Best dressed chicken in town: hens go hi-vis
Chicken owners are dressing their animals in hi visibility jackets to help them cross the road safely
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11:36PM BST 19 Oct 2013
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It will not solve the riddle as to why the chicken crossed the road, but it might mean that the bird is more easily spotted when it does so.
After public officials, cyclists and schoolchildren, the nation’s pet chickens have become the latest group to succumb to Britain’s “high visibility” culture.
Owners are dressing their domestic flocks in new fluorescent bibs, which have been specially designed to keep the creatures seen in the autumn evenings.
The bibs are meant for the growing numbers of people who keep chickens as pets, especially in urban and suburban areas, to protect the birds from motorists.
The bibs, costing £12 and available in pink or yellow, went on sale earlier this month.
The “High Vis Chicken Jackets” have been developed by Omlet, the company which manufactures fashionable chicken coops to cater for the expanding domestic chicken market.
Johannes Paul, one of the directors, said: “We had people inquiring about this kind of thing so decided to look into it.”
He added: “Most people who have chickens as pets will have them out and about and we do hear about chickens who do cross the road.
“If you imagine you are in a built-up area and your chicken gets under the fence, they don’t care if there is a road there. They just go straight across it.”
Chickens tend to put themselves to bed – or roost – at dusk, but Mr Paul said was a time when they were particularly vulnerable to traffic.
He also suggested that street lighting in urban areas, where growing numbers of chickens are now kept, could confuse them and lead them to stay up later than they should.
While they might warn off motorists, Mr Paul did not think the garments would have the same impact on foxes, although he did suggest the thick coats could give a degree of protection against an attack.
The bibs have only been available on the firm’s website – where they are described as “health and safety gilets” – for around 10 days but, already, around 200 have been sold, with demand for pink so far outstripping yellow by two to one.
The breathable, showerproof bibs, which are made in the UK, are fitted over the chicken’s wings and have an adjustable Velcro fastening at the front.
They also have a quilted lining of Flectalon, a substance developed by NASA.
The insulation is particularly important for former battery hens which are taken in as pets, because they tend to have fewer feathers than other chickens, so can be vulnerable to the cold.
However, owners are warned that the hi vis vests are not suitable as “pyjamas” and must be removed at night, because the animal could overheat.
The garments should also be taken off if the temperature in the garden gets too warm.
Jane Howorth, founder of the British Hen Welfare Trust, welcomed the garments. “The might help owners identify a particularly poorly hen. They are one of the more sensible things to make it on the market. There has been demand and it shows that people are treating their chickens as pets.”
She also hoped it might discourage the practice of some owners putting their animals in knitted jumpers, in which they often become entangled.
Chickens are not the first pet to be put into hi vis.
Growing numbers of pets are being dressed by their owners in fluorescent bibs for the same health and safety reasons.
The garments are now recommended by welfare bodies such as the Kennel Club and the Dogs Trust for owners walking their dogs in the evenings or early mornings.
However, the garments have led to some problems. On online discussion forums, owners have voiced concerns that the jackets mean pets could be confused with guide dogs, who have traditionally worn reflective coats.
In a perhaps more unforeseen development, owners have also reported that some dogs dislike the colours and bark whenever they see the garments.
The spread of hi-vis clothing has provoked some criticism. Experts have worried that the widespread use of the bright clothing undermine its effectiveness, as it is no longer restricted just to specific roles and becomes less noticeable. Critics have also claimed the dazzling clothing is ugly and a symbol of the UK’s “health and safety culture”.
