sweaters for chickens, and other silliness...

We never seem to be able to go very long before we're doing some wacky chicken project.  

But as wacky as this one may seem,

there's definitely some validity to it.

(so says the crazy woman!)

See, we worry about the chickens being warm enough.

We've been worrying about poor sweet Commie the most 

because not only is she molting (! in this weather !)

but she's so devoted to her ducky children 

that she goes absolutely everywhere with them,

no matter if there's rain, sleet, or snow

or even temperatures approaching zero!

Just the other day I saw her standing guard 

over her ducks while they were in the almost-frozen pond, 

and meanwhile her little skinny chicken feet

 looked like they were getting frostbitten!  

She was trembling and had one foot pulled up inside her feathers 

while she was reluctantly standing on the other foot...

It's her winter yoga pose when she's following her idiotic children around 

(who are impervious to precipitation and have oodles more body fat!)

oh, our little mama!

Normal backyard chicken keepers might not have to deal with this problem,

but Commie is a mixed-up mother with her duck babies 

and she's not being very smart about taking care of herself.

Alas, it is clearer with each passing day 

that her mothering instincts are more powerful than her survival instincts 

But we can't stand by and do nothing...

We can't let her get pneumonia or just turn into a frozen chicken!

We decided if she's not going to be smart enough to take care of herself

we have to do something about it. 

So, I set out on an internet search to see if anyone has ever made a chicken sweater.

Lo and behold, there are some other people out there 

who are as wacky and concerned as we are.

They might not have chickens as duck-mothers, 

but they have their own issues.

Here are bunch of images I found, although original photo credits are unknown.  

(if any of these are your pictures, post a comment and I'll give you due credit!)

Without further ado, here are some fun chicken knits:

These hens look plenty warm without their sweaters...

maybe they're just making a winter fashion statement?

I love this cape-style sweater 

but there's one serious design flaw -- this girl can't flap her wings!

awwwwwwwwww
a sleepy girl
in her little zip-up sweater

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What I've discovered in my sweater searching

is that there are people who are rescuing industrial/battery hens

who have been neglected and raised in awful, cramped conditions.

(those hens often pluck out their own feathers in frustration,
or they get severely pecked by the other hens who are trapped in with them...)

Those girls really need all the comfy warmth they can get after living that life!

Check out this video:

Doesn't it just make you want to get out your knitting needles and cast on?

Here's a link to the pattern for this one above.
See below -
Boo ended up knitting this style for Commie,
but it's warmer today, so we haven't tried it on her yet to see how she likes it. 

Isn't it super cute?
I jokingly suggested we should add a little flap that says
"WORLD'S GREATEST MOM"

I'll post again when we actually put it on her.

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In the mean time, here are some more really silly photos:

Little Ms. Muffet, perhaps?

Grumpy Mrs. Claus says:  only rotten eggs for you

If this actually stayed on, it would help prevent a frostbitten comb.

And this one

makes me think of little red riding hood

or a something from Beatrix Potter.

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and last but not least,

have you heard the legend
of the Easter Chicken?

(Maybe that will be a blog post this spring...)

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