Théo and the chickens des Sauches

[RoyalChick]

love the chicks on the bunk bed! One for a competition methinx...

I think that was a good move with the roosts.

I agree, I loved the bunk bed photo. But also the second photo with the babies asleep on the table!

 

[Perris]

I think the roost looks tidier, and will be easier on their legs, feet and joints when they fly down. They'll adapt quite quickly I expect.
And the cake looks scrumptious - as did the strawberry tart the other day

I did a bit of baking today too; Katchapuri (Caucasian Georgian street food, a sort of hot cheese bread). The dough and filling is supposed to be split between compartments in a 4x yorkshire pudding tray, but a 6x muffin tin was the nearest I had, and it's so filling one sixth of a loaf is quite enough for most people so that was OK.

 

[BDutch]

It really depends on the chicks, I think. On this hatch, the yellow chick I could say from day two or three was a male. It had big feet, a comb, male stance, a very specific attitude like it was doing it's own thing and ignoring the other chickens. Last year it took me a very long time to be sure Piou-piou was a girl- she was developing so slowly and strangely. And she kept fighting with Gaston .
I suppose it depends on the breed when you have pure breed chickens.

Yes, I think that's what he's trying to do. He's also often trying to share their food when they eat, and trying to herd Léa. But she's not having any of it !
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Not great news today. First, another chick grew wattles out of nowhere during the day, and it's one of the two I was most sure were pullets. So I'm thinking we likely have five males. I am going to stop spending so much time watching their behaviour and taking pictures, because I don't want to get attached to them.

And second, this evening I found live tapeworm segments in the ex-batts's poops. I know I have them in my environment as it had happened in september, I had treated the flock with Flubendazole and didn't see any tapeworms again up to now. However, I see every now and then a roundworm in their poop, and I just finished deworming them two weeks ago . I dewormed Léa before, when we let her set, and dewormed all the flock when the four pullets arrived. For Léa I had seen two or three roundworms in ten days, so I didn't want to risk her getting weak while being broody. And the woman whom we got the pullets from said they needed to be dewormed, so I treated the whole flock. But now they have tapeworms, which I believe are much more damageable for the chickens, and I don't think I can deworm them again so soon with Flubendazole. I don't have access to any other dewormer (and anyway I don't think there are many effective against tapeworms). So I guess once again it will just be cross my fingers and hope for the best .

In better news, I gave Léa and her chicks some mackerel and she ate a bit. I had underestimated how much they would eat though, the chicks almost finished a can on their own. I'll give more the next days.
And, the roosters didn't fight when I let them stay out together for a while.

Chipie the broody is obsessed with dustbathing.
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Nieva
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Piou-piou going to lay. She had a great day today.
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They are beginning to eat very cautiously from my hands when I'm holding chards or lamb's quarters . The leghorns don't understand : Gaston tidbits to them, but they don't get that it's for the plant. He has to cut it up for them .
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Chicks antics
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It doesn't really show on the picture but he has wattles now.
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Hiding- three gallicus hawks (short toed snake eagle) circling above.
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I didn't get any alerts on your thread again. Sorry to hear about the worms and the boys.

Beautiful photography.

 

[RoyalChick]

I think the roost looks tidier, and will be easier on their legs, feet and joints when they fly down. They'll adapt quite quickly I expect.
And the cake looks scrumptious - as did the strawberry tart the other day

I did a bit of baking today too; Katchapuri (Caucasian Georgian street food, a sort of hot cheese bread). The dough and filling is supposed to be split between compartments in a 4x yorkshire pudding tray, but a 6x muffin tin was the nearest I had, and it's so filling one sixth of a loaf is quite enough for most people so that was OK.

Those look yummy. I had never heard of it so I looked up recipes. Apparently they sometimes have an egg in the middle. Do you do yours with an egg?

 

[Perris]

yes; an egg mixed in with the cheeses makes the lovely gooey cheesy middle. It's more faff than a cheese toastie but it makes a nice change

 

[ManueB]

yes; an egg mixed in with the cheeses makes the lovely gooey cheesy middle. It's more faff than a cheese toastie but it makes a nice change

What kind of cheese do you use ?
I often bake bulgarian banitsa using the feta cheese and shell stored brick pastry sheets we easily find here. When my franco-bulgarian friend visited us at the beginning of May, she made some with bulgarian Sirene cheese and fresh phyllo sheets and I had to (reluctantly) admit it was quite different .
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I didn't post last night because we took my partner's mother out to eat. It's quite sad : she has taken to smoking again although she was clearly told last time she was hospitalized that it would be a short term death sentence for her to start again. And her husband pépé Chichou is having serious heart problems, and the electric cardioversion he had failed twice.

