TWO chickens are sporting tailor-made jackets to keep out the cold.

Margo and Valerie were rescued from a battery farm where they never saw the light of day.

Owners Trevor and Samantha Stickley decided to have coats fitted to keep them warm while they spend the winter months roaming around their back garden.

They took the pair to a tailor’s shop where the birds had their inside drumsticks and chicken breasts measured for two fleece jackets. The jackets slip over the hens’ heads and cover their crowns, and there is room for them to flap their wings.

One of the jackets is lined with leopard print and has a wishbone design on the front and the other has a red trim and a heart logo on.

The 18-month-old Rhode Island Red hens will wear the coats throughout the winter until they are more used to the chilly temperatures.

Trevor, 47, a taxi driver from Bournemouth, said: “We rescued the chickens from a battery hen place and this is their first winter out of the environment they’re used to.

“Battery hens don’t see daylight and they aren’t used to the cold weather or changes. Someone explained to us that they might suffer from the cold in their first season, so we looked on the internet for a way around this.

“We took Margo and Valerie to a local tailor and they have fitted them with these two lovely jackets.

“Our family and friends think that it’s brilliant we managed to find somewhere who would happily measure and fit coats for two chickens.”

A spokeswoman from the Zip Yard, the tailor’s behind the quirky jackets, said: “We have never worked with animals before and it was the weirdest request we have received but we were happy to help.

“They were our most bizarre customers but they very well behaved.”