Théo and the chickens des Sauches

[ManueB]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this Manue. I share your views, however while I don't choose this type of hen for myself any more, I don't turn them away when they need a home (Sandy, Joyce, and Christa - all three found a home at my place and all three have been out-lived by Mary who came here before they did).

It would be nice if more people like you considered giving those production breeds chickens in need a home. I didn't read your thread while Sandy was alive but I think Joyce and Christa were very lucky you took them in. People who can give them health checks and health care and realise that chickens need tending to.

It reminds me of what I see in our education system. Children with issues, in difficult schools, most often get taught by young teachers the first years after they begin teaching , when it should be just the opposite - they should be in the most experienced teacher's hands. Production breeds in most cases are not a good choice for beginners and yet most often that's what they get, because they are told to. I'm sure many people getting their first chickens would prefer having chickens that laid less, lived longer and were easier to keep.

Great reflection. I enjoyed reading it.

The videos and pictures are adorable. Chickens are just so lovely. The production birds, may look plain and dull in a way, but I always thought they look super cute.

So do I, and most of our visitors who saw our ex-batts in their first two years commented on this too. They often said they looked sweet, chubby, funny, like pets.

I regret getting production birds because I did not know anything about chickens when I ordered chicks in a store. I would like to take this opportunity to talk a little bit about them.

-- Four ex-batts looking hens (called Golden buffs). I guess I am lucky only one (Ginger) has left us. The three living ones are 3 years and 5 months old now. Ginger was rehomed and died in her new home when she was about 2 years old. Ginger was the smartest chicken I have seen and she left us too soon. My husband thinks it is possible that she may still be with us if she stayed here.

So maybe there is a difference if raised from day old chicks?
-- Two Rhode Island Red. Neither of them are with us. Tina died at 2y3m and Wendy died at 3y3m. Even as production birds, they were supposedly not as egg-productive as the golden buffs and were expected to live longer.

-- Two Rhode Island Blues. One turned out to be a rooster and forced to be rehomed. The other, Inky, is the most feral chicken we have and guaranteed to be broody multiple times a year. I suspect she is something orpington and got mixed up in the order.

We also have two barnyard mix that are doing well so far. They are both 2y3m old.

Edit to add: The last egg we got from "ex-batts" is from Light this May. But then she had egg problem and is now on implant. Only Inky and the 2 younger ones are laying.

I always enjoy seeing your chickens and reading about them because I thought of your flock as a sort of "mirror" to mine but younger. I hope with the care you give them the buffs will enjoy a few more years with you, especially Light for your husband ! I'm glad she's doing good on the implant.

I think there are better and worse strains than others within production breeds, just as is the case for heritage breeds. Maybe the two RIR were more fragile from the start.
It's nice that Inky is a bit different. Having broodies at home is an interesting part of chicken keeping, that doesn't happen often with production breed. Has she been well accepted from the start ?
*******
As I was typing yesterday's post we had the worse storm I've ever seen here in terms of rain and hail intensity. 80 ml in an hour. Very quickly we had a small river running down in front of our house draining along gravel and small rocks, gutters overflowing, leaks through all our doors, and ponds forming everywhere. We've been careless since it hadn't rained for real for three months and nothing was forecasted, we didn't dig our usual ditches to drain some of the water away from it's main path and we hadn't cleaned the gutters. The chickens went by themselves in the coop, they were afraid of the thunder and the fearful noise the hail made on the run's roof. Théo and Piou-piou we locked in the woodshed.
Then I realised one chicken was missing -Annette. I mentioned before she has found a way out the yard : she forces through the lower fence to reach the field below, but it's very difficult for her to come back in up by the same way. So I went looking for her in the field below and around the yard, under all the trees I could think of, and didn't find her. I was drenched. I went a second time and searched more thoroughly, went around the house, and then the hail started to be so strong I had to go inside because I was getting hurt.

At that stage I was very worried for her. I was afraid she would get hit by a big piece of hail, or would drown in all the ponds that were forming everywhere underneath trees. But we were getting water everywhere in the house and it was a mess to get things under control, power was out, so I decided to wait until the hail calmed down a bit. As soon as it did we both went outside to look for her, and I found her in a place I had walked by twice. She had come up around the house and taken shelter against the wall under our stack of very old rusty corrugated sheets. It was a very good place to shelter because she was slightly raised from the ground, whereas underneath most of the trees there was so much water that she couldn't have stayed. She was soaked but not hurt or shocked at all and she followed me back to the coop and ate a bit.

I was very relieved. She showed once again that she is clever at ranging. None of my other chickens have understood how to come back to the coop when they are underneath the yard by going way up around our house, and she chose one of the safest place to shelter even though she had never used it as a shelter before.

