Théo and the chickens des Sauches

[ManueB]

Not happy today, we have mandatory social family and neighborhood duties for the next evenings .

The poops are better and the chickens still looking too hot, but not sick. Both vets I contacted said they would only do the testing with a physical clinical examination of one of the chickens. We have no AC in the car, we're not taking the risk of a long drive in this heat, so we won't be doing anything before the heat wave is over. (The closest vet is a 1h20 mn drive if there no traffic which is unlikely this time of year).

Edited to add : tonight Cannelle suddenly looks very unwell.

We also have a problem with the new ramp we made. One of the ex-batts Nougat has been having trouble climbing it, she slides, even though the cleats are very close to one another, and now it's turning into a big issue and she panicks every evening. We added diagonal cleats for a better grip, but she just doesn't want to use the ramp anymore. So we'll have to think of something to help her, it's adding more stress to the fact that Théo gets thrown out of the coop several times every evening.

We also added another temporary roost for the chicks, because they can't go on stacking in their small nest, and it's obvious they won't dare use any of the roosts that the adults use. But since we won't be here the next evenings, if they don't go by themselves, we'll wait for Thursday to close their nest. It was helpful reading about RC's chicks roosting dilemma : we put a roost that is basically just under their nest, so they won't hesitate about where to go if we block their usual bed.

Théo being afraid.

Swiss chard omelette and rice. Again underestimated how much 13 adults and six chicks can ingest in 30 seconds.

 

[Perris]

We also have a problem with the new ramp we made. One of the ex-batts Nougat has been having trouble climbing it, she slides, even though the cleats are very close to one another, and now it's turning into a big issue

we had that problem with the plastic ramps for our coops initially, despite the grooves cut into them. Fixed it with this sort of anti-slip matting
https://www.lakeland.co.uk/8297/slip-a-grip-non-slip-fabric-shelf-and-surface-liner-3m-roll
cut to fit and pinned on at the top.

 

[MaryJanet]

we had that problem with the plastic ramps for our coops initially, despite the grooves cut into them. Fixed it with this sort of anti-slip matting
https://www.lakeland.co.uk/8297/slip-a-grip-non-slip-fabric-shelf-and-surface-liner-3m-roll
cut to fit and pinned on at the top.

That's a handy tip. I've got loads of that stuff in the cellar and soon I'll be worried about Mary climbing the ramp to the new roost.

 

[RoyalChick]

Not happy today, we have mandatory social family and neighborhood duties for the next evenings .

The poops are better and the chickens still looking too hot, but not sick. Both vets I contacted said they would only do the testing with a physical clinical examination of one of the chickens. We have no AC in the car, we're not taking the risk of a long drive in this heat, so we won't be doing anything before the heat wave is over. (The closest vet is a 1h20 mn drive if there no traffic which is unlikely this time of year).

Edited to add : tonight Cannelle suddenly looks very unwell.

We also have a problem with the new ramp we made. One of the ex-batts Nougat has been having trouble climbing it, she slides, even though the cleats are very close to one another, and now it's turning into a big issue and she panicks every evening. We added diagonal cleats for a better grip, but she just doesn't want to use the ramp anymore. So we'll have to think of something to help her, it's adding more stress to the fact that Théo gets thrown out of the coop several times every evening.

We also added another temporary roost for the chicks, because they can't go on stacking in their small nest, and it's obvious they won't dare use any of the roosts that the adults use. But since we won't be here the next evenings, if they don't go by themselves, we'll wait for Thursday to close their nest. It was helpful reading about RC's chicks roosting dilemma : we put a roost that is basically just under their nest, so they won't hesitate about where to go if we block their usual bed.
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Théo being afraid.
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Swiss chard omelette and rice. Again underestimated how much 13 adults and six chicks can ingest in 30 seconds.
View attachment 3572441View attachment 3572442View attachment 3572443View attachment 3572444View attachment 3572446View attachment 3572447View attachment 3572448

As you can see from this video the chick roosting issues are not yet resolved.
Blocking their sight into their old brooder house (I tacked packing paper up over the wire so they can’t see in) definitely solved their panic and attempts to break in.
So I can draw a line under the brooder house phase.
But they don’t like the right hand side of the roost they have chosen - there be dragons apparently - so they all cram on the extreme left and someone always falls off the end and gets up and roosts on the metal bracket holding up the roost branch. It looks very uncomfortable.
And up remains very attractive.
Hopefully they will find their groove soon.

