How to Make a Chicken Harness

It sounds crazy, but chickens can wear a harness like a dog, cat, rabbit or ferret. It's easiest to buy a small harness and try it on your chicken, but if you're determined to make the chicken harness yourself, you can do it with a sewing machine and some thin, flat nylon cord. Here's how to get you out walking with your feathered friend.

Things You'll Need

  • Measuring tape
  • 2 metal binder rings
  • Plastic snap-lock clip
  • 4 feet of 1/8- to 1/2-inch wide flat nylon cord
  • Sewing machine or hot glue
  • Scissors
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure your chicken around the neck and the chest. These will be the harness loops. The neck measurement should be taken at the base of the neck. The measurement around the chest starts between the wings and goes underneath the belly. Allow for feathers, but be snug without being tight. Finish by measuring from the base of the neck to the back, and the base of the neck under the belly, for the harness straps.

    • 2

      Cut your nylon cord to your measurements, adding 1 inch extra to accommodate sewing the ends together. You will have two loops, a neck loop and a back loop. You will also have two straps, the back strap and the belly strap.

    • 3

      Take your binder rings and assemble the harness. Make a circle with your neck loop and fold both ends of the cord around the metal ring. Sew or hot glue the ends. You now have a neck loop connected by a metal ring.

    • 4

      Take your back strap and fold one end through the ring on the neck strap, sewing or hot gluing the end. Do the same with the belly strap, folding it over the neck strap. The neck strap should move freely through the folds. Hot glue or sew. You will now have two straps hanging off your neck loop.

    • 5

      Cut your back loop in half. Pick up the two pieces, and fold the ends of each piece over your second metal ring. Hot glue the ends. Attach the snap-lock clip to the other ends of the back loop by feeding the remaining ends through each end of the clip and sewing or hot gluing. The back loop is finished.

    • 6

      Attach your back and belly straps to the back loop by folding the back strap through the metal ring and hot gluing or sewing. Fold the remaining strap end over the back loop to form a pocket, and hot glue the end. You now have a harness you can fit over the chicken and snap to close. There should be a ring at the neck and the back where you can attach a leash.