Anyway, back to the chickens. Piou-piou gave us another scare yesterday: she didn't lay though she tried, and then she seemed to be again sort of paralysed from behind. So clearly it's a laying problem. This morning she laid a huge egg (huge for her, still small) and did great all day.
Brune has gone very quickly downhill and it now seems likely again she will leave us any of these days. We try to make her confortable keeping her in the flock but preserving her from both roosters- difficult.

The chicks are going through growth spurts and ugly stage. They are feathering very slowly compared to Chipie's hatch. I still have doubt on whether we have one or two pullet and hope for two, as it would be quite sad if the one pullet found herself alone after having five siblings. We have began looking for places to re-home, up to now the people interested don't have what I consider proper chicken keeping ways. It could be a choice between death or life with little access to the outside. They are growing very independent and I believe Léa will probably leave them as soon as possible because they really don't listen to her anymore. Maybe it's because there are so many males ?

Apparently the rain should be over after five weeks almost non stop! I'm not unhappy to go back to mediterranean climate, especially as we have a couple of friends visiting next week from Paris.

The black pre-teens never wanted to sleep on this roost when we wanted them to, and now that we have a nice big roost for everyone, they go to sleep on their own .

Undisciplined chicks

Glad to see this sweet heart in better shape today.

Brune yesterday. Today she was still up until noon, and then sitting or lying down all afternoon.

I really tried to extend no mow May but the dude was growing crazy .

 

[Perris]

What kind of cheese do you use ?

the recipe I follow calls for Taleggio and cheddar (and says Red Leicester is a good sub for the cheddar), but for that one I subbed Camembert for the Taleggio. A good cheese is essential for a cheese bread (otherwise, what's the point?), and I've found, like you, that the type you use makes a big difference.

shell stored brick pastry sheets

what are these (in particular the 'shell stored' bit)? I guess by bricks you refer to the blocks or ready rolled sheets of shortcrust/ flaky/ filo pastry. Cheese pastries are yummy too. I'll have to have a go at a banitsa; thanks for alerting me to its existence

While you've had 5 weeks of rain we've had 5 weeks of sun (temps up to 35 C inland here day before yesterday!!!) and we really need a return to our normal weather too. Wildfires are breaking out here now

 

[ManueB]

I guess by bricks you refer to the blocks or ready rolled sheets of shortcrust/ flaky/ filo pastry

We call brick sheets the north african version of filo. It's improper I think because brick is the name of the finished pastry (same as briouate / borek). The difference with filo is that the brick sheets often contain semolina, they are a bit thicker, and a lot less fragile so easier to work with. They are in all supermarkets here, whereas you need to go to a specialized eastern europe store to get filo.
I used to think there was no difference at all before I tasted my friend's banitsa, it turned out much more crisp !

While you've had 5 weeks of rain we've had 5 weeks of sun (temps up to 35 C inland here day before yesterday!!!) and we really need a return to our normal weather too. Wildfires are breaking out here now

That is very hot. Hopefully the sea tempers the temperatures where you are ! I really dread the heat and lack of water, and I'm so glad we had this respite before summer. Hope it will soon be over for you as well.

 

[Perris]

yes it's cooler here by the coast, as for you in the mountains. The 35 was registered by my car on the drive home from picking up the coop, mid afternoon, going round a large roundabout at a motorway junction. I think the vehicles were boosting it there from an ambient 32 on the motorway.
Thanks for the clarification on the pastries. I haven't seen anything like that here. I'll try the middle eastern/arabic shops in Swansea.

 

[ManueB]

When I opened the coop I saw Brune had fallen off her roost. She did not get up at all and was unconscious most of the day. It's cool in the coop and she's protected from the other chickens, I just had to take her out when Gaston's team came to roost, as he would have undoubtedly jumped on her.

The other chickens had a good day but Gaston has unfortunately taken again the habit of going into the garden and calling his hens to join him. I had to chase him out about ten times. He jumps over the netting and the leghorns force their way through. Merle and Piou-piou do the same and now Léa and her chicks . We are going to have to double the netting if we hope to eat some salads, beets, chards and strawberries.
The chicks have outgrown their little nest. One actually fell out being pushed around. Either Léa will have to take them to roost elsewhere or to wean them, as she takes herself about half the space of the nest. The poor things are all scraggly and looking really terrible growing their feathers ! I'm wondering what they will look like, some of the black chicks are changing colors now.

Dustbathe in wet earth. Gaston was really interested .