 

[MaryJanet]

I shouldn't laugh, but that video is priceless!

 

[Perris]

As you can see from this video the chick roosting issues are not yet resolved.
Blocking their sight into their old brooder house (I tacked packing paper up over the wire so they can’t see in) definitely solved their panic and attempts to break in.
So I can draw a line under the brooder house phase.
But they don’t like the right hand side of the roost they have chosen - there be dragons apparently - so they all cram on the extreme left and someone always falls off the end and gets up and roosts on the metal bracket holding up the roost branch. It looks very uncomfortable.
And up remains very attractive.
Hopefully they will find their groove soon.

I assume this is an episode in a story that's been going on on another thread because it's all news to me - delightful news I guess the flocking instinct is strong in Piglet and she doesn't want to be left on the edge!

 

[RoyalChick]

I assume this is an episode in a story that's been going on on another thread because it's all news to me - delightful news I guess the flocking instinct is strong in Piglet and she doesn't want to be left on the edge!

Yes. Sorry for lack of context.
My 14 weeks old ‘babies’ are fully integrated but continue to return to thei built-in brooder hiuse to sleep. They barely fit through the door, but old habits die hard.
As it got very hot and humid here I worried about ventilation in the brooder. It is open wire on all sides but has a solid top.
So I closed the door to force them to find another place to roost and they went nuts throwing themselves at the wire trying to get in. It was all rather stressful.
Things are beginning to calm down now.

 

[ManueB]

we had that problem with the plastic ramps for our coops initially, despite the grooves cut into them. Fixed it with this sort of anti-slip matting
https://www.lakeland.co.uk/8297/slip-a-grip-non-slip-fabric-shelf-and-surface-liner-3m-roll
cut to fit and pinned on at the top.

I had fixed something that worked for grip using hemp string on the old ladder. But now I have mites in the coop I don't want to add material on top of flat surfaces and give them more possibility to hide and escape the biocides.

Yes. Sorry for lack of context.
My 14 weeks old ‘babies’ are fully integrated but continue to return to thei built-in brooder hiuse to sleep. They barely fit through the door, but old habits die hard.
As it got very hot and humid here I worried about ventilation in the brooder. It is open wire on all sides but has a solid top.
So I closed the door to force them to find another place to roost and they went nuts throwing themselves at the wire trying to get in. It was all rather stressful.
Things are beginning to calm down now.

Chicken drama ...we love them because of it, but it certainly feels like a bit too much at times !

It's still very warm and although the temperatures probably won't rise above 34/93, what happens is that the night progressively gets warmer, and the early hours when the heat is still bearable are also getting shorter.

The bad news today is that it looks like Cannelle is dying. It's very sudden, you can see her doing good in the first picture of my post yesterday. Yesterday toward 5pm she began looking very unwell and it's been quickly getting worse. Today she's bloated and her vent is pulsating. She went into the nest first thing in the morning but like almost always didn't lay. Her poops look very good, so it's unlikely she's egg bound. Now I know they keep surprising us, but I also see she's been having laying issue for almost a year now, she had this likely respiratory disease about two months ago, it's very hot, and she would turn 4 in three months, so I'm not sure if she'll pick up. She's lying down close to me and Piou-piou, with the chicks coming every now and then to check on her, which reminds me very much of the day Vanille passed. Her comb is still very red and upright, unlike the three other hens I saw at the end of their life who had dark floppy combs. And she enjoyed some tiny bits of pasta and courgettes for lunch.
I'm so glad she had the opportunity to do a bit of visiting around and free ranging this last weeks before we moved the netting again. She has always been a free spirit.
I just wish we didn't have to leave tonight. The woman who's having us for dinner works at our village's school (yes, there is a unique class school, for only 100 inhabitants, which is only due to political arrangements) , and she can possibly help us find homes for the male chicks as she knows everyone.

I made an appointment for next wednesday at the vet. I can cancel up to 48 hours before so I'll decide next Monday depending on the heat if we can go.

