Théo and the chickens des Sauches

[ManueB]

It's getting a bit hot again and will be really windy all week, which neither us or the chickens enjoy. But luckily the nights are still rather cool.

The adult chickens all shelter under the laurel tree as usual, but for the first time today, I saw Gaston napping inside the tree, while Théo was keeping watch in front. It's hard for me to understand how they are playing this out. At times it really seems much better between them, and at others it's just horrible for Théo. It's especially the case before and during roost time. Théo goes in the coop, tries to mate any hen that wants to roost early, said hen starts screaming for help, Théo gets chased out by Gaston, runs away squeaking in terror, and starts again. And this maybe ten times or more !

The hens keep quarrelling a lot throughout the day, I think they are working out how to be together. But there's no real bullying in the sense that they all know to move away when they are pecked, and none seems really afraid. Roosting is also still a bit complicated. We have added two secondary roost on the left of the coop : one reaching from behind to about a third of the main roost, and one going in front for the chicks. But the chicks don't necessarily sleep on it, they go where they want and where there is space and an adult chicken that will tolerate them. It works more or less, but the chickens don't have a fixed place like they did in the previous setting.

Whereas Petit Blanc is now "crowing" twice every morning and attempting to mate the pullets, Pied Beau is still acting as a baby. My partner told Amelia she could take Petit Blanc at four month but I'm not sure we shouldn't keep him a bit longer. Since they are just five minutes of foot away we can always decide later. I guess we'll know if their playful fighting turns ugly. For now Pied Beau is being a good looser.

Finally I wanted to say that I think I may have understood how Piou-piou hurt herself dustbathing. We have a stack of wood ash and the chickens, her especially, often dustbathe next to it, because I suppose they like the mix of dust and ash. I discovered recently reading a BYC post that wet ash becomes corrosive. I think with all the rain we had, Piou-piou dustbathed close to it while it was still damp.

Old ladies...Blanche and Nougat

Ann, who we always identified as a pullet because she is smaller and delicate, is turning very pretty. She is still smaller than the others.

 

[BDutch]

Here I have noticed some strange behaviour with the hens versus the chicks. The hens and especially the ex-broodies Janice and Pearl , don’t allow /don’t like the chicks in the coops to roost. It seems the chicks are expelled from the coop. The chicks don’t eat much in the coop with the small covered run , during the day. While the food in the second run, where the chicks hang out a lot , gets all eaten. I know for sure because the food in the coop barely gets eaten when the hens free range*.

I do want the chicks to sleep in the coop. This is the only place were the chicks are real safe during the night. And if the chicks roost in the run (hwc and netting) they get wet.

If I want the chicks to roost inside the coop I need to go in the run at 21.30 , get them of the roost in the run and wait until the chicks are going through the pop door, into the coop one by one.
If I try this earlier, the older chickens come out to interfere. If I am too late, the auto pop door closes before the chicks go inside.

* The chicks are free ranging from late afternoon til about 9pm. The hens are allowed to free range earlier when we are at home.
I wonder if the acceptance would get better if we let the chicks free range more too. Only problem is that the chicks don’t listen very well to go inside again, in case we need to go somewhere. Its getting better to herd them inside, but we aren’t there yet.

The chicks.

PS: posted the same text on the broody project thread as well.

 

[Perris]

Soy drink has a lower environmental impact than milk in terms of greenhouse gases (two thirds less), land use and water use (half less). The energy consumption to make soy drink is slightly higher than that of milk. Soy-based meat substitutes have lower greenhouse gas emissions, land use and water use than, for example, chicken.

These figures are disputed - there are loads of variables at each stage of the processes and I'm not sure such simplification is helpful when people are trying to do the right thing. See e.g. https://sustainablefoodtrust.org/news-views/which-milk-should-i-drink/

"Before explaining why getting ‘milk’ from plants is not a long-term sustainable use of land, we need to look next at research which provides a fresh perspective on what is generally seen as the biggest environmental weakness of cattle farming – methane emissions.

