That would certainly be helpful for those of us still learning but please not until you have settled a bit and reconnected to the joys of life.
Théo and the chickens des Sauches
- Thread starter ManueB
- Start date
I am very sorry Manue!
If you wait with acting on red mite the problem increases very quick.Funny how chickens are like people- some love the heat, and some hate it. I feel like my bigger chickens really suffer from the heat, whereas the smaller ones suffer more when it's cold. We added a shade cloth to the run because the ex-batts now often take shelter from Gaston there, and in the afternoon with the sun rays directly on the polycarbonate, it gets really hot.
I saw the first mites in the coop but I'm hesitant to treat with Chipie sitting on air. The safety instructions says to leave birds and food out for a few hours. I may wait another four days to get to 21 days and force her out by closing the coop when we treat it, if she doesn't leave the nest on her own.
All the chickens got dusted with pyrethrin again and gotcha a drop of Neem oil, except Brune and the chicks.
In the morning Brune looked again like she would die in a few hours. In the afternoon however she got up and joined her friends, albeit very slowly and staggering on her feet. Tonight she actually managed to climb on the roost. We decided to let her, and take the risk that she falls- I still think she will die very soon and would rather let her have what little pleasure she wants.
For the first time since we found out she was wounded at the beginning of April, I also put Piou-piou to sleep on the roost next to Gaston, instead of in the crate. They were both very happy. But her skin is really irritated and fragile, and now Théo tries to mate her too. We tried to put vet wrap on her today, I really hoped it would work, but it doesn't - to cover the wound the wrap comes to tight and too low on her legs, and she can't walk with it.
We have a couple of friends coming over until Sunday so not sure if I'll find the time to post in the next days.
View attachment 3549657View attachment 3549658
The chick next to Léa that has stuffed it's beak in starter mash is one of the two we're not sure about. It had wattles very early on, but it's not acting like the three roosters and the wattles haven't grown yet. It used to be black and is completely changing color, wonder what it will look like!
View attachment 3549659
Oh and Max the yellow chick is now white, but he's still grumpy! Léa suffers from the heat a lot. She already did last summer. She's panting like on this picture most of the day.
View attachment 3549660View attachment 3549661
Théo and Brune.
View attachment 3549662
Brune. My ex-batts spend a lot of time pecking my legs when I sit with them. She actually came to join in the pecking. I left them for half an hour and when to see them when I saw a hawk flying under our property; she had managed to hide herself so well in the tall grass and lilac bushes it took me a while to find her. She wasn't able to come out on her own though.
View attachment 3549663
View attachment 3549673
This is the only girl that we are certain of in the hatch. She has green legs !
View attachment 3549674
Gaston is beginning to have some success with Kara. Her comb is getting very red and bigger. I think she will lay soon. Today she visited the second coop where the ex-batts lay now, and screamed alert. When I checked I found Hibou the cat sitting on the eggs trying to look contrite.
View attachment 3549664View attachment 3549665
Lily's comb is much smaller and she's terrified of Gaston.
View attachment 3549666
Girl, or boy ?
View attachment 3549667
View attachment 3549668View attachment 3549669View attachment 3549670View attachment 3549671
Merle aka "Le diable"
View attachment 3549672
I have red mite too, discovered them last weekend. Cleaned thoroughly and used DE throughout the coop and in several ways. Check every day with paper rolls. Now they are almost gone.
If you like to know how, you can read about it in my breeding project thread. Someone posted a video there using carton strips to catch the red mite.
Great cat.
PS
Link to the page where I discovered the red mite:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...tching-eggs-🪺-🪺.1574045/page-10#post-26943791
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #1,095
I'm still feeling like a combo of Douch, Ramsay Bolton and the evil C. that dealt with the chickens at Shadrach's allotment, so not exactly up to face and write about Brune's death.
I do want to post about her.
Of our six original ex-batts, she was maybe the least special to us. She had one distinct characteristic which made her a bit of a pain : she absolutely hated going to bed. Every night it was a whole drama, she went in last, but didn't want to be on the bottom of the ladder, so she kept crying and keeping everyone awake, until she decided to roost in an other place by the window. Then she would cry again until another hen would join her, either Caramel or Cannelle. This lasted until Caramel's death. Then she stopped going in last, and just climbed on the ladder as high as she could.
