Théo and the chickens des Sauches

[Perris]

Oh no no no . Please tell me if you find him this morning !
I didn't realize you moved your coops around, I'm sorry if you mentioned it before, would you explain why ?

I know at one point one of the roosters will get thrown out. The leaves are all falling off and it's much less easier to find shelter from the wind now, even during the day.

If I have an emergency before I 've managed to convince my partner to build or buy a coop I can have one of them sleeping in the run, but I need to add more protection from the winds, or in the part of the old house that we use as a barn.

I've just been to let them out and give them breakfast, and am pleased to report Fforest was standing at the feeding station waiting for us none the worse for a night out it seems, not even soggy, so he found somewhere dry.

I have multiple small coops so that I can move them, as a simple biosecurity measure. It prevents the build up of pests and diseases, and wrong foots the foxes (they are very suspicious creatures and are wary of changes; ask anyone who's tried to trap them!), and enables me to make the most of seasonal changes, e.g. to move them to sun spots or protected areas in winter or shade in summer. It all goes fine with chooks if I move them a few meters at a time and there's a good eyeline between where a coop was and where it is now. Yesterday's mistake was moving one too far the other side of a dense tree - I should have done it in a dog leg over 2 days Hey ho; live and learn!

 

[ManueB]

I've just been to let them out and give them breakfast, and am pleased to report Fforest was standing at the feeding station waiting for us none the worse for a night out it seems, not even soggy, so he found somewhere dry.

I have multiple small coops so that I can move them, as a simple biosecurity measure. It prevents the build up of pests and diseases, and wrong foots the foxes (they are very suspicious creatures and are wary of changes; ask anyone who's tried to trap them!), and enables me to make the most of seasonal changes, e.g. to move them to sun spots or protected areas in winter or shade in summer. It's all goes fine with chooks if I move them a few meters at a time and there's a good eyeline between where a coop was and where it is now. Yesterday's mistake was moving one too far the other side of a dense tree - I should have done it in a dog leg over 2 days Hey ho; live and learn!

Thanks, I'm glad to know he was safe !

 

[RoyalChick]

I've just been to let them out and give them breakfast, and am pleased to report Fforest was standing at the feeding station waiting for us none the worse for a night out it seems, not even soggy, so he found somewhere dry.

I have multiple small coops so that I can move them, as a simple biosecurity measure. It prevents the build up of pests and diseases, and wrong foots the foxes (they are very suspicious creatures and are wary of changes; ask anyone who's tried to trap them!), and enables me to make the most of seasonal changes, e.g. to move them to sun spots or protected areas in winter or shade in summer. It's all goes fine with chooks if I move them a few meters at a time and there's a good eyeline between where a coop was and where it is now. Yesterday's mistake was moving one too far the other side of a dense tree - I should have done it in a dog leg over 2 days Hey ho; live and learn!

Glad to hear he is back safe and sound.

 

[ManueB]

This was the first frisky morning with 2°c /35f. I know that's not cold, but it takes my hands and feet a few days to get that. We never get real cold here and I'm glad of it- our first winter was one like they used to have in the 70s with two weeks at -8°c/ 17°f and two months of snow, and I didn't enjoy it.

Anyway, the chickens had a nice morning until a huge group of vultures flew above, maybe 30 or more. This happens more and more often especially on big game hunting days. They eye what's left over.

Something happened this morning that took a weight off my shoulder. (I should stop worrying about those things). I took Gastounet to see the place in the old house next to where we keep the hay, as I thought this could turn to be potentially his emergency shelter. He absolutely loved it! Merle and Piou-piou were with him and he clucked and cooed to call them in, checked out the whole place around, and then he proceeded to make a laying nest for them in a corner !
I didn't leave them inside on their own as there are still all kinds of tools and materials lying around so I locked them out. Ten minutes later when I came back they were still there waiting at the door for me to open the place !
So, I guess this means if we need a new coop, we'll just make some spot for them inside. It's really easy, there's almost nothing to do apart from making a separation so they can't access the hay, and putting them some kind of roost and a little corner ! It was a place I intended to use as a winter barn for getting ponies but I've changed my mind and don't feel up to having horses here. It has only two negative aspects : it gets warm in the summer, and the land just next to it doesn't have trees or bushes to shelter from the hawks. We have planted some but they are not big enough yet.