Methane emissions from cattle remain one of the key environmental reasons many people mention for avoiding dairy produce, and global increases in methane are a huge concern. However, recent analysis by scientists at Oxford University shows that where you have a stable population of cattle, as in the UK, the true impact of their methane emissions is about 75% lower than currently used calculations suggest. This may sound odd, but it isn’t based on some biased study by the dairy industry. Professor Myles Allen, the senior scientist behind the research, is a lead author of two IPCC reports and was a key figure behind the work which explained to the world that just reducing fossil fuel use moderately won’t prevent runaway climate change – instead we have to reduce use dramatically and move quickly to a point where every kilo of CO2 we continue to emit in future is balanced by a kilo taken out of the atmosphere. He explained this when he was interviewed by Jim Al-Khalili for an episode of ‘The Life Scientific’ on Radio 4 earlier this year...

Nutritionally, soya ‘milk’ is lower in fat than dairy milk, but also lower in calcium and vitamins which need to be added artificially... [almond milk] is very low in protein and all the minerals have to be added artificially. On the environmental side, 80% of all almonds come from California where there is very high use of pesticides and water. It is claimed that it takes 5 litres of water to produce each individual almond and that this causes significant ecological stress in an increasingly drought-prone region. In addition, 1.5 million colonies of bees have to be trucked in from all over America for 4 weeks to pollinate the crop, because the monoculture conditions under which the crop is grown leave no place for wild pollinators. Large numbers of these bees die every year, but it is unclear exactly why. There are also significant environmental issues associated with rice production including high water use and greenhouse gas emissions, and the leaching of pesticides into rivers. Rice ‘milk’ also isn’t suitable for children under 5, due to its relatively high arsenic levels . Coconut milk has also become popular, but as the Independent exposed recently, expansion in the production of coconuts for oil and ‘milk’ is associated with significant loss of biodiversity. Whether this is greater or less than for palm oil is hotly disputed. Either way, it is no small player, with about 12 million hectares growing coconuts compared with 18 million hectares producing palm oil. Nutritionally it is high in fat and contains a range of natural vitamins and minerals.

Consumers appear willing to pay more for plant ‘milks’ than cows’ milk which is sometimes retailed at a lower price than bottled water. Coconut ‘milk’ is one of the most expensive. But if cows’ milk retailed at the same price, dairy farmers in the UK would be able to make a decent living with a lot less cows and much less intensive methods. Oat milk is probably the best alternative in the UK from an environmental perspective because it can be grown here, and because oats are a relatively low-input crop. Sales have increased rapidly since it was launched. Like rice milk and to some extent soya, it needs to be fortified with calcium and a range of vitamins that are naturally found in dairy milk. The manufacturers also add a small amount of rape oil. During the production process, about 40% of the calories and a high proportion of the protein are left in the residue sludge. Originally sold to pig farmers to avoid waste, this was stopped after consumer backlash...

Greenpeace and others have drawn attention to the Cerrado in Brazil where half the virgin land has now been converted to soya and other crops, but as WWF’s Plow Print report for 2016 shows, between 2009 and 2016, 53 million acres of the remaining temperate grasslands in the US were ploughed to grow soya, corn and wheat."

 

[Perris]

I saw Gaston napping inside the tree, while Théo was keeping watch in front. It's hard for me to understand how they are playing this out. At times it really seems much better between them, and at others it's just horrible for Théo.

I've found it only becomes a real problem when the subordinate roo is unable to run away (for whatever reason) and thus avoid a beating. The dom demonstrates his status by chasing the subordinate(s) and t(he)y demonstrates theirs/his by running away. Life is hard for superseded males because there's no tolerance among them for weakness and decline can be swift in these circumstances. I have Chirk in mind as I write this of course.

