Théo and the chickens des Sauches

[Perris]

stunning photos, as always! Some of them positively glow in the sunshine.

I admit we were both completely surprised by the price increase

It's quite shocking; I think there's quite a lot of opportunistic increasing of prices, on the grounds that everyone's doing it and it won't be noticed among the general uplift. My car insurer offered me a renewal at 53% higher premium - when absolutely nothing has changed except I and the car are 1 year older! It's a rip off. I changed insurers and got cover for a little more than last year.

 

[MaryJanet]

Personalised pricing is kicking in too. If an online vendor knows you're planning a camping trip, they will charge you more for camping equipment or show it on screen as "50% off!"with a timer counting down until the end of the entirely fake sale.

One trick is to clear your browser's cookies, restart the modem (to get a new IP address) then look at prices.

 

[Perris]

Personalised pricing is kicking in too. If an online vendor knows you're planning a camping trip, they will charge you more for camping equipment or show it on screen as "50% off!"with a timer counting down until the end of the entirely fake sale.

One trick is to clear your browser's cookies, restart the modem (to get a new IP address) then look at prices.

I'm sure that's true, and I do clear cookies every time I exit the browser, but the insurance was sent on paper a month before the old one expired, and I didn't look for alternatives online until after I saw what they were offering to renew.

 

[RoyalChick]

In a small counter example I bought new underwear. I had not bought underwear in about 4 years and they were falling apart. Last month I bought the exact same ones from the same place and was astonished to find they were the exact same price. I know because I had the bag that the last lot came in. I was expecting at least a 50% increase in price.
But don't get me started on the price of cat food which seems to go up while I am looking for it!

 

[ManueB]

I suppose price increase will hit every one of us, one way or the other! I've also had surprises from my insurance company for our flats, and I've changed twice in three years. And, I also wait until my underwear or any kind of clothing are really falling apart to replace ! Another advantage of isolation, no one looks strangely at the patched up holes in my shirts/pants/socks . I've begun switching when I buy new to fair trade and european made when possible, so the price is usually four to five times what I was paying for the same made in Bangladesh.
Strangely however I get the cat food for cheaper now than when I first started buying it two years ago, even though i get an english brand, Applaws. I buy online in bulk whenever the prices are the lowest.
But, on the whole we have or can afford everything we need, and I'm very grateful for our personal situation through those strange times. It worries me to think that things could get hard for many in the years to come.
*************
It was a bit cold this morning (-4c/ 25f) but when the sun finally came out we had a beautiful day again. It's supposed to turn to snow and colder temperatures Thursday though and it feels good to finally be back to "normal" weather.

I don't have much to say today, apart that it was a lovely day again for the chicken, and only Merle, Piou-piou and Blanche laid.
I'll mention two things I've noticed in the last ten days. First, I found out the explanation to Gastounet's strange black dots on his comb and wattles- simply dry blood. I saw three times now that he actually bleeds a lot really easily from his comb, and when it dries it doesn't look like it does on the other chickens, but it leaves a myriad of black small dots. So that's a relief.
And the second thing, is that Theo's legs are slightly less worse now, and my guess is that it was the molt that was making them so irritated and itchy- new small feathers shaft trying unsuccessfully to grow.

Frosty morning

Cocorico contest- the best part of having two roosters!

 

[MaryJanet]

I've begun switching when I buy new to fair trade and european made when possible, so the price is usually four to five times what I was paying for the same made in Bangladesh.

I aim to buy ethical clothes too but then I worry about the people in Bangladesh now that the market for their clothes is not as strong. I imagine many women have lost their jobs. I need to find a way to support such women. I'll try Plan International.

 

[MaryJanet]

Strangely however I get the cat food for cheaper now than when I first started buying it two years ago, even though i get an english brand, Applaws. I buy online in bulk whenever the prices are the lowest.

I'm paying much more for cat food. Mainly because Blossom can't digest the cheap products from the supermarket, so I have to purchase the expensive products from the internet. I'll try buying in bulk and see if its a possibility. I could keep the extras in the cellar!

