Théo and the chickens des Sauches

[Perris]

She walks like she owns the place already! I've got lots of photos of Maria strutting her stuff like that

The youngsters are growing well; as a fan of SFHs I have a particular soft spot for the mottled chick of course; wouldn't it be nice if that plumage is retained in the adult feathers?

 

[BDutch]

..
The youngsters are growing well; as a fan of SFHs I have a particular soft spot for the mottled chick of course; wouldn't it be nice if that plumage is retained in the adult feathers?

Maybe I could become a fan too, if you tell me what SFH stands for.

 

[Perris]

Maybe I could become a fan too, if you tell me what SFH stands for.

sorry! Swedish Flower Hens.

 

[ManueB]

it sounds like they've been trying for a while. Has the neighbour got an excuse for not being equally determined to keep them on his/her own property?

All the why's and hows would make a very long tedious post . She's the neighbour that had the donkeys and cows for pasture at our place, the one with the egg and rooster eating dogs. Trying to keep it short : she has a system to make movable pens with electrified sheep nettings when she takes her animals to pasture on other people's property for a short while, and when she leaves them for longer time in permanent pens she also let them free-range a bit to extend the life of her pastures. But she doesn't realize that this requires extensive presence and monitoring on her part for it to work and so her animals keep escaping.I know it's not easy for her beginning to raise livestock here when she has almost no land of her own. This week they are very busy collecting hay before the forecasted storm on Sunday so I'll call her next week. I've already mentioned before that I had to run after her goats a few times a week, but it obviously didn't click.

And let's just say I also appreciate that my main concern at this time is goats eating our saplings when two days ago our government was agitating the possibility of declaring emergency state- so terrified they are that the rioting youths would join with the ultra left and the so-called eco terrorists.

View attachment 3565343 She walks like she owns the place already! I've got lots of photos of Maria strutting her stuff like that

I don't know much about it but I've always tended to agree that environment more than breed would play a role in a chicken's temperament. But the four chickens we have bought from that low standard breeder have made me think again about that. The two leghorns are proud and daredevils, they will try anything flying and jumping around and stealing from the other chickens, and they are only scared of us if we don't have food in our hands. The black cross Harko / Marans are a mix of pre-teens gals and fuzzy Ewoks. They are really curious, both with us and with the other chickens, but very afraid. They still try to snuggle under one an other at roost time and stays on their own roost. Age plays a role maybe, but now they are all layers there still is a big difference !

The youngsters are growing well; as a fan of SFHs I have a particular soft spot for the mottled chick of course; wouldn't it be nice if that plumage is retained in the adult feathers?

Right now all I'm hoping for is that the three undetermined, which includes mottled chick, are pullets. There is no way we could re-home five cockerels even if they have pretty colours. But yes, I'm curious to see what color it will end up, as it started all black.

 

[ManueB]

Nice cool morning at 13°c/55f but in the afternoon we had our usual horrible summer weather that we have escaped from up to now : heat and violent winds. It's still bearable but next week the temperature should go way up.

The chickens spend a lot of time resting in the shade, and quite a few looked tired and panting at some point during the day . It now really looks like one flock with Théo being an outcast. This afternoon he was standing forlorn in the field across the chicken yard, barely reacting when I offered strawberries and sunflower seeds which he usually loves. Later he came back in the chicken yard discreetly and went to roost very early next to Chipie, on the second roost we left where the black pullets sleep.


I forgot to say that yesterday we planted a vine just outside the chicken's run hoping it will grow to make some shade. Although those raspberry vines are supposed to be very easy to grow, we didn't succeed the two times we tried, so I hope this one will take.

Ate our first courgettes and fresh garlic grated with olive oil and salt on toasted bread (that's breakfast in Andalusia!). The garden is a bit late compared to usual because we didn't have heat and also we were late doing starters, but it looks so much nicer and green than last year !
As we reduced surface by one third and the soil is still not dry, we've been watering everything by hand, except the greenhouse where we have drip irrigation. It takes much less water : we can do in half an hour what would need two hours with aspersion.

Garden photos. Now apart from garlic and courgettes we have peas, salad, strawberries, chards, kale, orach and potatoes. The first tomatoes in the tunnel are just barely beginning to ripen, so we probably will eat the first last week of July or first week of August ; those outside only have flowers yet. Not very hopeful for eggplants and peppers as our season is already short for these vegetables. Waiting for onions, beets, greens and leeks in maybe two weeks. Although we started the cucumbers very late, there are already tiny cucumbers on the very small plants; but melons and watermelons will be very late in September, if we get some. Last year we were already eating the first melon at this time of year !

