Théo and the chickens des Sauches

[MaryJanet]

Of course. I was really trying to say that theoretical work should have a place in university. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

Contact lenses are popular in China too. (Also I was mostly joking when I say the reason there are more near-sighted people in China is because glasses/contact lenses are cheaper...)

Ah! Already answered!

How about a chicken photo to make up for my blunder?

 

[MaryJanet]

I’m a bit upset because my partner called me yesterday evening to say that we have to go celebrate his mother's birthday tomorrow night. Because her health is very uncertain, they decided that at the last moment. We’ll have to leave at 6.30 so long before the chickens are even thinking about roosting, and I'm not taking the risk of locking up the two roosters in the coop and run together. My partner doesn't want to risk leaving the run open until we come back. So the least worse solution I could find is to lock up Théo in the woodshed on his own. He is going to go crazy and frightened, but at least he’ll be safe. I wish I didn't have to go , I don't like birthday and family events. Any thoughts on whether it's best to leave him all night in there or if I should put him back in the coop when we come back, probably around 11 ?

I'm wondering if a neighbour can stop by at dusk and shut the chickens' doors for the night? It's how I manage when I've got to be away from home at dusk.

 

[BDutch]

I'm wondering if a neighbour can stop by at dusk and shut the chickens' doors for the night? It's how I manage when I've got to be away from home at dusk.

I bought an automatic pop door. These devices are really very convenient to keep the chickens safe in the night in such occasions. Another plus for me: no need to get up at sunrise to open up.

 

[ManueB]

Ah! Already answered!

How about a chicken photo to make up for my blunder?

View attachment 3603667

Gorgeous feathers. They really complement each other!

I'm wondering if a neighbour can stop by at dusk and shut the chickens' doors for the night? It's how I manage when I've got to be away from home at dusk.

I bought an automatic pop door. These devices are really very convenient to keep the chickens safe in the night in such occasions. Another plus for me: no need to get up at sunrise to open up.

At an other time, I could have asked my neighbour, but we have a bald eagle that's been showing up and circling around at 7.45, 8pm every evening, for about two weeks now. That's when the adults are all in bed and the young ones are still playing around crazily zooming and chasing one another in front of the coop. While during the day they are very predator weary, we’ve noticed they don't pay attention at that time, either because they are too excited or because there is no adults to give warning calls. That's why my partner insists we lock them up, and I don't feel like asking the neighbour to stay for half an hour on watch, especially on such short notice.

The automatic pop door wouldn't have worked for the same reason. But I've been thinking of it, while it would only be useful two or three times a year, it would make things a lot easier in those cases, or for when people come to house sit for us. However it wouldn't fit on our actual door, we would also have to make another lower part. And I like the inclusion of a band of mesh because it allows the chickens to see through, I'm not sure we could have that adding a pop door.

So for this time Théo will have to sleep in the shed. If it turns out to be havoc and we can't leave them at 7 at worse, I have the option of biking there later on, but since I don't bike anymore, it will likely take me 1h15, 1h30, so I would be really late. I personally wouldn't mind but my partner and his family do.

Léa is half broody again. I won't let her set but if she takes a week or two off lay, that would be a good thing with the issues she has been having.

Yesterday evening Gaston the farmer came to see us and the chickens. I was a bit offended when he asked who that pretty pullet was, showing Ann, and saying "the one that looks just like a tiny guinea" .
He said that if we don't find any home for the second roo he would take him, which would be much better than my partner's father. Even though his chickens are a bit neglected, and may easily die being eaten by a fox or if they get sick, at least they are outside all day, with a big bunch of other chickens and they get better fed as he does the old way of giving them kitchen and farm scraps on top of grains.
I asked him again how old Chipie was and he said again he didn't remember, but at least 6. So she’s our senior resident, maybe it explains why she’s convinced she should be the master of the chicken's universe ?

Sorry, no time to take photos today. Just got shots of miss Ann Guinea and some pictures of the mountain from my run yesterday.

 

[BDutch]

However it wouldn't fit on our actual door, we would also have to make another lower part. And I like the inclusion of a band of mesh because it allows the chickens to see through, I'm not sure we could have that adding a pop door.