We have a stack of wood ash and the chickens, her especially, often dustbathe next to it, because I suppose they like the mix of dust and ash. I discovered recently reading a BYC post that wet ash becomes corrosive.

this is the origin of lye, a substance much mentioned in old handbooks on all sorts of things. Wikipedia explains https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lye

 

[BDutch]

These figures are disputed - there are loads of variables at each stage of the processes and I'm not sure such simplification is helpful when people are trying to do the right thing. See e.g. https://sustainablefoodtrust.org/news-views/which-milk-should-i-drink/

"Before explaining why getting ‘milk’ from plants is not a long-term sustainable use of land, we need to look next at research which provides a fresh perspective on what is generally seen as the biggest environmental weakness of cattle farming – methane emissions.

Methane emissions from cattle remain one of the key environmental reasons many people mention for avoiding dairy produce, and global increases in methane are a huge concern. However, recent analysis by scientists at Oxford University shows that where you have a stable population of cattle, as in the UK, the true impact of their methane emissions is about 75% lower than currently used calculations suggest. This may sound odd, but it isn’t based on some biased study by the dairy industry. Professor Myles Allen, the senior scientist behind the research, is a lead author of two IPCC reports and was a key figure behind the work which explained to the world that just reducing fossil fuel use moderately won’t prevent runaway climate change – instead we have to reduce use dramatically and move quickly to a point where every kilo of CO2 we continue to emit in future is balanced by a kilo taken out of the atmosphere. He explained this when he was interviewed by Jim Al-Khalili for an episode of ‘The Life Scientific’ on Radio 4 earlier this year...

Nutritionally, soya ‘milk’ is lower in fat than dairy milk, but also lower in calcium and vitamins which need to be added artificially... [almond milk] is very low in protein and all the minerals have to be added artificially. On the environmental side, 80% of all almonds come from California where there is very high use of pesticides and water. It is claimed that it takes 5 litres of water to produce each individual almond and that this causes significant ecological stress in an increasingly drought-prone region. In addition, 1.5 million colonies of bees have to be trucked in from all over America for 4 weeks to pollinate the crop, because the monoculture conditions under which the crop is grown leave no place for wild pollinators. Large numbers of these bees die every year, but it is unclear exactly why. There are also significant environmental issues associated with rice production including high water use and greenhouse gas emissions, and the leaching of pesticides into rivers. Rice ‘milk’ also isn’t suitable for children under 5, due to its relatively high arsenic levels . Coconut milk has also become popular, but as the Independent exposed recently, expansion in the production of coconuts for oil and ‘milk’ is associated with significant loss of biodiversity. Whether this is greater or less than for palm oil is hotly disputed. Either way, it is no small player, with about 12 million hectares growing coconuts compared with 18 million hectares producing palm oil. Nutritionally it is high in fat and contains a range of natural vitamins and minerals.

Consumers appear willing to pay more for plant ‘milks’ than cows’ milk which is sometimes retailed at a lower price than bottled water. Coconut ‘milk’ is one of the most expensive. But if cows’ milk retailed at the same price, dairy farmers in the UK would be able to make a decent living with a lot less cows and much less intensive methods. Oat milk is probably the best alternative in the UK from an environmental perspective because it can be grown here, and because oats are a relatively low-input crop. Sales have increased rapidly since it was launched. Like rice milk and to some extent soya, it needs to be fortified with calcium and a range of vitamins that are naturally found in dairy milk. The manufacturers also add a small amount of rape oil. During the production process, about 40% of the calories and a high proportion of the protein are left in the residue sludge. Originally sold to pig farmers to avoid waste, this was stopped after consumer backlash...

Greenpeace and others have drawn attention to the Cerrado in Brazil where half the virgin land has now been converted to soya and other crops, but as WWF’s Plow Print report for 2016 shows, between 2009 and 2016, 53 million acres of the remaining temperate grasslands in the US were ploughed to grow soya, corn and wheat."

Thanks for sharing. Some interesting (sad) facts.

Its so saddening how farmers all over the world pollute our environment to make a profit. Furthermore the supermarket bussiness/food shops sell new and trendy product for a ridiculous price. It costs very little to produce oat milk, but the prices in the store are higher than real milk.
And now our government has decided to lower the taxes on milk and increases the taxes on non dairy products like rice milk and oat milk.

