Théo and the chickens des Sauches

[ManueB]

So glad Blanche hasn’t given up yet.
It is looking reasonably green despite the drought.

Yep, I've said it countless times but I'm amazed at how my ex-batts deal with their health issue. We may have damaged them physically, but their will to live is really impressive. They are very tough mentally and they fully live in the present moment.
How is little Eli ?
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I didn't spend much time with the chickens today. I went running this morning and got bitten in my (fat but not fluffy) butt by one of the village's dog . Not the first time it happens but this is a great Pyrenees and he pinched several bleeding holes through the skin so I'm in for a tetanos shot.

We're having a very grey day but once again without the forecasted rain. Léa is definitely broody, we let her on the nest during the day and carried her back to the coop in the evening. My partner suggested I should take the ex-batts to an other terrace they don't know, just behind their yard, and they were overjoyed. I think it feels more safe than going to the field under because they don't have to make a steep climb back up in case of an emergency. And because the grass has been cut longer, there is more life there.

Tomorrow we're going to town for our monthly food haul and to see my parents. We'll have to lock the chickens up for most of the day.

 

[RoyalChick]

Thanks for asking. Eli is having a good day. She laid yesterday and it was a 57g egg (2oz). That is still a large egg for such a small girl but is an improvement on the previous two which were 64g (2.25oz) and 85g (3oz).
She is not straining today and hasn't spent the morning in the nest box.
I am cautiously optimistic for now - but am also researching the implant that can prevent ovulation.
Maybe she will settle down with her egg laying on her own so I am a bit torn on what to do.

 

[Perris]

I went running this morning and got bitten in my (fat but not fluffy) butt by one of the village's dog . Not the first time it happens but this is a great Pyrenees and he pinched several bleeding holes through the skin so I'm in for a tetanos shot.

Poor you! Does the dog owner know? care?

 

[RoyalChick]

Poor you! Does the dog owner know? care?

Ouch! I missed that part of your post.
Here we would also get a post exposure rabies shot - should you get one of those too?

 

[ManueB]

Thanks for asking. Eli is having a good day. She laid yesterday and it was a 57g egg (2oz). That is still a large egg for such a small girl but is an improvement on the previous two which were 64g (2.25oz) and 85g (3oz).
She is not straining today and hasn't spent the morning in the nest box.
I am cautiously optimistic for now - but am also researching the implant that can prevent ovulation.
Maybe she will settle down with her egg laying on her own so I am a bit torn on what to do.

I don't think deslorin poses health issues but it impacts hormones. It induces molt and cranky mood. It can be a temporary choice, some people give it when their hens life is threatened by laying and then they stop after a while to see if things can come back to normal.
I think it's not FDA approved though so it may be difficult to find a vet that will do it not too far away from you. Here it's also a problem, though the clinic we took Caramel to does the implant. And depending on the chicken it can last anywhere between three months and six so if you have to renew it every three months it turns quite costly.

Poor you! Does the dog owner know? care?

Ouch! I missed that part of your post.
Here we would also get a post exposure rabies shot - should you get one of those too?

Yes, the owner came out of the house when he heard me screaming at Gus, the dog. He and his wife were very upset, sorry and completely overwhelmed I think. They didn't even tell the dog off (though not being a dog person I'm not sure how one should react, and I think I prefer that to those people in the village that will kick their dog hard).
We have told them several times their dog was threatening and they wouldn't believe it, and though it didn't hurt me it's too big a dog to be taken lightly.

The legal procedure would be to have the dog checked by a vet now, and in ten days and 20 days again, and have a rabies shot. But I think I'm not taking a big risk not doing it. Tetanos is much more prevalent here, not sure if it's different in other countries.

 

[Perris]

We have told them several times their dog was threatening and they wouldn't believe it

we are all prone to view our own animals - and children! - through rosy-tinted glasses I think. Anyway, now they definitely know he's a threat, hopefully they'll take some action to tame it.

 

[ManueB]

we are all prone to view our own animals - and children! - through rosy-tinted glasses I think. Anyway, now they definitely know he's a threat, hopefully they'll take some action to tame it.

Once again I'm not a dog person and know nearly nothing about their psychology, but I suppose it may be difficult to educate a behaviour that only happen when the owners are absent. As soon as the owner came out of the house, the dog acted like it was ashamed it had done something wrong. My neighbor's dogs are also very well educated when she is around but they bark at us like mad when they are alone!
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Our poor chickens were locked up today from early morning until we came home at three and they were extremely unhappy about it.
Cannelle made an awful wheezing sound at every breath she took when we came back and until night. We checked her throat in case she had something stuck, but it wasn't the case. I think it may be because she screamed so much while we were gone.
Léa was still broody and ran to the barn as soon as we opened the coop. Nougat also had a hoarse voice from screaming.
The others were doing all right and made the most of the two hours and a half left before roosting.
We found eggs from Merle, Piou-piou, Blanche and Nougat.

