Théo and the chickens des Sauches

ManueB · Feb 24, 2023

We had another grey day, but not even a light drizzle. It was warmer than yesterday. In the morning the chickens were all on their guard and Léa kept going inside the chicken netting to shelter under the laurel tree, which drove Gastounet crazy. There was a lot of rooster's challenge on both sides, Théo charging the netting, and Gastounet scratching right in front of Theo's face. I separated them twice.

Gastounet is really going for Théo's hens now, whereas Théo is still chasing Gaston's pullets away whenever they come near. At one point Chipie came outside when Gaston was on the other side of the garden, staying close to the net. He charged her tail feathers spread out from all the way out there, and he was so fast she barely had time to cross the netting back inside

. I think she won't try that again for a while.

None of the ex-batts laid but the three pullets did. I had a close look at Blanche and she is definitely growing back a lot of feather shafts underneath, so hopefully when the molting process is over she will get better. Meanwhile, Merle is now totally naked underneath, from her crop to her back

. I'm expecting the broody circus any day now..but at least her new nest makes her a lot more easy to reach!

Grochatila's tail is looking terrible and I guess it's probably not a wound but a parasite, or maybe ringworm. Something nice that is contagious to humans and hard to get rid off. I've been successful disinfecting when he's asleep because he doesn't wake up, but it's not helping, so I really hope the snow lets us drive to the vet clinic on monday, we couldn't get an appointment earlier.

First almond tree flower yesterday.

Flowering quince also just beginning.

Perris · Feb 24, 2023

ManueB said:
Grochatila's tail is looking terrible and I guess it's probably not a wound but a parasite, or maybe ringworm.

Poor Tila. Good luck with the vet trip.

ManueB said:
First almond tree flower yesterday.

That tree is a masterclass in pruning!
Does it normally flower this early?

RoyalChick · Feb 24, 2023

ManueB said:
We had another grey day, but not even a light drizzle. It was warmer than yesterday. In the morning the chickens were all on their guard and Léa kept going inside the chicken netting to shelter under the laurel tree, which drove Gastounet crazy. There was a lot of rooster's challenge on both sides, Théo charging the netting, and Gastounet scratching right in front of Theo's face. I separated them twice.

Gastounet is really going for Théo's hens now, whereas Théo is still chasing Gaston's pullets away whenever they come near. At one point Chipie came outside when Gaston was on the other side of the garden, staying close to the net. He charged her tail feathers spread out from all the way out there, and he was so fast she barely had time to cross the netting back inside . I think she won't try that again for a while.

None of the ex-batts laid but the three pullets did. I had a close look at Blanche and she is definitely growing back a lot of feather shafts underneath, so hopefully when the molting process is over she will get better. Meanwhile, Merle is now totally naked underneath, from her crop to her back . I'm expecting the broody circus any day now..but at least her new nest makes her a lot more easy to reach!

Grochatila's tail is looking terrible and I guess it's probably not a wound but a parasite, or maybe ringworm. Something nice that is contagious to humans and hard to get rid off. I've been successful disinfecting when he's asleep because he doesn't wake up, but it's not helping, so I really hope the snow lets us drive to the vet clinic on monday, we couldn't get an appointment earlier.

View attachment 3414587 View attachment 3414588 View attachment 3414589
First almond tree flower yesterday.
View attachment 3414590 View attachment 3414591
Flowering quince also just beginning.
View attachment 3414592 View attachment 3414593 View attachment 3414594 View attachment 3414595 View attachment 3414596 View attachment 3414597 View attachment 3414598

Hoping for the best for Grochatila and the vet visit.
I just got back from my trip and one of my cats has some sort of wound or sore on her foot. I didn’t get to examine it closely yet. She is not behaving sick and it doesn’t seem to be bothering her too much but her toes were a bit caked together with maybe blood.
I will see if I can get to her to clean it up. She doesn’t really like her feet being touched.

ManueB · Feb 24, 2023

Perris said:
Poor Tila. Good luck with the vet trip.

