BDutch's bantam flock & natural breeding projects #5 🪺 🪺 and #6

[BDutch]

The sun came out 2 hours before sunset. Finished the roosts in the chicken playhouse.

And what happens, ….. the mammas and chicks went to roost in the extension.

Janice roosts in the small coop (she like’s her own private bedroom). I’m curious what the other 3 hens will do this evening.

 

[BDutch]

Well…. 15 -20 minutes later both Pearl and Kraai roosted in the same area as the kids/mamas. Katrientje was pacing up and down on the ground and maybe didn’t know what to do with the new situation.

After dark I checked once more. Everything was back to normal again. The 3 hens roosting in the extension and the mammas and kids back in their nest in the small coop.
Stupid I didn’t take a chair to watch chicken TV.

 

[BDutch]

A lovely moment. Mamas and chicks taking a family sand-bath.

 

[troyer]

A lovely moment. Mamas and chicks taking a family sand-bath.
View attachment 3900291

Those chicks will soon be bigger than their bantam mothers and will still be making chick sounds.

 

[BDutch]

Those chicks will soon be bigger than their bantam mothers and will still be making chick sounds.

Absolutely.
These bantam Amrocks grow to at least 1.5 x the weight of their foster mothers. I expect anout the same size as Katrientje.

Pearl and Katrientje take care of their plumage.

 

[BDutch]

The inside of the playhouse coop, finished a few days ago (here almost):

The mamas foraging with the chicks (only one good visible).

The upcoming weeks I won’t be sleeping in my own bed. We are almost set to leave for a summer holiday in France.

Soo… No new adventures and photos of my chickens for 2 ½ - 3 weeks. The chickens probably have to stay in their coops and runs.

The Amrocks are hunting for insects.

Latest news: Katrientje became broody today. The new playhouse coop is perfect to disturb a broody. It has two roosts and no laying nest.
Hope the chicken sitter neigbour will see the benefit and understands how to use the new chicken playhouse as a good place to un-broody a broody.

 

[BDutch]

Katrientje escaped through the closed window without a lock. Into the second run, the first (party) run and into the coops and her favourite nestbox.
This is where I found her this morning. So I made a ‘lock’ on de window. And put Katrientje in the playhouse coop again, with enough food and water to survive at least a whole day.

We left on our way to France an hour later. And forgot to take a carton of eggs with us.

My neighbour came over to take a look this afternoon.

Sunset in Normandie.

 

[ManueB]

Katrientje escaped through the closed window without a lock. Into the second run, the first (party) run and into the coops and her favourite nestbox.
This is where I found her this morning. So I made a ‘lock’ on de window. And put Katrientje in the playhouse coop again, with enough food and water to survive at least a whole day.

We left on our way to France an hour later. And forgot to take a carton of eggs with us.

My neighbour came over to take a look this afternoon.

Sunset in Normandie.
View attachment 3903928

Enjoy your french holiday! Normandie is a good place to be now, all the south is in a heat wave alert .

 

[BDutch]

Enjoy your french holiday! Normandie is a good place to be now, all the south is in a heat wave alert .

Thanks. It was just for one night in a Bed&breakfast and didn’t stay there. We moved to a camp side in a national park in Bretagne today. A bit warm, but nothing extreme.

Are you so high up that the trmp is okay for you, your partner and the animals?

 

[ManueB]

Thanks. It was just for one night in a Bed&breakfast and didn’t stay there. We moved to a camp side in a national park in Bretagne today. A bit warm, but nothing extreme.

Are you so high up that the trmp is okay for you, your partner and the animals?

Sorry @BDutch I was certain I had replied . I hope you enjoyed your stay in Bretagne ! Where did you stay ?

I have lovely memories on the pink granite coast as a young teen but I've never been back because it's really far and almost impossible by train.

Anyway, we're located at 1050 m high only. It makes the difference between very unpleasant heat (up to 35 for us this week) and heat that is threatening fo the chickens : lower in the valley it was up to 42.
The most important factor is that we have a full south orientation which is nice most year, but definitely not in summer .