I wasn’t aware of the impact of almond milk. We used it for some time but stopped buying it because my husband gets stomach pain without the real thing in his coffee. Momentarily we are back to organic cow milk. Next time I want to buy oat-milk to try in the coffee. (Btw Lidl is the only shop here that sells alternative milks for a reasonable price).

 

[ManueB]

I've found it only becomes a real problem when the subordinate roo is unable to run away (for whatever reason) and thus avoid a beating. The dom demonstrates his status by chasing the subordinate(s) and t(he)y demonstrates theirs/his by running away. Life is hard for superseded males because there's no tolerance among them for weakness and decline can be swift in these circumstances. I have Chirk in mind as I write this of course.

this is the origin of lye, a substance much mentioned in old handbooks on all sorts of things. Wikipedia explains https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lye

Yes. I feel really dumb because I know very well soap is made using lye and I also know people used ash for laundry but I didn't made the connection. Now I know we will tarp the ash stack when it rains.

Thanks for sharing. Some interesting (sad) facts.

Its so saddening how farmers all over the world pollute our environment to make a profit. Furthermore the supermarket bussiness/food shops sell new and trendy product for a ridiculous price. It costs very little to produce oat milk, but the prices in the store are higher than real milk.
And now our government has decided to lower the taxes on milk and increases the taxes on non dairy products like rice milk and oat milk.

I wasn’t aware of the impact of almond milk. We used it for some time but stopped buying it because my husband gets stomach pain without the real thing in his coffee. Momentarily we are back to organic cow milk. Next time I want to buy oat-milk to try in the coffee. (Btw Lidl is the only shop here that sells alternative milks for a reasonable price).

I bought a filter like this and I make oat drink when I need it. It's the easiest and the most environmental friendly option I believe for me (I can buy french or Italian oat).
I made soy drink for a while but it's a much longer and energy consuming process since you need to soak the beans and then have them boil for half an hour at least. The beans I bought came from Italy.

I totally dislike the taste of milk (and of butter) whether it's from the supermarket or from my neighbor's Amelia's cows (which tastes totally different but that I also don't like). And my stomach doesn't enjoy it but I believe that's because I almost never drink it - if you never eat something it always feel more difficult to digest.

I have read before that a big part of the environmental problem concerning cattle raising is actually transportation, whether for meat or for milk.
My personal view is the same for milk as for meat : reduce the amount consumed, get better quality, decent life conditions, and try to make it possible when relevant to buy locally. Though there are industrial farms, sheep and cows have it better on the whole than pigs and chickens !

 

[Molpet]

53 million acres of the remaining temperate grasslands in the US were ploughed to grow soya, corn and wheat."

some of this is because they are putting houses where there were farm fields. Its crazy they are putting fields where they need to be irrigated and houses on the best farmland that gets enough rain.
I live in the midwest USA and used to be surrounded by corn and soy fields. Before my great grandparents came it was forest. My cousin has a farm across the rd that is for sale....because the taxes are so high, so many people trespass ruining the crops and traffic makes it hard to get equipment to the fields.

 

[ManueB]

some of this is because they are putting houses where there were farm fields. Its crazy they are putting fields where they need to be irrigated and houses on the best farmland that gets enough rain.
I live in the midwest USA and used to be surrounded by corn and soy fields. Before my great grandparents came it was forest. My cousin has a farm across the rd that is for sale....because the taxes are so high, so many people trespass ruining the crops and traffic makes it hard to get equipment to the fields.

Here too they screwed up. The plain just outside Nice along the river they used to nickname the most fertile valley of Europe...then they built first several commercial zones, then a stadium, and now Ikea, and the new campuses for both private schools and uni. All that on floodable land.
I remember you mentioned the population where you live had exploded when they made a highway exit.
Seems like everything we can do wrong, we do. We want things asap and never think about longer term consequences. A bit like me with my chickens . Well it's not longer term any more, it's happening now.

