Théo and the chickens des Sauches

[MaryJanet]

Théo...hiding under a pile of hay in the coop.

Well, he kept himself alive at least.

Last night I had dinner with friends who told me about the time a fox raided their flock and their rooster (Ragnar) hid in a tree for two days during a heatwave. When he finally came out of the tree, he was exhausted and almost in heat stroke. But he sat on their back doormat and they gave him water and he lived to fight another day.

The other survivors were a black hen who hid in the dark and a pullet who hid behind her. The victim was a white hen, who didn't stand a chance against a fox a nighttime.

 

[Perris]

hope you feel better soon

 

[ManueB]

Well, he kept himself alive at least.

Last night I had dinner with friends who told me about the time a fox raided their flock and their rooster (Ragnar) hid in a tree for two days during a heatwave. When he finally came out of the tree, he was exhausted and almost in heat stroke. But he sat on their back doormat and they gave him water and he lived to fight another day.

The other survivors were a black hen who hid in the dark and a pullet who hid behind her. The victim was a white hen, who didn't stand a chance against a fox a nighttime.

What a story ! I know, roosters are not truly protectors of the realm . I think Théo has good chances of surviving, as he's very quick and agile.
I have to say apart from the crowing competitions the only positive point I see with having two roosters (in the case of two roosters that hate each other) is that it's like having two alarms- between both of them they see most of the raptors.

hope you feel better soon

I feel better today! Maybe all the lemon-ginger-thyme-chili I drank yesterday worked.
**********
So we did get today the promised rain : it began in the night toward 11pm and lasted right until I closed the coop today! Good continuous rain like we really need!
Of course the chickens weren't so happy. The ex-batts stayed in the coop and run all day. Team Gastounet first took shelter under the table but were quicky soaked ; they found a dry spot under the wood shed and stayed there in the morning. In the afternoon they finally decided to move up and shelter in the barn, but Piou-piou refused to stay with them. She just went up there to lay and then she came back down alone in the garden under pouring rain, digging for worms.

Merle was better today! She seemed a bit dubious this morning in front of the hole in the wood stack that leads to where she lays, probably wondering if it would be dry in there- but apparently it was and although she looked a bit off for ten minutes after laying, she was back to her old active self after that.
I did notice again a few very small pecked feathers in the coop where she roosts. I don't know what to make of it- she's finished molting quite some time ago, so something must make her itch, even though I can't see what. I'll check again tomorrow when the weather's better.
There was an egg under the roost when I opened the coop, from Blanche I think, that was not as usual- it had lines on it although the shell seemed normal. Léa laid in the coop, and sang when she was done ; and Cannelle and Piou-piou also laid without difficulty.

I don't have a lot of pictures - it's definitely more difficult under the rain, they were all blurry!

Small Piou-piou spent the afternoon on her own. She really is peculiar. She doesn't want hen or human friends, she likes only Gaston.

 

[ManueB]

Early this morning there was a rooster crowing contest in the coop. I worried that one of the hens was in trouble as Gaston doesn't crowe inside the coop normally so I went out to listen, but it was just a rooster contest with the rooster that live in the farm under us ! Gaston is getting more confident.

The day began with a slightly cloudy sky and turned clear blue in the afternoon. In the morning the ex-batts and Théo stayed in the coop, they were very afraid and barely got out in the run. Indeed it took me some time to see it but there was an eagle circling around the house above us. I think it's the juvenile that we were told was born to the couple that lives in the reserve this year as it was alone, but if it's him (or her) he's grown huge compared to when I saw it in September.

Anyway it didn't stop the younger chickens from doing their thing. Léa, Merle and Piou-piou also stayed for some time under the laurel tree, getting Gaston really nervous and Théo to charge the nettings. But after a while they went scratching around.

In the afternoon Team Théo came out a bit of the coop and ate as much grass as they could staying in sight of the coop and rushing in every ten minutes. Nougat and Blanche especially seemed very scared. Nougat hasn't finished her molt though she has a bunch of feathers, she looks awfully pale and still acts like she's terrified of everything (except Chipie and the younger chickens that she wants dead).