Apart from being a pain in the evening, her other specialty was hunting. From lizards to mice and cats, she loved a good hunt and she was rather good at it. The cats were terrified of her.
She wasn't especially human friendly and she had no health issues, until the hawk attack in February 2022. We were at the very bottom of the property doing fencing when we heard chicken screams. We ran as fast as we could but it's a very steep climb and the two minutes it took us to get there the hawk had managed to wound her under the laurel tree, just above the eye. She spent 24 hours in our house in a pet carrier with her eye closed, but she made a full recovery. She was very strong mentally and wasn't the most shocked of the hens.
As is often the case, when a bird needs special care, this led her and us to have a stronger bond. She sometimes stayed on my partner's knee pecking his t-shirt.
I think she missed Caramel a lot, and she was Theo's least favorite, because she sometimes stood up to him.
This winter we didn't worry when she stopped laying, as she was molting, and in the beginning when she spent time in the nests without laying we thought she would do like Cannelle and take a month or more to get back to it. But in fact it was the sign of reproductive disease. I think it was at the beginning of March she laid some yolk with no shell. Sure enough, at the beginning of April, we had no doubt of EYP.
I was amazed at the way she enjoyed every single moment and found joy in whatever human food and individual care we gave her. She was in love with life and made a lot of little things. She did show some reminiscence of her younger self when we brought in the new chickens in the coop, and she made again some drama at roost time, crying and keeping everyone awake like she used to. And to the last, she made as long as she could the effort of climbing on the roost at night and getting out of the coop when she managed.
She turned out to be a very special chicken after all. I'm devastated I did not gave her the painless peaceful ending she deserved.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Brune on the right, Nougat on the left.
Brune on the left, Caramel to the right.
For once Théo tidbitted a cherry for her.
Brune with Nougat.
Fence fighting Chipie her first week here.
I do want to post about her.
Of our six original ex-batts, she was maybe the least special to us. She had one distinct characteristic which made her a bit of a pain : she absolutely hated going to bed. Every night it was a whole drama, she went in last, but didn't want to be on the bottom of the ladder, so she kept crying and keeping everyone awake, until she decided to roost in an other place by the window. Then she would cry again until another hen would join her, either Caramel or Cannelle. This lasted until Caramel's death. Then she stopped going in last, and just climbed on the ladder as high as she could.
Apart from being a pain in the evening, her other specialty was hunting. From lizards to mice and cats, she loved a good hunt and she was rather good at it. The cats were terrified of her.
She wasn't especially human friendly and she had no health issues, until the hawk attack in February 2022. We were at the very bottom of the property doing fencing when we heard chicken screams. We ran as fast as we could but it's a very steep climb and the two minutes it took us to get there the hawk had managed to wound her under the laurel tree, just above the eye. She spent 24 hours in our house in a pet carrier with her eye closed, but she made a full recovery. She was very strong mentally and wasn't the most shocked of the hens.
As is often the case, when a bird needs special care, this led her and us to have a stronger bond. She sometimes stayed on my partner's knee pecking his t-shirt.
I think she missed Caramel a lot, and she was Theo's least favorite, because she sometimes stood up to him.
This winter we didn't worry when she stopped laying, as she was molting, and in the beginning when she spent time in the nests without laying we thought she would do like Cannelle and take a month or more to get back to it. But in fact it was the sign of reproductive disease. I think it was at the beginning of March she laid some yolk with no shell. Sure enough, at the beginning of April, we had no doubt of EYP.
I was amazed at the way she enjoyed every single moment and found joy in whatever human food and individual care we gave her. She was in love with life and made a lot of little things. She did show some reminiscence of her younger self when we brought in the new chickens in the coop, and she made again some drama at roost time, crying and keeping everyone awake like she used to. And to the last, she made as long as she could the effort of climbing on the roost at night and getting out of the coop when she managed.
She turned out to be a very special chicken after all. I'm devastated I did not gave her the painless peaceful ending she deserved.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Brune on the right, Nougat on the left.
Brune on the left, Caramel to the right.
For once Théo tidbitted a cherry for her.
Brune with Nougat.
Fence fighting Chipie her first week here.
- Thread starter
- #1,096
Léa has laid again for the first time today.
