Buck Apron

"Buck Apron Urine Shield"

This yearling buck (2010) in rut and has scalded his legs and face with urine. This was my temporary solution to the problem.

I put a regular nylon dog harness on the buck and then I used a piece of industrial belting (food grade so no chemicals on it) as it was very strong and waterproof. I measured the width of the bucks ribcage or girth area and also the depth, then cut out a "U"-shape. I cut slots in the tops of the flaps for the back strap and used duct tape going under first and then back over on itself so it didn't stick to the hair. Nylon with velcro would have been better for this. I then ran hay string through the same slots and tied this to the harness but as you can see, it still slipped back. The sides being folded / bent backward, it did a nice job from keeping him from spraying his face and legs.

Ideally, the entire apron part should have been attached to the belly strap of the harness with a soft material that was against the buck's body. Because the edge of the belting was not exactly soft, I didn't want to fasten it tightly against him and because there was a very slight gap between the apron and his belly, he managed to extend over the top of the apron and scratched his "self" pretty badly. He was ok and healed just fine but I won't use this again until I have figured out how to make it completely safe and have many ideas for it. It did provide enough protection to allow the scalded skin to heal

UPDATE:

Although I don't have any photos of it, I made another buck apron out of a silicone baking sheet which is very soft but water (and urine) proof. It is working VERY well with no danger of the buck injuring himself. Unfortunately it didn't hold up well because of the softness of the silicone.