Annette. I doubled the fence today so she won't be able to get out while we have those storms. In about six weeks most of the garden will be done and we can probably let them free range again.

This is where she was sheltered yesterday.

My partner cleaned some very infested hives frames today and the chickens enjoyed a feast of wax moths.

Laure began the implant molt two days ago. She is loosing tons of feathers. She doesn't eat much and has diarrhea but she is still very energetic. No egg or trying to lay since she had the implant.

Who isn't quite in the right place ?...

Chipie the tiny broody of course ! I lock the coop to block the broodies from the nests and she gets creative trying to get in ...

Merle is showing signs of thinking of coming out of it. It's been a month now.

Lulu looks so much better now she isn't broody anymore. She hasn't started laying yet and I hope she puts some weight back on before.

Inspecting the day's veggies before throwing them all out of the basket .

 

[BDutch]

I'm sure many people getting their first chickens would prefer having chickens that laid less, lived longer and were easier to keep.

This counts for many more experienced or well read chicken keepers too.

I understand that these production hybrids are often very sweet ladies and it makes people who buy ex-bats feel better to help the abused hens a better senior life. It’s just not what I ever plan to do.

Personally I don’t want to contribute in maintaining the existence of these high production hybrids in any way. Just like I don’t like extreme breeding programs for better looking chickens or new unnatural looking breeds either.

IMHO it’s better not to support the farmers who hatch high production hybrids. Nor to pay the farmers who dump the abused ladies. I would like it if commercial factory farming how its done today could be stopped.

I knew a little about the high production breeds and whats behind it because I had an uncle who had a commercial hatchery for high production hens. My mother got a dozen male chicks for free every now and then for the freezer. And she bought a sixpack new pullets from him every 2-3 years.

Because my goal was never to have such hen who reminded me of factory farming and having just a reasonable large city with a small coop that used to belong to 2 rabbits, I went for 4 tiny chickens instead. Never regretted the choice of buying bantams who are never high production breeds.

 

[BDutch]

As I was typing yesterday's post we had the worse storm I've ever seen here in terms of rain and hail intensity. 80 ml in an hour. Very quickly we had a small river running down in front of our house draining along gravel and small rocks, gutters overflowing, leaks through all our doors, and ponds forming everywhere. We've been careless since it hadn't rained for real for three months and nothing was forecasted, we didn't dig our usual ditches to drain some of the water away from it's main path and we hadn't cleaned the gutters.

No damages?
Everything okay now?

 

[Perris]

She had come up around the house and taken shelter against the wall under our stack of very old rusty corrugated sheets.

dry, but that must have been a noisy place to shelter! The storm sounds torrential; nothing swept down the mountain I hope. At least the plants in the photos look to have withstood it OK. Some crops here have been really set back by the cool wet weather this year - but others have loved it of course! Another reminder to diversify and spread the risk.

 

[lightm]

I always enjoy seeing your chickens and reading about them because I thought of your flock as a sort of "mirror" to mine but younger. I hope with the care you give them the buffs will enjoy a few more years with you, especially Light for your husband ! I'm glad she's doing good on the implant.

I think there are better and worse strains than others within production breeds, just as is the case for heritage breeds. Maybe the two RIR were more fragile from the start.
It's nice that Inky is a bit different. Having broodies at home is an interesting part of chicken keeping, that doesn't happen often with production breed. Has she been well accepted from the start ?

Thank you.
Inky has always been skittish, don't want to be bothered by humans, from the day we had her. She appears to be well accepted by the flock. But we did have the event that she got gang bullied when she had a very hard molt. She was injured from being pecked. This is why we rehomed Ginger, who was the head.

Sigh. This wouldn't have been a problem if they free ranged.

I was very relieved. She showed once again that she is clever at ranging. None of my other chickens have understood how to come back to the coop when they are underneath the yard by going way up around our house, and she chose one of the safest place to shelter even though she had never used it as a shelter before.

Good Annette!

 

[RoyalChick]

It would be nice if more people like you considered giving those production breeds chickens in need a home. I didn't read your thread while Sandy was alive but I think Joyce and Christa were very lucky you took them in. People who can give them health checks and health care and realise that chickens need tending to.

It reminds me of what I see in our education system. Children with issues, in difficult schools, most often get taught by young teachers the first years after they begin teaching , when it should be just the opposite - they should be in the most experienced teacher's hands. Production breeds in most cases are not a good choice for beginners and yet most often that's what they get, because they are told to. I'm sure many people getting their first chickens would prefer having chickens that laid less, lived longer and were easier to keep.