A pop door doesn’t have to be on the ground. Mine is about 20 cm up. The chickens hop over the entrance.
To install the door above the wire is fine.

A second possibility would be to make an opening with mesh in the pop door itself. I use an old plastic Ikea cutting board as pop door. The slides are made from wood.

but we have a bald eagle that's been showing up and circling around at 7.45, 8pm every evening, for about two weeks now. That's when the adults are all in bed and the young ones are still playing around crazily zooming and chasing one another in front of the coop.

This problem remains of course, but I wonder if it is possible to train the young chickens to come in earlier by giving some scratch inside the coop around sunset, before 7.45 when the eagle shows up. After a few weeks they even might take on this habit to enter the coop earlier, even if you are not around. But its also possible they change this stupid habit if they grow older.

 

[ManueB]

View attachment 3604771A pop door doesn’t have to be on the ground. Mine is about 20 cm up. The chickens hop over the entrance.
To install the door above the wire is fine.

It's more like 60 cm/ 2ft. They would need a step to get through. My old ladies are heavy and certainly not agile like Inni minni !

A second possibility would be to make an opening with mesh in the pop door itself. I use an old plastic Ikea cutting board as pop door. The slides are made from wood.

Making a custom pop door could be very interesting ! But, it would so rarely be of use for us, that it's not the priority for now.

This problem remains of course, but I wonder if it is possible to train the young chickens to come in earlier by giving some scratch inside the coop around sunset, before 7.45 when the eagle shows up. After a few weeks they even might take on this habit to enter the coop earlier, even if you are not around. But its also possible they change this stupid habit if they grow older.

That's just what happened. They were used to doing this (staying in the run for 30 mn before roosting) until about two weeks ago...and that is all it took for them to completely forget .

So... Théo never went in the wood shed yesterday because phase 0 of plan A was a big fail.
My partner was convinced that with a great yummy mixture and inviting banging on the pans, everyone would run following him into the run. However, this meant 18 chickens, and 5 didn't play the game : 3 chicks, Chipie, and Nieva. And once those five had understood that it was about getting locked up, there was no way we could get them in ! I even discovered my first chicken who doesn't like sunflower seeds - Petit blanc doesn't care at all for them.
If it had been during the day, we might have left some outside, but at night it wasn't a possibility.
So we switched to plan B (after some ugly words between us ). I waited until all the adults were roosted, lured the chicks with chards into the run, and left by bike, but my partner drove back from his mum's house to pick me up along the way, so I was late but not indecently so.
It was an unpleasant evening as his mum isn't doing good and she didn't feel at all like having a birthday party, I think it was imposed on her as a surprise by her sister. Glad it's over.

Today, I saw Cannelle had a swollen foot and this led to the discovery that at least five chickens (from the ones I managed to catch and check) have bumblefoot.
None of the chicks seem to have it. I posted about it on the FBA thread for advice : https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...es-stories-of-our-flock.1286630/post-27091388

This afternoon we tried what we could with what we had, with Cannelle and Nougat : 20 mn lukewarm soaking, applying sugardine (mix of betadine and sugar as a drawing paste), putting a human corn dressing (finally some positive point about all that foot trouble : I have loads of those ) and bandaging with vet wrap.

It didn't work very well, because both hens are human shy, and were terrorised. With Cannelle we did ok, and hers is the worse by far. Nougat's is slightly on the side, so it was more difficult to bandage. And it was one of those moments when you wonder why in the world you have chickens. We had just put her in the basin when she poopped in it . So we rinsed it and started again. She held up until we finished the bandage, and then I think it was from stress as she was really panting and struggling, she had a huge diarrhea all over our living room floor (tile luckily).
It took an hour 15 to do both hens and we realised that clearly it would not be possible for one of us alone, even wrapping the chicken up in a towel. So either the bandages hold until Sunday, either they will have to go bare foot again for a while. Tomorrow I will soak Merle who has just a tiny spot and try to catch the leghorns, but that really just doesn't seem possible. I might try to do them once they roost but not sure how that would go either. And I don't see myself doing it everyday for days, I'm in bed by the time they sleep.

