Théo and the chickens des Sauches

Shadrach · Sep 2, 2023

ManueB said:
It's never too soon for the end of summer. I can't wait for pumpkin season!

I didn't see eggs either. My guess is that they would be hard to see if there are only a few. Poultry lice are very recognisable, if you search on the internet for images. Today I looked again at Alba when we bathed her feet, and I saw some, but way less than two days ago, so I treated her again. I didn't see any on the other chickens which have all been treated with various products ; neem oil, pyrethrin dusting powder, and a spray with no insecticide, just dimethicone (silicon) that is supposed to mechanically suffocate them. I will use all those alternately.
The vet actually said to use stronghold (selamectin) if we can't get rid of them but i’m pretty sure we won't need to. I think I saw more or less 10 the first time on Alba and all in one spot; it didn't seem like the chicken was actually covered in lice. I didn't see any on the other chickens, but honestly they are so tiny and almost transparent, I could have missed them again.

Yes, I agree with you that making mistakes is ineluctable. Only those who do nothing never err. I also tend to see things with black glasses rather than pink. But still I find I should avoid making some mistakes, those that come from neglect, or carelessness.

Very true, and wise. But not everyone learn from their mistakes, and I seem to have an uncanny ability to make the same over and over !
It's also a different thing when your mistakes impact yourself only, and when you're in charge or responsible for other beings.

Not sure I know this book specifically but the editor, yes, of course. They are the main publisher here for everything on permaculture and organic gardenic, vegan and alternative cooking, and all kind of things useful for homesteading. I have a bunch of their books both for gardening and cooking, and I also use their wall gardening calendar with the moon phases and the right days for when to plant what. I always want to buy everything when they send the lists of new books ! Should be an interesting read !
***********
Not much to say, it rained gently all day. The chickens stayed mostly in the run, the younger ones in the wood shelter with Piou-piou. But the light drizzle allowed them to spend a bit of time outside. We tended to Nougat and Alba inside and it went all right. Nougat is officially over bumblefoot ! It will probably be more difficult tomorrow with Nieva and Cannelle.
Petit Blanc was still very afraid of me today . At roost time he was so scared he wouldn't go in the coop until I went inside the house where he couldn't see me. It seems it will be hard to make him trust me again but hopefully in time he will see I won't try to catch him. He seems really traumatized.

I took very few pictures because we also spent most of the day inside making jam and transfering honey into small jars. It does feel like the end of summer but we're very happy for the rain and lower temperatures!

Yesterday afternoon, Chipie and Piou-piou bathing together. An uncommon sight as they are sworn ennemies!
View attachment 3620938
Théo came by to see if there was some opportunities but Piou-piou really doesn't like him.
View attachment 3620940
Nieva and her bandages turned to grey in half an hour.
View attachment 3620944
Cannelle. It doesn't show when she's up but she’s really declining. Also, she's becoming aggressive with the other chickens whereas she has always been very laid back.
View attachment 3620951
Théo attempting to flirt with Léa. No place better than a big wet sheep poop pile covered in hay to dig some juicy stuff!
View attachment 3620952
View attachment 3620955
Wet Pied Beau.
View attachment 3620956
View attachment 3620957 View attachment 3620958 View attachment 3620960 View attachment 3620961 View attachment 3620963 View attachment 3620965

I have some pictures of how I went about trying to deal with Cillin's bubble foot. I'll try and find them. What I can write is I didn't have any luck using corn plasters. They were just not deep enough or robust enough to stay in place and keep pressure off the swelling.

RoyalChick · Sep 2, 2023

Shadrach said:
I have some pictures of how I went about trying to deal with Cillin's bubble foot. I'll try and find them. What I can write is I didn't have any luck using corn plasters. They were just not deep enough or robust enough to stay in place and keep pressure off the swelling.

Interesting. There are two types of thing for corns - one kind is much thinner than the other.
With Babs I am using what are called here corn cushions and are quite thick. Now getting them to hold still while you bandage them in place is a tad tricky if you have coated the foot with any ointment!
So far it is going quite well - I think she is pretty much healed although her foot is very soft from all the treatment so I am not sure sending her out from no pressure on her foot pad to fully barefoot is such a good idea. I need to think of an intermediate solution.
Maybe some vet wrap without the corn cushion.
Any ideas most appreciated.

ManueB · Sep 3, 2023

RoyalChick said:
Interesting. There are two types of thing for corns - one kind is much thinner than the other.
With Babs I am using what are called here corn cushions and are quite thick. Now getting them to hold still while you bandage them in place is a tad tricky if you have coated the foot with any ointment!
So far it is going quite well - I think she is pretty much healed although her foot is very soft from all the treatment so I am not sure sending her out from no pressure on her foot pad to fully barefoot is such a good idea. I need to think of an intermediate solution.
Maybe some vet wrap without the corn cushion.
Any ideas most appreciated.

