird into feather production and a vitamin and mineral supplement like Poultry Spice or Life Guard will also encourage new feather growth. If a bird is completely featherless, heat lamp facilities should be provided until feathers appear. Other tips include giving the birds regular access to warm water and ensuring they have good deep bedding.

 

The residents of the elderly ladies’ home had already knitted some jumpers for the hens and as a result we did not want to disappoint their kind gesture. It is really encouraging that people are starting to view hens as sentient creatures so worthy of our care.

 

Thanks for your support of BHWT.

 

Buffie x

[dancing cloud]

Many thanks for this and all the other responses. I knew I could rely on you all

 

I have forwarded the BHWT advice link to my member of staff to discuss with her MIL. I've also suggested maybe making one or two jackets in advance in case there are any real baldies, but wait and see what the hens look like when they arrive. With mine, Clover and Hope would really not have needed them at all whereas Joy, my very oven-ready, may have benefitted if it had been cold. Having said that, it did nothing but rain for the first two weeks I had them, so they would probably have benefitted more from snorkel and flippers

 

Thank you again

[Egluntyne]

I have always imagined that the jackets will interfere with preening.

[Gallina]

If the jackets got wet, it would be very bad for the hens: they would be permanently damp.

 

It's better to wrap up the run than the hens, I think.