Cannelle was not too good today and I noticed she didn't dustbathe this time when all the other hens did. Now I guess I just need to be patient and wait too see if she survives until after her molt, how she does then. She's been molting from the end of August .

I feel bad for Gaston because when his three hens and especially Piou-piou go back inside the chicken netted zone to rest under the laurel tree or visit Chipie, he can't go with them and he stays close to the entrance making sad noises and trying to see them.

Tonight's roosting went slightly better because Gastounet wasn't right above Théo but on the left, with Merle and especially Léa more exposed. However Léa was so afraid that she began trying to step over Merle to go away from Théo who was threatening to fly on their roost and the three of them began whimpering, which got Théo acting up again. I tried to talk calmly and just blocked him with the stick whenever he tried to fly up to them, and he calmed down pretty quickly.

No egg today again . Ex-batts are on strike.

Sisters ?

Love is taking a damp dust bath in the same barrel

Gastounet grows everyday but he still has a ridiculous short tail

The sequence in the old house's barn

Making a nest for the pullets- does that mean they will lay soon or is it just to impress them ?

Chickens in the garden. Piou-piou has understood how to trick the netting to eat the kale ! And I think her ear lobes may be turning white, or lighter.

Cannelle just before going to bed.

 

[MaryJanet]

The new shed for Gastounet and friends looks fantastic! What a great answer to the problems.

All the photos are wonderful, as usual, but the one of Merle will stay in my memory.

 

[RoyalChick]

The new shed for Gastounet and friends looks fantastic! What a great answer to the problems.

All the photos are wonderful, as usual, but the one of Merle will stay in my memory.

Merle in the jungle

 

[ManueB]

Both Blanche and Brune laid really early today, because they hadn't yesterday I guess. Blanche now lays in Piou-piou's nest and I barely had time to take out the poop when I saw her climb in there. She screams with pain when she lays, it's really hard to hear, but she does that almost every time.

Just when I was about to leave there was an alert call - we didn't see for what- and they all hid in panick. It's always frightening trying to find each of them because sometimes they hid so well it takes a bit of time. This time we had troublen with Chipie, who was in the pet carrier, and Blanche hidden under a hay pile in the coop.

Théo attacked me when I approached the pet carrier in which Chipie was hidden, which I thought was from the stress of whatever had scared them so, and that was the beginning of a bad day with him. He acted up on me several times until I screamed ugly words and ran at him this evening, and scared him for real. It's too bad, we were beginning to be on more quiet terms, but now that I'm intervening to help Gaston away from him he sees me again as some enemy.
He's looking better now, he's almost finished molting I believe, however his legs are looking awful again. He's got a few feathers on his legs that don't come out well and they are always irritating him, he pulls them out all the time. Because he was quieter tonight at roosting after having being a real pain all evening I preferred to leave him in peace, I will try to have a look tomorrow.

Cannelle was doing better today, she was more active, she dustbathed and even chased Chipie around a few times.

Dust bath sequence

Cannelle

Chipie looking better

Piou-piou spent some time today looking at all the nest boxes and nest not in boxes...

Léa eating corn while my partner was stacking our carrots in sand buckets for winter

We took down the greenhouse today. Gastounet came to inspect how we dug away the wet mud from the trenches

 

[MaryJanet]

Gastounet looks like a site foreman on a building project

 

[Perris]

great to see Chipie and Merle in the Miss BYC beauty pageant
Are you going to enter Theo in the Mr BYC as he did so well last time, or even give Gastounet a chance for his moment in the spotlight?

 

[ManueB]

Gastounet looks like a site foreman on a building project

I've noticed a pattern recently : he's really interested every time my partner uses some tool to work. A future career in the making .

great to see Chipie and Merle in the Miss BYC beauty pageant
Are you going to enter Theo in the Mr BYC as he did so well last time, or even give Gastounet a chance for his moment in the spotlight?

It's @RoyalChick and @MaryJanet 's faults for telling me they are pretty ! I do find Chipie and Merle very beautiful in their way for farm mutts chickens .
Théo I also find beautiful, but he looks still quite strange right now so. If he finishes molting soon I'll see if he regains his former shining colours.

Gastounet has really stolen my heart with his funny goofy ways, but not with his look ! I have a photo of him I want to enter for Pow. I did notice a photo of a RIR rooster entered in the contest who looks quite similar.

I don't think any of them have the beauty of heritage breeds, but the contest specified anything belonging to the poultry order could be entered .