I feel pretty bad for locking them up all day and we're thinking maybe we can do things differently. If my partner goes to pick our food haul on a different day that I go to visit my parents we wouldn't have to lock them up for so long.

 

[MaryJanet]

If my partner goes to pick our food haul on a different day that I go to visit my parents we wouldn't have to lock them up for so long.

I go through similar thinking. How can I get home before x o'clock to let the chickens out? Or, will the chickens be safe if I leave them out all day? Or, a surge of joyfulness when I can be home all day because the chickens will be just fine.

Surely the new coop you're building will help in future? At least they won't be as crowded.

 

[BDutch]

Yep, I've said it countless times but I'm amazed at how my ex-batts deal with their health issue. We may have damaged them physically, but their will to live is really impressive. They are very tough mentally and they fully live in the present moment.
How is little Eli ?
*******
I didn't spend much time with the chickens today. I went running this morning and got bitten in my (fat but not fluffy) butt by one of the village's dog . Not the first time it happens but this is a great Pyrenees and he pinched several bleeding holes through the skin so I'm in for a tetanos shot.

We're having a very grey day but once again without the forecasted rain. Léa is definitely broody, we let her on the nest during the day and carried her back to the coop in the evening. My partner suggested I should take the ex-batts to an other terrace they don't know, just behind their yard, and they were overjoyed. I think it feels more safe than going to the field under because they don't have to make a steep climb back up in case of an emergency. And because the grass has been cut longer, there is more life there.

Tomorrow we're going to town for our monthly food haul and to see my parents. We'll have to lock the chickens up for most of the day.
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Hope you don’t suffer from the dog bite. Be cautious for infection. Dog bites are not without risk. The tetanus inhection is definitely a sensible one.

Are you buying eggs for Lea from the neighbour with the nice rooster and hens you’ve been wondering about?

 

[ManueB]

I go through similar thinking. How can I get home before x o'clock to let the chickens out? Or, will the chickens be safe if I leave them out all day? Or, a surge of joyfulness when I can be home all day because the chickens will be just fine.

I think I would probably be too worried having chickens with a full time job.
But, I think that my chickens react like this because they are not used at all to being confined. I used to lock them up more often when I ran every day and they didn't like it, but not to the point of screaming for hours. I'm sure yours get a sense of habit if your work schedule is regular, and they seem pretty good at adapting!

Surely the new coop you're building will help in future? At least they won't be as crowded.

Yes, I think it will help. When we lock them up now, Gaston's team is in the coop and they do fine - they like being allowed for once to stay in the coop during the day, and they have almost 18m2 (199sq feet). It's the ex-batts in the run who suffer. The run is only 12m2 (130) as in 6x2(20x6) , it does feel crowded, and they hate being next to Gaston's team without being able to go inside the coop themselves.
When we will confine Gaston's team in the wood shed they will be in completely different spaces.

Hope you don’t suffer from the dog bite. Be cautious for infection. Dog bites are not without risk. The tetanus inhection is definitely a sensible one.

Well, it never looked that ugly, but it is the 5th time I've been bitten since we moved here so I suppose getting vaccinated will not be useless.

Are you buying eggs for Lea from the neighbour with the nice rooster and hens you’ve been wondering about?

No, it's too early. I want the woodshed to be completed and predator proof, even if we haven't finished the second coop, so we can put the chicks there.
************
Today was a strange raptor day. We can't explain why but not only did the three golden eagles fly above us all day but there was also a trio of Circaetus Gallicus /short-toed snake eagles that kept zooming across during the whole day. We used to see a couple, so I wonder if they have reproduced, like the golden eagles ? It was a very curious behaviour. The chickens were pretty smart about it because they understood after a while that the birds were there to stay, and they did their thing with each team's rooster staying alert and on watch at all time.

I wasn't there in the morning but my partner told me that Gaston's team had spent almost all morning inside the netting with Théo and the ex-batts. He said that Cannelle and Piou-piou got into a fight at one point but Piou-piou had to back down quickly . She may want to rule the world like Chipie but she is still a runt. Cannelle's breathing is back to normal, she still has a bit of a hoarse voice and so does Nougat.

Léa sat all day. Unfortunately I saw a round worm in her poop when I took her out to eat. I'm pretty upset because I treated the chickens with Flubendazole less than 6 months ago for tape worm during a week at a much stronger dose than for roundworms, and I'm afraid to use the same dewormer again so soon and risk resistance. My cats have the same problem. They also have cat's ascaris even though they have been treated with praziquantel only three months ago. I'm not sure what to do. I try to pick up poops very regularly but obviously it doesn't work. It probably doesn't help that they both eat mice regularly.

Only Blanche and Piou-piou laid today and Piou-piou went in the coop to lay, I think she doesn't want to go back to her usual nest in the barn when there is a puffed up screaming broody sitting there!

This morning I ran/hiked for the first time this year to our local summit, Mount Saint Honorat (2500m/ 8200ft). There is so little snow that any water we can get must come from the sky now .