 

[Perris]

Glad to hear that Gaston's alright and you're no longer anxious about his comb. He looks like he's in rude health.

Seeing your anti-raptor wires have reminded me to tell you that we had a red tailed kite swoop through just a few feet off the ground this evening as the flock were gathering for bed. S/he came through the gap between borders at an oblique angle (it couldn't possibly have fit through the gap without so doing), swept between the trunk of the cherry tree into which Amadeo and Ystrad like to fly and that of the next tree, wing tip almost touching the ground, and disappeared round the end of the border flying perpendicular to and still just above the ground. Everyone dashed for cover in different directions, and I saw it left empty-taloned. Gave us all quite a scare though. I didn't think raptors would come that close when I was actually standing there with the birds!

 

[ManueB]

I'm paying much more for cat food. Mainly because Blossom can't digest the cheap products from the supermarket, so I have to purchase the expensive products from the internet. I'll try buying in bulk and see if its a possibility. I could keep the extras in the cellar!

I buy 30 kg /66 lbs at a time and that last a bit less than a year for the two cats. I store the 7.5 kg bags under a spare bed.

I didn't think raptors would come that close when I was actually standing there with the birds!

I have been surprised like this three times, and have read it a number of times on BYC. Clearly our presence is not enough to deter them! Now I scream, make arm circles and ring a very shrill bell when I see a raptor above.
****************
I had two causes of worry today. First, Merle acted off throughout the whole day. Not like she will die tomorrow, but definitely not her usual active self. She was eating and drinking normally but had moments when she stood hunched with eyes closed, looking to be unwell, and she was definitely much less mobile than usual. I couldn't see anything obvious on her, her crop was maybe a bit full, but her poop was normal, and no specific symptoms. If she is still like this tomorrow I will examine her more closely, I didn't check her for parasites or listen to her breathing.

And the second thing that went wrong is that Théo decided he was over with the symbolic frontier played by the chicken netting, and he now chases Gaston across whenever Gastounet comes a bit near. I got him off Gaston and back inside the netting three times and twice he went back on his own. I'm wondering if this isn't a consequence of having moved his roost- I'm pretty sure in his mind Gaston and his hens have stolen his roosting place!
But also I've noticed the ex-batts are getting more curious about Gaston and obviously this must really irritate him.

Brune didn't lay today again, though she spent time in the nest box. We are hoping she is just going to take a break, like Cannelle did.

Staring at the guy cutting the grass below

Merle looking sick with her eyes closed

But she also went digging and scratching a little bit

Wing flapping

I went running this morning and there is still a bit of snow 500 meters above us. If it snows again tomorrow like forecasted, maybe it can last. I saw a lot of prints - hares, fox, deers, boars, wolf, and my partner's who went on the same trail yesterday. I love running in the snow and as a bonus hunting is not allowed in it so it feels a lot safer.

 

[ManueB]

It was supposed to rain or snow today, but we had a beautiful morning and the sky turned grey after two, but no rain. Temperatures in the morning stay around -3, -4c. I didn't spend too much time with the chickens today as I've got some kind of bug. I did see that Merle still looked tired and unlike yesterday she didn't eat much layer feed- normally she loves it so it's definitely a sign something's not right. I checked her but could find nothing on her, no visible parasites. She still poops normally. It may be laying doesn't go well, I don't know really.

Léa had already laid when I opened the coop and Blanche tried for quite a while to lay in the same nest, but with no success. Only Cannelle laid from the ex-batts, and Piou-piou also took a very long time to lay. But they all looked in good health apart from Merle.

There was another hawk landing this afternoon while I was taking a nap. My partner scared it away and we checked on every chickens. They were all under the laurel tree apart from Piou-piou hidden in the Jerusalem artichokes, Gaston screaming alarm in between the new and old house, and Théo...hiding under a pile of hay in the coop. What a brave rooster.

After that the chickens stayed under cover, and Gaston was very upset that his hens stayed under the laurel tree inside the chickens nettings. He kept coming near the netting and calling them, and then getting charged by Théo .
They went to bed early and I let my partner stay with them while they went to roost and lock the coop for the night.