Brune laid today but it took her two hours and her egg was weird. Blanche had laid before I opened the coop, and Léa and Merle toward 9pm.

In the morning Gaston's tail feathers still looked a bit strange from taking the rain yesterday.

Merle was extremely eager to dustbathe. I looked again today and still couldn't see anything in her but she's still pecking small feathers off.

I think Piou-piou's wing and tail feathers are still growing, it seems like there is a hole in the middle of her tail and of her wing !

Can you spot the two chickens in this picture ? Black is definitely a survival advantage compared to white.

Chipie staring at the sky. In case a raptor flies by.

These two look like sisters..maybe a shared parent.

Merle actually did a second dustbathe sequence in the afternoon.

Poor Nougat looks like her ghost.

Chipie had a "I am your mother, Merle" moment.

 

[MaryJanet]

Brune laid today but it took her two hours and her egg was weird

Was it a strange shape?

Joyce was preoccupied last night and I think she has a big egg on the way.

 

[ManueB]

Was it a strange shape?

Joyce was preoccupied last night and I think she has a big egg on the way.

My ex-batts have quite a variety of strange eggs.This one was normal on the bottom, but the top was fragile and slightly wrinkled.
Last night one of the hens, Blanche I think, laid a soft shell with a tail from the roost .
Brune and Blanche haven't molted or taken a real break off laying. I think it would do them good.
******
It was very cold today (-6 /20) in the morning. The water froze in the bowls in ten minutes . The chickens weren't enthusiast about the weather, the ex-batts stayed inside a good part of the morning and Gaston's girls huddled under the laurel tree. They were more active in the afternoon but we had again a raptor come close , which really scared them. The roosters made crazy alarm sounds for half an hour for every sparrow flying around .

Merle looked off in the early morning but she was much better after. I wonder if she needs a place to rest- she used to spend time in the coop in the morning, but Théo doesn't let her stay anymore.
Piou-piou hadn't laid yesterday so she was waiting impatiently for me to open the coop and causing a racket at 7.15 before dawn, sitting on one of the wall's opening, and she ran up to the barn as soon as I opened. And Léa actually changed her laying location- she was probably tired of being chased in the coop and she also went in the barn, in the nest where Piou-piou lays! Merle laid much later toward noon, in the wood stack.
Cannelle had some difficulties to lay this morning -she stayed a long time in the pet carrier without success then she went to that hole in the wall that used to be Chipie's nest, where Blanche and Léa laid! Chipie has less and less safe places - the ex-batts are finding out how to reach all of them .

Théo chased Gaston again through the nettings several times today. My partner told him off when he chased him up to the water shed and got him back inside the netting.

Although it stayed very cold, it was a beautiful day and team Gaston didn't want to go to bed, as they hadn't spent that much time in the garden. When the sun was hidden by the mountain at 4.15 pm it got really cold and I encouraged them to go back in the coop. They take about 15 mn to go in and roost, then I let the second team in. Everyone was roosting by 4.45.

Nests and laying pullet view ;
Cannelle

Merle:

Gaston sometimes still has his goofy looks and even when doesn't he looks like a feathered teddy bear

Théo and Chipie have become very good friends again, and this coincides with the fact that Chipie is acting dominating with Piou-piou and Merle again.

Team Gaston didn't want to go to bed!

 

[ManueB]

Another cold morning, and day. I checked the temperature in the coop where they roost : it was -6c /21f outside and 3c/ 37f inside- warmer, but not exactly warm! Léa and Piou-piou laid together. I was surprised that Piou-piou didn't chase Léa, but Gastounet was watching and she was probably too engaged with her egg to do anything.

The ex-batts came out quite a bit once the sun was out and had a good dustbathing session.
Brune laid an egg but Cannelle did not and unfortunately an hour before roosting she went into that characteristic posture that means stuck egg. She still went on the roost on her own, I hope to find an egg under her tomorrow morning. Otherwise we may have to take her inside as it should be snowing. I had hoped her laying pause had solved the issue she had, but it may not be the case.