Glad to hear she’s doing better.
!
I used bandages without corn cushions, but with a small cut square of gauze for Nougat and Cannelle four or five days before removing them completely.
I thought it would never stay and hold the first time I tried, but it did.
Even using just bandages makes sense to me. While it wouldn't make a padding it would still help with any chafing. And while bumblefoot doesn't occur because of chafing it could stop it from healing completely.

With four chickens having bumblefoot and two on both sides, I have gone through an impressive number of corn dressings and tried five different brands. They were all different in size and thickness. My partner did the shopping and twice he didn't realise that he bought dressings that included 1. Salicylic acid which we didn't use, and 2. Hyularonic acid which we did use and that left some kind of gel on the foot.
The ones that worked better for me were the middle thick ones.
Because both leghorns tend to wiggle their foot of at the precise moment when the corn dressing is applied on the foot but doesn't adhere to it because of the ointments, I now put the dressing at the end of the vet wrap and directly wrap the foot. It's less precise as to where the dressing lands, but at least it doesn't fall off

.

RoyalChick · Sep 3, 2023

ManueB said:
Glad to hear she’s doing better.
!
I used bandages without corn cushions, but with a small cut square of gauze for Nougat and Cannelle four or five days before removing them completely.
I thought it would never stay and hold the first time I tried, but it did.
Even using just bandages makes sense to me. While it wouldn't make a padding it would still help with any chafing. And while bumblefoot doesn't occur because of chafing it could stop it from healing completely.

With four chickens having bumblefoot and two on both sides, I have gone through an impressive number of corn dressings and tried five different brands. They were all different in size and thickness. My partner did the shopping and twice he didn't realise that he bought dressings that included 1. Salicylic acid which we didn't use, and 2. Hyularonic acid which we did use and that left some kind of gel on the foot.
The ones that worked better for me were the middle thick ones.
Because both leghorns tend to wiggle their foot of at the precise moment when the corn dressing is applied on the foot but doesn't adhere to it because of the ointments, I now put the dressing at the end of the vet wrap and directly wrap the foot. It's less precise as to where the dressing lands, but at least it doesn't fall off .

I did use the salicylic acid patch once when I was loosening up the black eschar. Surprisingly it seemed to have no effect.
My hack was to put the cushion on the foot when clean and dry - it sticks so holds in place - and then fill the middle with the ointment!
Thanks for the suggestion I think I will try just bandages for a day or two once I am sure it is all healed up.

ManueB · Sep 3, 2023

Happy silent sunday from the chicken and the people des Sauches

.

Perris · Sep 3, 2023

that communal dustbath area is almost a burrow :gig

And Gaston's got his head on backwards :lol:

lightm · Sep 3, 2023

Laure has the supermodel posture and stare!

lightm · Sep 3, 2023

RoyalChick said:
Interesting. There are two types of thing for corns - one kind is much thinner than the other.
With Babs I am using what are called here corn cushions and are quite thick. Now getting them to hold still while you bandage them in place is a tad tricky if you have coated the foot with any ointment!
So far it is going quite well - I think she is pretty much healed although her foot is very soft from all the treatment so I am not sure sending her out from no pressure on her foot pad to fully barefoot is such a good idea. I need to think of an intermediate solution.
Maybe some vet wrap without the corn cushion.
Any ideas most appreciated.

Love the news on Babs!

ManueB · Sep 4, 2023

Perris said:
that communal dustbath area is almost a burrow And Gaston's got his head on backwards

Yeah it's pretty amazing how much they have destroyed this year. It was all grassy with one or two holes in the spring. I guess I’m going to have to sow the area, just blocking it six weeks isn't enough to allow grass to regrow. I don't want them to end up with a yard that's completely bare.

lightm said:
View attachment 3627164

Laure has the supermodel posture and stare!

But in real life she is very shy, and also human weary. She is pecked on by her siblings at roost time and she has difficulty finding a place to sleep. She is a big hen, but getting bullied. Maybe because she looks different compared to the three black girls ?

I wasn't expecting it since the weather was so nice this last week, but temperatures have gone up again, like in a big part of Europe. We’re back in the 90's in the afternoon for the week. The nights are supposed to stay cool so hopefully there will only be a few hours daily when it will be hot.

Nieva’s foot has relapsed for the worse. One of the foot is healing but yesterday the other was really swollen and warm. I opened the scab again, but only a very small quantity of white liquid came out. She has had five days of antibiotics already, and I have a dose for seven. Not sure what the next step should be if she doesn't get better!
And it's still extremely difficult to do the bandages alone. Yesterday my partner was there so I managed to do them well, but when i’m alone she struggles so much that it's difficult not to get folds and have them not too tight but not falling off.
Alba is doing much better. I’m hoping she will be fine by the end of this week.

Léa laid a huge egg this morning, like she had once before going broody

. I hope she’s not getting into reproductive troubles. She seemed fine today. I’ll keep watching her.