Théo and the chickens des Sauches

[ManueB]

Nougat died this afternoon. It wasn't peaceful. Although she spent a lot of time unconscious the last two days, when she was awake she struggled as she couldn't breathe anymore. My partner couldn't accept that we should let her go, he kept hoping she would turn around. Even when she died in his arms and had nervous spasms, he wouldn't believe she was gone.
She left knowing we were with her, having said goodbye to the other chickens she cared about, and I think she knew from that day she stayed lying down in the coop that she would die, because of that resigned look in her eyes.

She was the last of our first chickens and our last ex-batt. We don't have ex-batts anymore. I feel both relieved she's finally at peace and terribly sad they are all gone. When I have some time to gather old photos I'll try to tell more about her and see if I have pictures of all the six ex-batts together.

 

[Perris]

RIP Nougat. You gave her a great life ManueB

 

[Molpet]

Nougat

Sorry for your losses
Prayers for comfort

 

[BDutch]

She left knowing we were with her, having said goodbye to the other chickens she cared about,

Sorry for Nougat, the last of the Mohicans (Ex-bats). Remember you gave here a wonderful life as long as she was with you and your partner.

 

[MaryJanet]

What a wonderful way to slip away from life. Loved. Held. Having said goodbye. What a honour you gave her.

 

[lightm]

Roost In Peace Nougat. I am sad to hear the news but I am happy she is at ease and with her old buddies. Can you remind us how old Nougat was?

About implant, this thread was helpful to read. Supposedly it takes a week for it to kick in. Once in effect, chickens may suffer from bad appetite and lethargy. This happened to Light! She even had crop problems. It is also common for them to go into molt.

But Light is doing great now, and in molting.

 

[Sequel]

Nougat died this afternoon. It wasn't peaceful. Although she spent a lot of time unconscious the last two days, when she was awake she struggled as she couldn't breathe anymore. My partner couldn't accept that we should let her go, he kept hoping she would turn around. Even when she died in his arms and had nervous spasms, he wouldn't believe she was gone.
She left knowing we were with her, having said goodbye to the other chickens she cared about, and I think she knew from that day she stayed lying down in the coop that she would die, because of that resigned look in her eyes.

She was the last of our first chickens and our last ex-batt. We don't have ex-batts anymore. I feel both relieved she's finally at peace and terribly sad they are all gone. When I have some time to gather old photos I'll try to tell more about her and see if I have pictures of all the six ex-batts together.
View attachment 3922953

I’m so sorry! You really did give her the best of everything!

 

[RoyalChick]

Nougat died this afternoon. It wasn't peaceful. Although she spent a lot of time unconscious the last two days, when she was awake she struggled as she couldn't breathe anymore. My partner couldn't accept that we should let her go, he kept hoping she would turn around. Even when she died in his arms and had nervous spasms, he wouldn't believe she was gone.
She left knowing we were with her, having said goodbye to the other chickens she cared about, and I think she knew from that day she stayed lying down in the coop that she would die, because of that resigned look in her eyes.

She was the last of our first chickens and our last ex-batt. We don't have ex-batts anymore. I feel both relieved she's finally at peace and terribly sad they are all gone. When I have some time to gather old photos I'll try to tell more about her and see if I have pictures of all the six ex-batts together.
View attachment 3922953

Rest in peace Nougat. You were loved and will be missed.
Sorry @ManueB - I know it has been a difficult journey with her.

 

[ManueB]

Thank you all for the kind words. Here is a long post about Nougat, our last remaining ex-batt.

@lightm Nougat and the other ex-batt's started laying the first week of march 2020 so we guess they were born at the end of September 2020. So she was likely almost five.

When they were but a few months old Nougat was the biggest, the most agile, the least afraid, the first to lay. Together with Vanille they were also very close to my partner who could have them jump on his arms, knees or shoulders for treats.
Probably because she had a very peaceful and calm temper she became last in the hen's hierarchy. The ex-batts were quite a peaceful lot between themselves, except at roost time and for treats, and that's when it would show. When my partner brought fruits or corn to the group he gave her the habit of sneaking a treat behind his back just for her to catch, otherwise she was too mellow to get anything.
She laid huge eggs from the start and was always the best layer and the ex-batt that had the least issue with laying.