So do I, and most of our visitors who saw our ex-batts in their first two years commented on this too. They often said they looked sweet, chubby, funny, like pets.

I always enjoy seeing your chickens and reading about them because I thought of your flock as a sort of "mirror" to mine but younger. I hope with the care you give them the buffs will enjoy a few more years with you, especially Light for your husband ! I'm glad she's doing good on the implant.

I think there are better and worse strains than others within production breeds, just as is the case for heritage breeds. Maybe the two RIR were more fragile from the start.
It's nice that Inky is a bit different. Having broodies at home is an interesting part of chicken keeping, that doesn't happen often with production breed. Has she been well accepted from the start ?
*******
As I was typing yesterday's post we had the worse storm I've ever seen here in terms of rain and hail intensity. 80 ml in an hour. Very quickly we had a small river running down in front of our house draining along gravel and small rocks, gutters overflowing, leaks through all our doors, and ponds forming everywhere. We've been careless since it hadn't rained for real for three months and nothing was forecasted, we didn't dig our usual ditches to drain some of the water away from it's main path and we hadn't cleaned the gutters. The chickens went by themselves in the coop, they were afraid of the thunder and the fearful noise the hail made on the run's roof. Théo and Piou-piou we locked in the woodshed.
Then I realised one chicken was missing -Annette. I mentioned before she has found a way out the yard : she forces through the lower fence to reach the field below, but it's very difficult for her to come back in up by the same way. So I went looking for her in the field below and around the yard, under all the trees I could think of, and didn't find her. I was drenched. I went a second time and searched more thoroughly, went around the house, and then the hail started to be so strong I had to go inside because I was getting hurt.

At that stage I was very worried for her. I was afraid she would get hit by a big piece of hail, or would drown in all the ponds that were forming everywhere underneath trees. But we were getting water everywhere in the house and it was a mess to get things under control, power was out, so I decided to wait until the hail calmed down a bit. As soon as it did we both went outside to look for her, and I found her in a place I had walked by twice. She had come up around the house and taken shelter against the wall under our stack of very old rusty corrugated sheets. It was a very good place to shelter because she was slightly raised from the ground, whereas underneath most of the trees there was so much water that she couldn't have stayed. She was soaked but not hurt or shocked at all and she followed me back to the coop and ate a bit.

I was very relieved. She showed once again that she is clever at ranging. None of my other chickens have understood how to come back to the coop when they are underneath the yard by going way up around our house, and she chose one of the safest place to shelter even though she had never used it as a shelter before.

Annette. I doubled the fence today so she won't be able to get out while we have those storms. In about six weeks most of the garden will be done and we can probably let them free range again.
View attachment 3930080
This is where she was sheltered yesterday.
View attachment 3930078
My partner cleaned some very infested hives frames today and the chickens enjoyed a feast of wax moths.
View attachment 3930077View attachment 3930079Laure began the implant molt two days ago. She is loosing tons of feathers. She doesn't eat much and has diarrhea but she is still very energetic. No egg or trying to lay since she had the implant.View attachment 3930081
Who isn't quite in the right place ?...
View attachment 3930082
Chipie the tiny broody of course ! I lock the coop to block the broodies from the nests and she gets creative trying to get in ...
View attachment 3930083
Merle is showing signs of thinking of coming out of it. It's been a month now.
View attachment 3930085Lulu looks so much better now she isn't broody anymore. She hasn't started laying yet and I hope she puts some weight back on before.View attachment 3930086
Inspecting the day's veggies before throwing them all out of the basket .
View attachment 3930087View attachment 3930088View attachment 3930089

Clever Annette!
Calypso showed she was very clever at hiding after the hawk attack and that has always made me feel a bit better about her chances of survival.

 

[ManueB]

No damages?
Everything okay now?

Surprisingly little damage. Because all the village is on a very steep slope, there is no risk of flood, rather of land slide, but there was only the small usual ones. I think it's because the ground was so dry the water just went pouring down.

dry, but that must have been a noisy place to shelter! The storm sounds torrential; nothing swept down the mountain I hope. At least the plants in the photos look to have withstood it OK. Some crops here have been really set back by the cool wet weather this year - but others have loved it of course! Another reminder to diversify and spread the risk.

We did have a lot of damage on the garden. We cover only a few parts with netting on a permanent basis, and usually we cover the rest with hay or crates when there is a warning for a storm. Most of what was not protected suffered. The big leaves got destroyed but managed to protect all the zucchinis and squashes, but we don't have any green beans left... which makes my partner happy as he doesn't like them .
It's interesting about gardening that every year is different ; no crop can be taken for granted, but then we always have pleasant surprises too !
******
I apologise that I've been having some difficulties being consistent on the thread. Some days seem very busy, and some days I feel like I don't want to talk about chickens at all.

