Are you sure she has no parasites on her skin / no lice?
100% sure. The first time Merle ever turned broody she was very young, she had only been laying for maybe three weeks, and she started dustbathing all the time and looking very strange, sort of like a junkie. I was sure she was ridden with lice, and I checked her over and over, when she was just getting herself ready to sit ! Now I've seen her doing that many times, since she turns broody about ten times a year. And I still do check for parasite mostly because she doesn't mind at all being held, but she's actually one of the few chickens here on which I've never, ever, seen just a single louse.
I thought all broodies did this, but apparently it's not the case ? Both Léa and Merle always begin to dustbath countless times a day, pluck their chest feathers off, pick on weight, about a week to ten days before turning broody.
It was a wire brush, intended for grooming guinea pigs; worked well for removing retained keratin sheaths.
Very helpful, thanks ! I tried yesterday with a small wire brush I bought when my cats were still babies. It works much better than with fingers and it doesn't break the feathers like I feared it would. If you hadn't mentioned it, I would never have dared use it on the rooster !
It's going to take a few more sessions though because Théo really doesn't like being held, even though he seemed not to mind being groomed, so I prefer not to keep him restrained for too long.
I wanted to update that light never went to the vet. The appointment was canceled due to weather and we never rescheduled.
She seems fine except she developed a slow crop for the last 4 days and it's not getting better.
Thanks. Light acts like everything is normal and always busy scratching away.
The crop is not emptying, but thankfully it's not getting bigger.
I hope it gets better. You've dealt several times with sour crop and so has Light, so I'm sure you will do the best to manage it. I remember you were using slippery elm, is that what you are giving her now ?
It's reassuring that she is acting fine. I'm always worried that sour crop is happening because of some other serious issue, but if that was the case she would look unwell.
I don't hate roosters nutter! LOL
I just feel sorry for the people who can't enjoy their flock because they are afraid of their rooster they thought they had to have in order to have a flock of chickens.
I hate scratch and treats and crybabies.
Well, I can disagree on all of that, and still be thankful for your proposition, for all the time you're putting into this website, and for doing things out of good will just because they may be useful for at least one person on BYC.
Let's try something contradictory like : I feel sorry for the rooster who gets almost always culled by people who don't understand a thing about him but still got him because they thought they had to ; I think that whole grains (we don't know what scratch is here) is the right way to feed free-ranging or at least outdoor chickens, and that the word treat doesn't make sense for chickens ; and I probably qualify as a cry baby myself, I cry at least once a week for no good reason and I whine for no good reason... a lot more often
.
-------
Laure laid again a perfect egg today, and she has become one of Gaston's favourite, he makes sure to mate her daily. I think this is good for her lack of self assurance, as for two mornings now I saw her eating with the other hens in the run, which she was too afraid to do these last months.
Merle sat a bit on her nest yesterday, but didn't insist when I took her off. Today she didn't lay and didn't try to sit, but she's making broody noises. Théo is still sticking to her like glue so she's not broody yet as he avoids her once that's the case.
I was a bit afraid the roosters would fight again, but yesterday was quiet, except they did a lot of fence fighting. I discovered Théo had the tiniest scar very close to his eye from fighting with Gaston, and he managed to open it a bit more fence fighting. I cleaned and disinfected all the tiny pecks on his face and wattles, which I usually don't bother to do at all since they heal very well and he keeps making new ones all the time. He wasn't happy about it, he really doesn't like to be handled. He's not as fast and constantly on alert as he used to be so it's a bit easier to catch him now. But he is still easily stressed.
I'm very sad that one of the two almond trees we planted about eight years ago has died throughout this winter. There was no warning sign, other than it had maybe a bit less flowers last year than usual. While we're overall pretty happy with the results of our vegetable gardening, planting trees is something we don't have a lot of success with. I would say only 50 % of the sapling survive their first year ; and it's the second time we have a well installed tree that has already yielded fruits for a year or two, die throughout winter without any apparent cause. We don't treat the trees, and for some young trees that develop illness, I'm sure it would help to use diluted copper sulfate, but for many that die there are no visible causes.
My partner began grafting three years ago in the hope that the grafted trees would be more resistant, but it's too early to say if they are. Not all the grafts take, so it's also a bit of a gambling game, but seeing how the price of saplings has exploded I think we will do that more and more.
The two almond saplings we bought last year did not survive either. We might try planting them closer to where they used to have the almond trees last century, which was a lot further from the house, but more exposed to the sun and in more chalky ground ( our soil is chalky everywhere but even more in some places than others).
Yesterday's pictures.
Babies. Make babies.
What exactly can the evil she-devil be doing up there ? Inquiring Mélisse wants to know.
Go away
! Now ! Or I turn you into a worm !
Dust and sun baths.
Léa, being one of the senior hens, dominates most of the younger chickens, but not Kara. Kara won over her while Léa was broody, and that has not changed, even though Kara has grown much weaker and doesn't lay anymore.
Lulu often tries to bury her head in the dirt to hide from world events.
Yesterday right after the chicken roosted, a small piece of double rainbow
.
Today's pictures:
Annette hanged out a bit with Théo which she hadn't done in a while
Alba had a big hanging crop today. I'll try to go check tomorrow morning before the chicken come down the roost if it empties properly. But now they are awake at around 6.20 and it gets earlier every day !
Lilly
Lulu
Chipie wanted a romantic dustbath with Gaston but that was not meant to happen.
Merle
Tiny Chipie
.
I'm not sure when it began, I think these last months - now when Théo gets even a small stress his face turns light grey-purple. That used to be the case when he got into a big fight with Gaston for example, but now just hearing black crows, or seeing me coming after him, or seeing Merle inside the chicken yard will do that.
poor light; wish I could help, but I'm clueless on crop issues, sorry.
.