It's getting hot again and temperatures will rise progressively until the end of the week. I hope the chickens don't suffer too much. Léa is still laying and half sitting, half hanging around making broody screams, but up to now Merle hasn't been acting broody again. Yesterday I found some pretty bad poops with live tapeworm segments. Reading again about them, it's their way to spread. I’m still hesitating and thinking maybe I should deworm, but only the chickens i’m sure have them. I found out praziquantel is available also here (for dogs) but it's very expensive and apparently there is a 14 to 21 days egg withdrawal.

While it was not the best 24 hours, something really nice did happen totally unreIated to chickens. I found a present for my partner's 50 birthday in September ! I hate presents and birthdays and I struggle with them, but this is really cool : a five days workshop to learn paragliding. He has a very good friend who’s crazy about it (in fact he is getting divorced because of it ) and he has always dreamed of trying. Let's just hope we don't divorce ! I used to be very involved into rock climbing for years and I stopped because I was never able to totally overcome my fear of height, so I don't feel at all like flying a paraglider.

Blanche is a bit better today!

You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig

Cool chicks ...

 

[BDutch]

It's more like 60 cm/ 2ft. They would need a step to get through. My old ladies are heavy and certainly not agile like Inni minni !

So the door is much bigger as I thought. I do understand why there’s no priority.

This afternoon we tried what we could with what we had, with Cannelle and Nougat : 20 mn lukewarm soaking, applying sugardine (mix of betadine and sugar as a drawing paste), putting a human corn dressing (finally some positive point about all that foot trouble : I have loads of those ) and bandaging with vet wrap.

I read (no experience) that honey cures better than sugar.

. I might try to do them once they roost but not sure how that would go either. And I don't see myself doing it everyday for days, I'm in bed by the time they sleep.

If I want to check I pick them up after they roost. But I’m often late anyway. I have a problem with early rising. Thats another reason why the auto pop door is convenient for me.

It's getting hot again and temperatures will rise progressively until the end of the week.

Here too. Glad too after 2 weeks with lots of rain and low temps. Next weeks forecast 23-28 C and lots of sun.

a five days workshop to learn paragliding. He has a very good friend who’s crazy about it (in fact he is getting divorced because of it ) and he has always dreamed of trying. Let's just hope we don't divorce !

Nice. Expensive, super exciting and a little bit dangerous! I can imagine the friend enjoyed it and the partner not being happy with his hobby.
My nearest experience was a balloon flight. A gift (won a competition at work).
My kids do like climbing (both boulder / rope). My son even has a permit to teach.
It’s my own doing. I took him up on a climbing event in the trees when he was a teenager and he loved it.

 

[Perris]

Glad it's over.

Sounds like a tough evening all round.

the discovery that at least five chickens (from the ones I managed to catch and check) have bumblefoot.

Good luck treating that. I think Shad knows quite a bit about it (I don't) and can advise.

I found a present for my partner's 50 birthday

What a great present! Perhaps he could give the eagles and other aerial predators round your way a taste of their own medicine while he's up there?

Funny photo to cheer you: Amadeo trying to escape the clutches of the peruvian raspberry (with yet more St John's wort at the back)

 

[MaryJanet]

Today, I saw Cannelle had a swollen foot and this led to the discovery that at least five chickens (from the ones I managed to catch and check) have bumblefoot.

I once saw a photo of a chicken soaking in a plastic box with its lid on and someone had cut a hole in the lid for the chicken to get her head out. Might be a handy way of doing it?

This sort of box

 

[MaryJanet]

Sounds like a tough evening all round.

Good luck treating that. I think Shad knows quite a bit about it (I don't) and can advise.

What a great present! Perhaps he could give the eagles and other aerial predators round your way a taste of their own medicine while he's up there?

Funny photo to cheer you: Amadeo trying to escape the clutches of the peruvian raspberry (with yet more St John's wort at the back)
View attachment 3605191

This photo would make a great jigsaw puzzle.