Théo and the chickens des Sauches

Perris · Mar 1, 2023

ManueB said:
We're still wondering if they would really hurt themselves or if it's partly a show

they're sizing each other up still; sooner or later there will be contact and some blood, but if they're like mine one will decide pretty quickly they don't want this, and will run. As long as they can run away and not get trapped there are no serious injuries, the hierarchy is settled and they can live in peace, with a periodic quick chase to reassert the rankings.

ManueB · Mar 2, 2023

Saying goodbye to an old mare
A post that has nothing to do with chickens. I will wait tomorrow to post about the exciting chicken drama from today.

Ever since we began coming here eleven years ago we have regularly visited two abandoned senior horses who live on the other side of our village's stream across the mountain. I wrote before about them on @BY Bob's thread.

On my run this morning I found the fresh remains of the old mare, in the irrigation canal of Sausse, the village on the other side of their mountain. Her throat and her belly were wide open and eaten.

She had been very unwell for the past months, and the last three times we went to their place neither my partner or I could find her so we knew something was up.
I have been seeing those horses something like every other week for eleven years now, so I have grown quite fond of them.

I took pictures because I want to get an opinion on whether she was eaten after death by vultures or boars, or killed by the wolves, but I won't post those. Instead here are a few from better times. She is the most brown of the two with the bigger white marking on her face and white stockings.

RoyalChick · Mar 2, 2023

ManueB said:
I hope you both get better then, him especially as I get the feeling "colds" seem to be more serious for animals than for humans.
************
Merle ran out of the coop when I opened it directly on her nest, I hadn't forgotten to put eggs back in this time, and she came out on her own half an hour later, so not broody yet. Blanche, Léa and Piou-piou also laid in the morning.
Though the weather was grey there was a bit of sunshine that allowed Théo's team to dustbathe and stretch in the few sun rays.
Before noon Gaston's pullets, as usual, kept going inside the netting. When Gaston jumped in to get them we decided to wait and see what would happen between the two roosters. They began to fight, then for several minutes they had those challenging attitudes. Then they began fighting again and Théo managed to get a foot caught in the netting and completely stuck himself, so we couldn't let them go on on, my partner unstuck him and Gaston left.
We're still wondering if they would really hurt themselves or if it's partly a show.
Challenging one another :

The chickens had a nice afternoon but roosting was hell for Chipie. Once again the four ex-batts leagued to beat her up and instead of coming down the roost she kept flying from roosts next to one of ex-batts. In the end I had to put them in the dark, and she hid in one of the nests in the wall.
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Gaston distributing kale evenly

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I love the video of Gaston sharing out the kale. Not having a rooster I haven’t seen that behavior before. What a gentleman!

RoyalChick · Mar 2, 2023

ManueB said:
Saying goodbye to an old mare
A post that has nothing to do with chickens. I will wait tomorrow to post about the exciting chicken drama from today.

Ever since we began coming here eleven years ago we have regularly visited two abandoned senior horses who live on the other side of our village's stream across the mountain. I wrote before about them on @BY Bob's thread.

On my run this morning I found the fresh remains of the old mare, in the irrigation canal of Sausse, the village on the other side of their mountain. Her throat and her belly were wide open and eaten.

She had been very unwell for the past months, and the last three times we went to their place neither my partner or I could find her so we knew something was up.
I have been seeing those horses something like every other week for eleven years now, so I have grown quite fond of them.

I took pictures because I want to get an opinion on whether she was eaten after death by vultures or boars, or killed by the wolves, but I won't post those. Instead here are a few from better times. She is the most brown of the two with the bigger white marking on her face and white stockings.
View attachment 3419506 View attachment 3419507 View attachment 3419508

I remember you thinking she was in decline. Sad to hear she is gone.

MaryJanet · Mar 2, 2023

ManueB said:
Saying goodbye to an old mare
A post that has nothing to do with chickens. I will wait tomorrow to post about the exciting chicken drama from today.

Ever since we began coming here eleven years ago we have regularly visited two abandoned senior horses who live on the other side of our village's stream across the mountain. I wrote before about them on @BY Bob's thread.

On my run this morning I found the fresh remains of the old mare, in the irrigation canal of Sausse, the village on the other side of their mountain. Her throat and her belly were wide open and eaten.

She had been very unwell for the past months, and the last three times we went to their place neither my partner or I could find her so we knew something was up.
I have been seeing those horses something like every other week for eleven years now, so I have grown quite fond of them.

