One of life’s eternal questions “Why did the chicken cross the road?”, may not have been answered but with a company now producing hi-vis vests for them it will be safer for them to undertake. I have checked my calendar and it isn’t April 1st so it’s no yolk, but is this a case of hi viz workwear gone too far?

With everyone from cyclists to schoolchildren wearing them it is now the turn of the country’s pet chickens to fall under the spell of being seen and safe. These specially designed vests are a product of the increasing number of people who are keeping chickens domestically in suburban and urban areas. Owners are putting these garments on their chickens so that they can be seen in the evenings, primarily to protect them from motorists.

They have been developed by a company that caters for the expanding market for domestically reared chickens as a result of customer enquires. They found that customers who rear their chickens in urban areas found that if the chickens got out they was a need for them to be seen, especially at dusk when they tend to look to roost.

Although only launched in the last couple of weeks the company has revealed that they have already sold in excess of two hundred in both pink and yellow. Made in the UK they fit over the wings of the chicken and have an adjustable Velcro fastening at the front. They even have a quilted Flectalon lining for warmth, which is seen as being important especially as many of the hens being taken up as pets domestically are former battery hens and so tend to have fewer feathers than other chickens, so can be vulnerable to the cold.

So next time you are out taking a evening walk it might not be people working late but a brood of chickens making there way home wearing the latest hi viz workwear.