I forgot to mention a pleasant surprise - the first few tomatoes that were ripening did it really quick so we ate our very first garden tomatoes two days ago. You can't eat tomatoes from the supermarket anymore once you've eaten tomatoes from your garden .

I call them free range and what do they do ? Go set themselves in a cage of all places to nap .

Lily is such a sweet girl. She's the first hen I meet that doesn't have a bit of naughty in her.

Nieva, on the other hand, would qualify for white devil if Merle remains devil n°1.

Alba is not doing as well in the heat.

Blanche and Nougat burying in dust to protect from the heat ?

Cannelle. Her nickname is Cannelle la vilaine (the naughty Cannelle ) because she always tried to escape and lay in the weirdest places.

I got in trouble at lunch.

 

[RoyalChick]

I had fixed something that worked for grip using hemp string on the old ladder. But now I have mites in the coop I don't want to add material on top of flat surfaces and give them more possibility to hide and escape the biocides.

Chicken drama ...we love them because of it, but it certainly feels like a bit too much at times !

It's still very warm and although the temperatures probably won't rise above 34/93, what happens is that the night progressively gets warmer, and the early hours when the heat is still bearable are also getting shorter.

The bad news today is that it looks like Cannelle is dying. It's very sudden, you can see her doing good in the first picture of my post yesterday. Yesterday toward 5pm she began looking very unwell and it's been quickly getting worse. Today she's bloated and her vent is pulsating. She went into the nest first thing in the morning but like almost always didn't lay. Her poops look very good, so it's unlikely she's egg bound. Now I know they keep surprising us, but I also see she's been having laying issue for almost a year now, she had this likely respiratory disease about two months ago, it's very hot, and she would turn 4 in three months, so I'm not sure if she'll pick up. She's lying down close to me and Piou-piou, with the chicks coming every now and then to check on her, which reminds me very much of the day Vanille passed. Her comb is still very red and upright, unlike the three other hens I saw at the end of their life who had dark floppy combs. And she enjoyed some tiny bits of pasta and courgettes for lunch.
I'm so glad she had the opportunity to do a bit of visiting around and free ranging this last weeks before we moved the netting again. She has always been a free spirit.
I just wish we didn't have to leave tonight. The woman who's having us for dinner works at our village's school (yes, there is a unique class school, for only 100 inhabitants, which is only due to political arrangements) , and she can possibly help us find homes for the male chicks as she knows everyone.

I made an appointment for next wednesday at the vet. I can cancel up to 48 hours before so I'll decide next Monday depending on the heat if we can go.

I forgot to mention a pleasant surprise - the first few tomatoes that were ripening did it really quick so we ate our very first garden tomatoes two days ago. You can't eat tomatoes from the supermarket anymore once you've eaten tomatoes from your garden .

I call them free range and what do they do ? Go set themselves in a cage of all places to nap .
View attachment 3573409
Lily is such a sweet girl. She's the first hen I meet that doesn't have a bit of naughty in her.
View attachment 3573410
Nieva, on the other hand, would qualify for white devil if Merle remains devil n°1.
View attachment 3573411
Alba is not doing as well in the heat.
View attachment 3573412View attachment 3573413View attachment 3573414
Blanche and Nougat burying in dust to protect from the heat ?
View attachment 3573415
Cannelle. Her nickname is Cannelle la vilaine (the naughty Cannelle ) because she always tried to escape and lay in the weirdest places.
View attachment 3573416View attachment 3573417View attachment 3573418
I got in trouble at lunch.
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View attachment 3573421
View attachment 3573419
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Sorry about Canelle (and about the obligatory socializing when all you want to do is stay home).

 

[RoyalChick]

What is wrong with this picture?

Oh I know! The chickens live on the other side of the fence. Also they are snacking on azaleas and box wood - both of which are supposedly toxic to chickens.
I realize we are at an interesting stage of growth. They are now too big to fit through the spaces in the netting but haven’t fully understood that.
I went to herd them back in with the scary leaf rake. They had interestingly different strategies.
Tassels flew up into the tree and flew back down the other side. Piglet just flew over the fence. Pooh wriggled under the fence.