 

[ManueB]

A slightly better day for Théo, except maybe at roost time. I'm beginning to hope the worse is over. My partner refused to wait any longer to mow the field across the chicken's yard so I can't let him use it as a shelter anymore- the tall grass was the only visual protection from the sky.
The hens looked tired early morning, I think they don't sleep very well. I 'm trying to find a more aggressive treatment for the mites. They seemed better during the day, except Blanche, who looks like the end is near, but she has for such a long time now that I know it doesn't mean she won't perk up.

Chipie thinks she may have a chance under new king Gaston's reign to become master of the universe, and she picks up fights with everyone .

Piou-piou and Léa at the salad bar.

It will be difficult getting rid of that little one. He keeps falling asleep on my partner, when he's not stepping both feet in our plates .

 

[Perris]

Piou-piou and Léa at the salad bar.

they don't seem to be wrecking it - maybe even helping by predating on insects and invertebrates that would do more damage than they do to those tasty plants?
Looks like things are growing very well now! That rain has done wonders for the local environment (as you also showed with the earlier photos from your run).

 

[ManueB]

they don't seem to be wrecking it - maybe even helping by predating on insects and invertebrates that would do more damage than they do to those tasty plants?
Looks like things are growing very well now! That rain has done wonders for the local environment (as you also showed with the earlier photos from your run).

They concentrate on the first lettuce of the row .
Only Piou-piou likes salad enough to do some damage, but I can't say the same for the strawberries unfortunately.
We still haven't found a satisfying way to block access to a specific zone, that doesn't hinder us from accessing it to weed. So we've only blocked the chards that don't need weeding now they are grown plants.
Yep it's wonderful to see things turning green again and how resilient nature can be. After two years of draught we were really beginning to think it was the end of our garden if we had one more season like this ..and very possibly a food crisis in the country.

 

[ManueB]

After doing fine for a few weeks and spending a good day, Piou-piou was unwell again late this afternoon. Same symptom always, though never as bad as the first time- looking like she has trouble moving her leg and back end, and being in pain. I hope she will be better after she lays tomorrow.
Also, I am now certain she is actually plucking away all the feathers under her wings, both on the old wound and the new one. Probably because it itches-, but she has now almost all the part under her wing bare.

Other than that, the chickens had a good day. They are beginning to adjust to the heat, napping from one to four and staying up later in the evening, roosting toward seven. The chicks stay up much later and roost toward eight.

I've began experimenting with fermenting again. I stopped when the weather began turning warmer, because I had two batches gone bad in a row, not sure why as the house doesn't go above 22°. Now I start using a smaller batch only 24 hours after soaking, and use it all during the day. I'm adding more wheat, and a herbal supplement for "gut health" which probably doesn't do anything health wise but makes the food smell really good . They still have access to layer feed wet and dry, and I give all the flock a big bowl of wet chick starter feed in the morning, since they seem so keen on it. Wet layer feed has the least success ; the feeders with dry layer feed do empty themselves slowly, and the fermented grain and wet starter feed gets eaten in less than an hour. Also, it turns out the 20 kilos of peas I bought are snubbed by everyone. Lesson learned, I'll try the next type starting with a smaller amount! I'm using them cooked when I feed them cooked up cereals with mackerels or sardines twice a week. And giving them garden snap peas which they like better .

Black and white cockerels, the two are always together and often fighting.

My partner mowed today the biggest field under the chicken yard. Since the weekend storm is cancelled we'll be collecting and bringing the hay up on Sunday. It's a lot of work, especially for the people who carry the bags up to the house and then to the road, as the slope is really steep. Our neighbours (the ones with the ) are coming and my partner's nephew and niece as well. Usually my partner and Amelia do most of the carrying but this year there is so much hay that I will have to do more.

Today we collected the hay from the field next to the chicken yard, and of course the chickens had to help .

Piou-piou plucking her feathers

Gaston did something really awful yesterday evening. Usually he's a pretty good rooster with the hens even if he charges them a bit rough in the morning. So I was totally flabbergasted when he jumped on our one certain female chick, to try to mate her. The chick was terrified and I got him off as quick as I could, but I'm watching him now .

This is Théo's posture when he's scared, sort of crouching and looking around. He got chased four or five times during the day, but he managed to stay in the chicken yard and even sometimes with some of the hens.

When my partner collects eggs and stores them in his Charentaise

 

[MaryJanet]

I managed to grow a few strawberries in hanging baskets the chickens couldn't reach, but keeping the soil moist wasn't always possible in the summer heat.