And Merle..still a mystery: she looks unwell in the morning and totally normal in the afternoon. So I don't know if she feels better after laying, if it's too cold for her in the morning, if she needs more sleep... There were quite a lot of tiny feathers under her and also under Théo and some of the ex-batts, but once again we couldn't see anything either on the roost or on the hens we checked. Not sure if it's just the end of the molt or if there is something making them itchy.

 

[MaryJanet]

Do you know the white paper towel trick to mite detection? Get a white paper towel, run it along the bottom of the roost after dark. If it gets some red on it: mites.

 

[ManueB]

Do you know the white paper towel trick to mite detection? Get a white paper towel, run it along the bottom of the roost after dark. If it gets some red on it: mites.

I think I'll have to try this. There was a huge amount of tiny feathers when I opened the coop this morning and from all the birds. I've checked the roost in the dark and couldn't see anything but there's definitely something going on .
************
We got snow today ! It fell from 10 pm last night until noon and though it felt like it was lightly snowing we woke up to 25-30 cm (almost 10 inches). It was forecasted, so we had put a tarpaulin between the wood shed and the stone wall to make a sheltered place for Gaston and his gang. Before opening the coop we shoveled the way from the coop to outside, to the shelter, and up to the barn, but as it was still snowing it just made a shallower steadier white path.

It turned out Gaston was absolutely terrified of the snow. In fact he was so afraid he first tried to fly on anything above it he could see to perch, managing to hurt his foot. I couldn't get him to go anywhere, he found a spot near the house where a deer antler was sticking out and stayed clutched to that for an hour. Léa was also really afraid at first and stayed in the coop. I carried her out after an hour because she was being bullied by Théo. Once she understood the snow carried her, she did just fine. And Merle and Piou-piou were only slightly afraid but quickly got over it. However they didn't understand at first that the path we had made could bear them, but that if they stepped in the deep snow they were going to be completely buried. I was almost afraid they would drown in snow but they managed each time to pull themselves out.

Toward 11, the temperature got warmer and while it was still snowing the snow started melting and falling from the trees, making whoof sounds. This got Gaston terrified again and he didn't want to stay under the shelter! In the afternoon somehow he finally calmed down and even went up to the barn with his gang.
The ex-batts, Théo and Chipie stayed in the run the whole day and having the covered run proved once again quite nice for them. It's not often that we have such weather but for those days it's perfect.

I found a normal egg covered by a shell-less egg in the nest box when I opened the coop, and Cannelle was acting quite normally. I'm not sure if she laid the normal egg or the shell-less one but anyway, she was alright.
The three smaller hens all managed to lay with the snow, Merle still went in the wood stack (we had shoveled a path to it).
The chickens went to bed early. Piou-piou was a pain again, she didnt follow her siblings inside, and then when she joined them she picked a fight with Léa. She is being more and more a real bully.

 

[lightm]

Another cold morning, and day. I checked the temperature in the coop where they roost : it was -6c /21f outside and 3c/ 37f inside- warmer, but not exactly warm! Léa and Piou-piou laid together. I was surprised that Piou-piou didn't chase Léa, but Gastounet was watching and she was probably too engaged with her egg to do anything.

The ex-batts came out quite a bit once the sun was out and had a good dustbathing session.
Brune laid an egg but Cannelle did not and unfortunately an hour before roosting she went into that characteristic posture that means stuck egg. She still went on the roost on her own, I hope to find an egg under her tomorrow morning. Otherwise we may have to take her inside as it should be snowing. I had hoped her laying pause had solved the issue she had, but it may not be the case.

And Merle..still a mystery: she looks unwell in the morning and totally normal in the afternoon. So I don't know if she feels better after laying, if it's too cold for her in the morning, if she needs more sleep... There were quite a lot of tiny feathers under her and also under Théo and some of the ex-batts, but once again we couldn't see anything either on the roost or on the hens we checked. Not sure if it's just the end of the molt or if there is something making them itchy.
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Much love to the second picture: Theo.