Cheeps and quackers: 1 year old chickens in saddles

Well, actually, I'm a bit slack, we've had the jerk squad since October the 17th 2015
(I'm not sure of the actual hatch date of any of the fluffers)

Day 1 the squeekers arrive at their new home

A lot has happened in a year, we lost Roo Boy, Lacey recovered from coccidiosis,

Nigella and Frankie were swapped for Bonnie and Clyde (and then Clyde went too)

By mid winter all the ladies were laying.

One duck lady lays every day in her crater in the coop, although I'm still not sure whether it's Whitney or Bonnie. Our other ducky girl lays on the concrete so I'm always greeted with one broken egg and one perfect crater egg.

The chicky ladies are less consistent, although there is always at least one egg from them in the nesting box, thankfully they haven't decided to hoard eggs in hidden locations yet (that I know of...)

Past one year old, Chuck has moved on from cockerel ball to fluffy little rooster man. 50% hormones and 50% fluff he definitely considers himself a man's man, protector of hens and ducks.

Unfortunately it also means challenging authority in the form of T and miss A, who sometimes resort to carrying water guns as Chuck's spurs are growing and he is figuring out how to use them without falling on his butt.
It sounds bad, but he isn't an overly aggressive rooster, the vast majority of the time he's fine. But every so often you'll feel something thud against the back of your legs and turn to discover a puffed up Chuck staring at you.

The odd times he does try attack are when he feels his ladies are in danger for whatever reason, and for a free ranging flock I'm glad to have him watching out for them. The magpies keep the hawks distracted, but there are still hedgehogs and the occasional cat around.

Besides, it is still spring. I'm interested to see what his behaviour is like once the desperate need to have babies passes and he matures a bit more.

I still remind him, you're lucky you are so pretty

I'm also hoping as he matures he'll get a better handle on this whole 'makin' babies' business..

there are a few people still interested in fertile eggs, and I can understand with Lizzy being broody recently that her eggs wouldn't be fertile right now

Lacey is looking awfully scruffy, as Chuck's favourite girl she is missing head feathers and a lot of the top of her tail. Her eggs are fertile

Sunny is spoting bald patches, starting to loose the top of her tail... her eggs.. are not fertile?

and Blue has a few bald patches on top but is a fully feathered puff ball. Her latest egg is unfertile

weird

I think maybe Chuck has issues balancing, it doesn't help that the girls still don't squat for him

but either way he doesn't seem to be completing the deed.

Or maybe I need to trim some butt feathers...

Regardless, we don't really like the idea of completely bald chickens under the hot summer sun, or Chuck hurting the girls with his claws so saddles were in order

Yup, chicken saddles

Little fabric jackets held on by loops of elastic that fit over a hens wings (we got ours from sunsetcroft.co.nz) there is a braid of black cord across the back to help the rooster grip on.

I had read that it can take a bit of time for the girls to get used to wearing a saddle, that they can walk backwards for some time or freak out, that it was possible they'd just shake it off and loose it forever in a paddock somewhere

With the exception of Sunny (who complained and struggled) they were easy to slip on, and all 4 hens just carried on like normal, the saddles didn't stop them from dustbathing or carrying on with normal chicken duties.

We did remove the saddles for a few days to let the girls preen their backs, and haven't put them back on yet after removing them from soggy chickies after torrential spring down pours.

The flock still like helping out in the garden