That tree is a masterclass in pruning!
Does it normally flower this early?

They have for the last three years, in fact they were a week earlier last year.

RoyalChick said:
Hoping for the best for Grochatila and the vet visit.
I just got back from my trip and one of my cats has some sort of wound or sore on her foot. I didn’t get to examine it closely yet. She is not behaving sick and it doesn’t seem to be bothering her too much but her toes were a bit caked together with maybe blood.
I will see if I can get to her to clean it up. She doesn’t really like her feet being touched.

I hope it's nothing too bad. One of Grochatila's first wound was when one of his claw got torn out. It bled a lot for many days, and we didn't really manage to clean it, just put some betadine on it. Eventually it healed but the claw didn't grow back.

I wrap him in a towel when I'm on my own to keep him still. It works very well on him, but not at all on Hibou!

RoyalChick · Feb 24, 2023

ManueB said:
They have for the last three years, in fact they were a week earlier last year.

I hope it's nothing too bad. One of Grochatila's first wound was when one of his claw got torn out. It bled a lot for many days, and we didn't really manage to clean it, just put some betadine on it. Eventually it healed but the claw didn't grow back.

I wrap him in a towel when I'm on my own to keep him still. It works very well on him, but not at all on Hibou!

Yeah. The towel trick doesn’t work well with her. She is a diminutive cat but has big attitude. One of the vets at the practice I use for the cats won’t see her because she comes across so fierce!

My return has been welcomed by three of the cats (including the one with the bloody foot) and one is sulking.

The chickens however are on top form and are enjoying being out and about. They seem to have integrated even more in my absence, perhaps because they were confined to the Chicken Palace. They are still not roosting together but they are definitely foraging as a team - quite successfully if Bernie’s crop is anything to go by!
And at 3 days short of 11 months in age Bernie produced her first egg the very first day I was away. She seems to lay every other day. Hers are the dark brown ones.

ManueB · Feb 24, 2023

RoyalChick said:
Yeah. The towel trick doesn’t work well with her. She is a diminutive cat but has big attitude. One of the vets at the practice I use for the cats won’t see her because she comes across so fierce!

My return has been welcomed by three of the cats (including the one with the bloody foot) and one is sulking.

The chickens however are on top form and are enjoying being out and about. They seem to have integrated even more in my absence, perhaps because they were confined to the Chicken Palace. They are still not roosting together but they are definitely foraging as a team - quite successfully if Bernie’s crop is anything to go by!
And at 3 days short of 11 months in age Bernie produced her first egg the very first day I was away. She seems to lay every other day. Hers are the dark brown ones.

View attachment 3414705 View attachment 3414706 View attachment 3414709

Lovely to come back home to this!
I don't know if they were chosen in this intent but Babs and Elie really complement Bernie very well, both in colour and temper. They make a lovely bouquet

.

ManueB · Feb 25, 2023

Another grey day without rain. Tomorrow we should get rain and snow

. I thought the ex-batts would lay early, as none had laid yesterday, but it did not happen like that. Blanche and Cannelle went in the same nest an hour after opening the coop but only Cannelle laid, and Nougat laid a strange egg like she has been doing every two or three eggs. Worrying, but I guess it's to be expected

. The three younger pullets laid throughout the morning.

No rooster fights today, but they did spend a lot of time challenging each other. It's really funny to see Piou-piou trying to drag Gaston away from Théo making her insistent calls- I can just hear her say "come on darling just leave it it's not worth a fight let's go away right now!!!".

In the afternoon I took the ex-batts to the field down and they found the human poop pile

. I took them away as I'm not sure it's safe for them and they were going to jump right in. I will have to secure it with some fencing before leaving them on their own in that field.
Chipie tried again playing boss with Cannelle who ignored her completely for a minute. Chipie wouldn't have it and when she finally got Cannelle's attention, she actually picked a fight ! Cannelle just gave her a good peck on the back, raised her hackles, and walked away

.