I've found it only becomes a real problem when the subordinate roo is unable to run away (for whatever reason) and thus avoid a beating. The dom demonstrates his status by chasing the subordinate(s) and t(he)y demonstrates theirs/his by running away. Life is hard for superseded males because there's no tolerance among them for weakness and decline can be swift in these circumstances. I have Chirk in mind as I write this of course.

It has been very rough for Chirk. It's why I was, and still am, amazed he had the spirit to want to heal.
It's difficult to think of a good solution for him. Nature is a bit too rough for my liking in his case, I hope things will work out in time .

Relatively I think Gaston is not as bad with Théo, as Théo used to be with him. He doesn't drive him out of the yard. Most of the time he just chases him out of his sight. And from what I have seen Théo manages to eat and drink well enough, though he has to wait.

*********
Last night proved me wrong about roosting being a bit agitated but successful. I'm still locking only the run, as it feels much nicer in the coop with the door open. It closes with screws, so while it's pretty quick it's still longer than just shutting a door. I had just finished this before going to roost/bed, when I heard a ruckus of chick's distress cries that did not subside. It was dark enough that I couldn't see inside, so I opened the run again. I saw that one of the leghorns, don't know which, that was roosting next to the chicks, had thrown them off their roost or scared them down, and had taken their place. They couldn't see in the dark and were trying unsuccessfully to climb back on the ladder. I didn't want to wait for them to work it out, so I just picked the leghorn and put her further on the roost next to the other leghorn, and used my phone's light to help the chicks climb back. I really wasn't expecting a problem so late ! They would have made it one way or the other without me I'm sure but it shows their place on the roost isn't totally a certain thing yet. Usually they have more tolerant hens next to them, Piou-piou, Cannelle, or Merle most of the time.

Mysterious jumbo egg. This morning after the first set of laying I found among others, a huge light egg in the nest. I thought it was Nougat as she's the only one who lays big egg, it was much paler than her usual, but since the shell was very solid I didn't worry. However just after lunch we saw Nougat and Gaston looking everywhere for nesting places for an hour. After looking desperate she went back to her usual laying place in the second coop and laid one of her usual big freckled egg, around 90 grams. It was looking completely normal for her, so it seems very unlikely she could have laid the other just a few hours before. By elimination, the only other possibility is that huge egg was laid by Léa, as she was the only chicken that didn't lay today. But it was way bigger than her usual ! Not sure what happened.

From left to right : Léa 's usual egg, the mystery egg I found this morning, and Nougat's egg from this afternoon.

This morning we had a new visitor, that I hope will not become a recurrent one, a red kite. I'd never seen one before ! He was very insistent and came back twice, didn't look scared of me at all, so I hope he doesn't stay. We have enough with the gallicus hawks, the bald eagles, the sparrow hawks and the goshawks.

Like they often do the chicks played on the woodshed shelter but then the two cockerels realized they have grown heavier and they were scared to fly down. Pied Beau made a ridiculous exit jumping where he could, while Petit blanc flew down after a long hesitation and crashed.

Mixed breed dustbathe.

Cannelle seems to be doing good. She has laid two eggs this last week.

Théo's continuous clumsy and rude flirting with Merle could begin to pay off.

Piou-piou has been finding multiple ways to join the flock and Gaston. Here she is coming from underneath. I let them stay a bit together watching. Anyway without locking them up it's impossible to be checking all the time and he still manages to get out and mate her every now and then.

Sweethearts reunited.

 

[Perris]

Relatively I think Gaston is not as bad with Théo, as Théo used to be with him. He doesn't drive him out of the yard. Most of the time he just chases him out of his sight. And from what I have seen Théo manages to eat and drink well enough, though he has to wait.

This is how it usually is with my subordinate roos. As long as they can run when they must, all is well. Chirk is nowhere near that yet.

 

[Shadrach]

can we have some of your heat please? After an unusually dry Feb, unusually wet March, April and May, unusually very hot and very dry June, we're now half way through an unusually cold and wet July. I would be very glad of some normal weather...

Careful what you wish for. It seems not much in the way of weather comes in moderation currently.