I took pictures because I want to get an opinion on whether she was eaten after death by vultures or boars, or killed by the wolves, but I won't post those. Instead here are a few from better times. She is the most brown of the two with the bigger white marking on her face and white stockings.
View attachment 3419506 View attachment 3419507 View attachment 3419508

That must've been a very sad shock.

I hope you find she was eaten after dying because I don't like the thought of her fighting for her life at that age.

Is her companion ok?

ManueB · Mar 3, 2023

RoyalChick said:
I love the video of Gaston sharing out the kale. Not having a rooster I haven’t seen that behavior before. What a gentleman!

It's classic rooster behaviour but yes, very endearing! He does something that melts my heart : I have a tiny pot with sunflower seeds that is my chicken attraction weapon. He will take 10 to 15 seeds in his beak and spread them very widely around so all three pullets can have some...because he knows if he just dumps them in the same place Piou-piou will eat it all.

MaryJanet said:
That must've been a very sad shock.

I hope you find she was eaten after dying because I don't like the thought of her fighting for her life at that age.

Is her companion ok?

It wasn't a shock because I've been expecting this for more than a year now, but surprisingly I still felt sad. It's a relief as she had been in pain for a long time. The man I showed the pictures to thought she fell in the canal and couldn't get up. They went to take her out today so I should know more.

The male horse is doing fine, for a 33 year old horse that is. There are conflicting opinions on whether another retired horse should be left there to keep him company, or if someone should take him home.

I took some "touristic" photos on my run yesterday. This is the higher part of our village seen from the west ; our house is the second to last highest that is still inhabited.

For @Perris : this is a stone marker from 1823 of the old frontier between the county of Nice (Savoy) and France. We have many around our place. This one is number 38 listed here, located at the col de Saint-Pons.

These are the school hens and their rooster. The last flock was killed by a hawk and they are still not protected

.

ManueB · Mar 3, 2023

Two interesting things happened yesterday and today.
Yesterday for the first time, when Gaston jumped inside the netting to get his hens, both roosters stayed without fighting for fifteen minutes, and then Gastounet left with his girls.
However, in the afternoon Théo and him did challenge each other again, so it's not over yet. Today there was no real confrontation.

And today...Chipie laid an egg! It's pretty strange, but still I wasn't expecting it anymore. I was getting used to the fact that maybe she wasn't laying because she was much older than we thought. I'm really excited to see if it's a one shot, or if she will lay again in the next week!

The third interesting thing that happened is that Nougat laid her egg outside yesterday. She used to do that quite often last year but it's the first time since she has began laying again. However it was again a fragile egg. Up to now she was the only Ex-batt that laid huge perfect eggs all the time and never had any problem, but obviously this is over.

The weather has turned quite blue again and the chickens are spending a lot of time outside! I'm still surprised that they go to roost very early, almost an hour and a half before night.

Chipie's small elongated egg (I left in the nest because she screams hell when she has to look for a new nest).

Léa going up to lay in the old barn... worried...with her protector!

Perris · Mar 3, 2023

ManueB said:
this is a stone marker from 1823 of the old frontier between the county of Nice (Savoy) and France

wonderful thank you! I assume that's from before its annexation?

Perris · Mar 3, 2023

the woodstore looks great!

ManueB · Mar 4, 2023

Perris said:
wonderful thank you! I assume that's from before its annexation?

Yes! Though I haven't really looked into it but I think like many places close to frontiers, our village and others around have switched sides a few times over the centuries

.

Perris said:
the woodstore looks great!

I think it is going to be really ugly when it's finished but hey, as long as there is a coop inside I will most certainly hold my tongue!
********
A nice sunny day, with almost no chicken drama today. Merle didn't lay and screamed and puffed up all day, but did not try to go on a nest. Nougat laid z beautiful egg for once outside again, Blanche, Léa and Piou-piou also laid. The chickens seemed to be frightened several times throughout the day but I never saw what was scaring them.

The ex-batts all went down in the field further than they had ever been, but then something scared them and they all came running back up and didn't want to go back. There isn't much shelter in that field except under the fig tree but they haven't been that far yet. Chipie actually spent her first night here in that fig tree as she had managed to escape

.
Théo was a pain at roost time harassing the ex-batts and Blanche especially. He even mated Chipie which almost never happens. Poor Blanche didn't look good and her comb was very pale. Hopefully this means she will stop laying and not that she's taking a turn for the worse.

When wannabe broody meets wannabe master of the universe.