This morning I had a lot of spare time as I did a stupid mistake with the bees, and was locked inside the house. We took their honey a few days ago and I went very early to put the empty frames for them to finish what's left of their honey, far above the hives. I thought it would be far enough that they wouldn't come to the house, as leaving honey out always really excites them, but they probably smelled what was left in front of the entrance and all the bee stuff that's stored next to the coop, because I've been swarmed with thousands of crazy excited bees all around the house for a few hours. I barely managed to get out pick my bee suit and put it on so I could at least go feed the chickens. Then I had to go collect a package from the mailman wearing the suit, and I wasn't very coherent explaining what was going on, so I'm sure he'll wait till my partner's home to bring the next packages . It didn't seem to worry the chickens a bit to be surrounded by thousand of bees flying all over their place !

Yesterday we had a small storm, very different from Monday, just a bit of thunder and 20 ml of good regular rain. The chickens had all gone to roost and I was staying in the coop making sure the roosters didn't pick a fight. My partner went under the rain to check on all the places where we need to make sure the water is going down. He discovered just outside the chicken yard, trying desperately to cross a gate back in and completely soaked...Lulu ! I hadn't realised she was missing, because she hadn't managed coming out of the yard for months, and during all the time she was broody she was always first in the coop, so I didn't think to make sure she was there.
Unlike Annette she didn't know how to find her way back and she didn't shelter, she was just trying to cross through where it's impossible. It's lucky my partner found her. I would have locked the coop without realising she was missing and she would probably not have thought of hiding for the night . Poor thing didn't even want to eat, she went directly to bed after preening a bit. I checked on her two hours later when I came to take the broodies out of their nests and she was dry already.

I've talked to the vets about Kara. I'm hesitant to try draining her at home. As I supposed, the vets want to do an ultrasound scan again before attempting anything, because they want to know the cause of the swelling, and they dont think draining her at home is a good idea. I'm not sure yet if we'll take her or not. I feel that she likely has cancer so I don't think they will have a cure...but I could be wrong, or they could make her more confortable. I wouldn't hesitate if the drive wasn't so long... and if I could drive.

What's dis ? Chipie has very specific fussy food tastes and she has found a new passion.

As of yesterday Laure's tail is gone.

Lulu didn't seem too upset at us for forgetting her yesterday night. She was a sorry thing when she went to bed though !

Kara.

 

[BDutch]

I apologise that I've been having some difficulties being consistent on the thread. Some days seem very busy, and some days I feel like I don't want to talk about chickens at all.

You don’t need to apologise at all. I like your thread, but it’s not a must have in any way. Please do as you please.

20 ml of good regular rain.

Nice, we could use a some rain like that here too.

I've talked to the vets about Kara. I'm hesitant to try draining her at home. As I supposed, the vets want to do an ultrasound scan again before attempting anything, because they want to know the cause of the swelling, and they dont think draining her at home is a good idea. I'm not sure yet if we'll take her or not. I feel that she likely has cancer so I don't think they will have a cure...but I could be wrong, or they could make her more confortable. I wouldn't hesitate if the drive wasn't so long... and if I could drive.

Its your choice of course. I only know I wouldn’t take my chickens to a vet if I had any doubts about the cure. And here in my town is a vet at les than 1 km distance.

People wait for their turn in a room with dogs, cats and whatever else needs help. I think it would give my chickens a heart attack if they see a dog and can’t flee.

I admit I am lucky with my bantams/Dutch who rarely got sick. That makes it probably a lot easier to live by the motto: ‘Live and let die’.

 

[RoyalChick]

You don’t need to apologise at all. I like your thread, but it’s not a must have in any way. Please do as you please.


Nice, we could use a some rain like that here too.


Its your choice of course. I only know I wouldn’t take my chickens to a vet if I had any doubts about the cure. And here in my town is a vet at les than 1 km distance.

People wait for their turn in a room with dogs, cats and whatever else needs help. I think it would give my chickens a heart attack if they see a dog and can’t flee.

I admit I am lucky with my bantams/Dutch who rarely got sick. That makes it probably a lot easier to live by the motto: ‘Live and let die’.

Even with my cats the vet lets me wait outside in the car so they don't get worried about the noisy dogs. They call me on my mobile when I can go straight in to the exam room.

 

[MaryJanet]

The new vet I go to only treats exotic pets, so there are never any cats or dogs waiting. But it was a worry at the previous vet clinic.