She has been mating with Gaston for the past few days and progressively staying a bit further from the chicks.
Tonight she tried to get them to come on the big roost. Three climbed the ramp and managed to climb next to her, but then Nougat pecked the other three and climbed on the ramp herself, blocking access. The chicks that were already on the roost got afraid and flew down, and they all went back to their nest.
I thought Léa would leave them, but she also climbed in the nest and somehow managed to squeeze herself in. It's gotten to a point where they are so tight she has to stay up on her legs so the chicks don't fall out. This can't last more than one or two nights. Tomorrow I will help if the chicks get attacked by the ex-batts again.
They are five weeks and two days old.
She has been mating with Gaston for the past few days and progressively staying a bit further from the chicks.
Tonight she tried to get them to come on the big roost. Three climbed the ramp and managed to climb next to her, but then Nougat pecked the other three and climbed on the ramp herself, blocking access. The chicks that were already on the roost got afraid and flew down, and they all went back to their nest.
I thought Léa would leave them, but she also climbed in the nest and somehow managed to squeeze herself in. It's gotten to a point where they are so tight she has to stay up on her legs so the chicks don't fall out. This can't last more than one or two nights. Tomorrow I will help if the chicks get attacked by the ex-batts again.
They are five weeks and two days old.
Some of the 7+ week old chicks try to roost with the hens too now. But the get ‘!kicked off’ as soon as Kraai starts roosting. She doesn’t tolerate the little ones on the adult roosts.
Black and Pearl are still mothering during the day. Black even sleeps with most chicks in the nestbox and some chicks choose to roost near the nestbox in the little coop.
Can’t you put up a roost for the chicks in a way that Lea and the chicks don’t bother (or get in the way of) the other chickens. In my little coop this came naturally. Maybe an extra roost near the nest is a good solution for Lea and /or some of her chicks too?
Black and Pearl are still mothering during the day. Black even sleeps with most chicks in the nestbox and some chicks choose to roost near the nestbox in the little coop.
Can’t you put up a roost for the chicks in a way that Lea and the chicks don’t bother (or get in the way of) the other chickens. In my little coop this came naturally. Maybe an extra roost near the nest is a good solution for Lea and /or some of her chicks too?
- Thread starter
- #1,098
While there has been quite a few happy chicken moments these past days, today I made another sad discovery, and by pure chance, which unfortunately questions again my ability to care correctly for chickens.
Ever since we have reintroduced Piou-piou with the other chickens and Gaston, we have been checking the spot of her healed wound about four to five times a day. It hasn't moved, though the skin looks a bit irritated.
This morning I cleaned the coop with my torchlight and she was still on the roost, preening and spreading her wings. I happened to see that she was wounded on the other side
.
Though it wasn't bad we immediately separated her from the rooster, locking Gaston when she was out and vice versa. But after lunch we found her just finishing dustbathing and the wound was torn and skin opened and hanging. It's about 1.5 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.7 ") wide so not too big, but unfortunately it definitely proves she is hurting herself just by dustbathing and pecking her wound.
So now she is locked up again in the crate and we're at loss what to do. We don't have spaces to keep her isolated where she will not be able to dustbathe. Our coop is beaten earth so the chickens dustbathe in it ; both the run and the wood crate are on dust, and if we put her in a temporary pen on grass she has shown she is able to dig enough to bathe, so that could only do while we are watching over her. We can maybe put the tarp again on the floor of the wood shed, but she hated that.
For those of you who have kept invalidated chickens inside your house or a room of your house, how do you handle it ? Do you put something on the floor ?
Ever since we have reintroduced Piou-piou with the other chickens and Gaston, we have been checking the spot of her healed wound about four to five times a day. It hasn't moved, though the skin looks a bit irritated.
This morning I cleaned the coop with my torchlight and she was still on the roost, preening and spreading her wings. I happened to see that she was wounded on the other side
.Though it wasn't bad we immediately separated her from the rooster, locking Gaston when she was out and vice versa. But after lunch we found her just finishing dustbathing and the wound was torn and skin opened and hanging. It's about 1.5 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.7 ") wide so not too big, but unfortunately it definitely proves she is hurting herself just by dustbathing and pecking her wound.