First week here. Nougat is in the middle with Brune on the right and I think Caramel on the left.

A week after laying the first egg.

Nougat and Vanille used to jump on my partner's arm.

Nougat, Vanille, Brune.

Her personality changed completely after the first year. Maybe because she was always told off by the others she became a lot more worried and stressed. This culminated when Théo and Chipie arrived in November 2021. They had lived as a closed group of six hens for 20 months and having new comers was very hard to accept for four of the ex-batts. Nougat was the worse. She spent her days bullying them, first through a fence, then for real. She had stopped laying at that time and we didn't realise because it didn't show, but she was doing her first molt. She was the only one of the group to do a most that year. So she was very grumpy, and isolating herself from the group, but picking on Théo and Chipie constantly.
At that time we did something I've already mentioned. We were afraid she was eggbound so we gave her a warm bath. She absolutely hated that and it was a turning point in our relationship with her. She never let us pick her up easily again and never jumped on my partner again.

Sunbathing was her passion. Here with Brune at the end of 2021.

She did have a streak of freedom in her, though not as much as some of her friends : she was the only ex-batt who laid as a grown hen in outdoor nests for quite a time.

Progressively Théo's relation with the ex-batts became somewhat better and in summer 2022, they had become his hens. That was when the first chicks hatched. Nougat did not bully them as badly as she did their mum Chipie but it was obvious she was very unhappy about them. She did bully Gaston as he became a young cockerel and he had to spend most of his time outside the chicken yard.
Then when Gaston grew up and began trying to overtake Théo Nougat was terrorised by him. She used to run to Théo for protection. For months and months it lasted. The four remaining ex-batts stuck together throughout all that period, and stayed close when they were unwell. When Gaston won, Théo kept the ex-batts with him for a while but it couldn't last and Gaston began taking them under his wings. This was in june 2023, around the time Brune died. Nougat quickly became his favourite, maybe because she was the biggest. Then things became more easy for her as she could roost next to him and he would treat her as his favourite. I think although she remained afraid of him, she grew to like him.

Nougat's only serious health issues came with her two last molts. She had dramatic molt, loosing all her feathers in two weeks and making her utterly miserable. We really wondered if it wouldn't kill her. At those times, she rejected the roosters and they rejected her. She had mobility issues and was unable to keep her balance then, especially going to roost. I had to add twice the number of cleats to the ramp so they were only 5 cm apart and I tied hemp strings around the place she roosted so could cling to it and avoid falling. We ended up putting a small platform where she roosted so she could walk on it.

Otherwise she was in great health which was why my partner expected her to live much longer. Until Blanche died, she was doing amazingly well after winter was over. The only hint of something wrong was that she had lost her voice. But toward mid June she began laying several soft shell eggs and one time it became clear an egg had stuck and broke inside. From then she began going downhill. I would not know if she had EYP or cancer but obviously there was a mass in her body not allowing her to move and then breathe normally. The first serious alert was at the end of June when I thought she would die, but clearing her sour crop was enough to get her back to a better state. This time however it was a different story.

And she became the last of our ex-batts, having seen all her friends gone. She was ruthless for the time she was dominant and no hen escaped a mean peck if the came near her food. She would eat alone at one bowl, just like in the beginning Vanille, the head ex-batt would do.

She was a serious hen, maybe not as crazy or fun as the other ex-batt's. She wasn't beautiful like Caramel, Vanille and Cannelle. And unlike my five other ex-batt's she didn't fight for life and cling to every single happy moment. But we both were very fond of her. For my partner especially, she remained one of the first hens he really bonded with.

Pictures in chronological order from 2023 and 2024.

She remained friend with Théo for quite some time after Gaston took over, but then she became afraid of him like she had been of Gaston before.

Growing feathers back after a bad most in November 2023.

Enjoying some cherries at the beginning of july.

Not a pretty death. Good bye, Nougat. Thank you for staying with us all this time and for bearing up with all the changes we brought in the flock and in the chicken settings.

Spoiler

 

[Perris]

that's a lovely tribute to her. She will be remembered fondly.