So now she is locked up again in the crate and we're at loss what to do. We don't have spaces to keep her isolated where she will not be able to dustbathe. Our coop is beaten earth so the chickens dustbathe in it ; both the run and the wood crate are on dust, and if we put her in a temporary pen on grass she has shown she is able to dig enough to bathe, so that could only do while we are watching over her. We can maybe put the tarp again on the floor of the wood shed, but she hated that.
For those of you who have kept invalidated chickens inside your house or a room of your house, how do you handle it ? Do you put something on the floor ?
Oh dear. Don’t beat yourself up! I am confident you are a very good chicken servant.While there has been quite a few happy chicken moments these past days, today I made another sad discovery, and by pure chance, which unfortunately questions again my ability to care correctly for chickens.
Ever since we have reintroduced Piou-piou with the other chickens and Gaston, we have been checking the spot of her healed wound about four to five times a day. It hasn't moved, though the skin looks a bit irritated.
This morning I cleaned the coop with my torchlight and she was still on the roost, preening and spreading her wings. I happened to see that she was wounded on the other side
Though it wasn't bad we immediately separated her from the rooster, locking Gaston when she was out and vice versa. But after lunch we found her just finishing dustbathing and the wound was torn and skin opened and hanging. It's about 1.5 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.7 ") wide so not too big, but unfortunately it definitely proves she is hurting herself just by dustbathing and pecking her wound.
So now she is locked up again in the crate and we're at loss what to do. We don't have spaces to keep her isolated where she will not be able to dustbathe. Our coop is beaten earth so the chickens dustbathe in it ; both the run and the wood crate are on dust, and if we put her in a temporary pen on grass she has shown she is able to dig enough to bathe, so that could only do while we are watching over her. We can maybe put the tarp again on the floor of the wood shed, but she hated that.
For those of you who have kept invalidated chickens inside your house or a room of your house, how do you handle it ? Do you put something on the floor ?
View attachment 3557400
I have not brought my I’ll ladies into the house so I can’t answer your question.
One thought - which you probably already have done - but would it help prevent fury injury if Gaston’s nails and spots were filed? I know that would be a high drama event, but maybe if they had rounded tips they would do less damage.
I put a pet carrier with a towel in the base as sleeping quarters but otherwise let them roam the house at will. A tissue gets the worst of the poop up on hard floors and then mop wth bleach.While there has been quite a few happy chicken moments these past days, today I made another sad discovery, and by pure chance, which unfortunately questions again my ability to care correctly for chickens.
Ever since we have reintroduced Piou-piou with the other chickens and Gaston, we have been checking the spot of her healed wound about four to five times a day. It hasn't moved, though the skin looks a bit irritated.
This morning I cleaned the coop with my torchlight and she was still on the roost, preening and spreading her wings. I happened to see that she was wounded on the other side
Though it wasn't bad we immediately separated her from the rooster, locking Gaston when she was out and vice versa. But after lunch we found her just finishing dustbathing and the wound was torn and skin opened and hanging. It's about 1.5 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.7 ") wide so not too big, but unfortunately it definitely proves she is hurting herself just by dustbathing and pecking her wound.
So now she is locked up again in the crate and we're at loss what to do. We don't have spaces to keep her isolated where she will not be able to dustbathe. Our coop is beaten earth so the chickens dustbathe in it ; both the run and the wood crate are on dust, and if we put her in a temporary pen on grass she has shown she is able to dig enough to bathe, so that could only do while we are watching over her. We can maybe put the tarp again on the floor of the wood shed, but she hated that.
For those of you who have kept invalidated chickens inside your house or a room of your house, how do you handle it ? Do you put something on the floor ?
View attachment 3557400
Similar threads
New posts New threads Active threads
-
Latest threads
-
15 week Splash Ameraucana - hen or rooster?- Started by RobbFamilyFlock
- Replies: 1
-
Polish frizzle losing feathers
- Started by MansonRM
- Replies: 0
-
-
11 year old EE gone broody and aggressive- Started by Padfoot22
- Replies: 0
-
-
-
Threads with more replies in the last 15 days
-
-
-
-
How intense is your pecking order?
- Started by thecatumbrella
- Replies: 96
-
I know I’m probably going to upset some ppl, but I’m genuinely confused..- Started by z3lda3
- Replies: 91
-
