Théo and the chickens des Sauches

[BDutch]

Thanks for sharing Blances story.

One thing I didn’t understand.

ex-batt's arrived as pullets,

If they arrived as pullets they can’t have been ex-bats. They must have been older hens or young laying hybrids.

 

[MaryJanet]

The post about Blanche, the little ex-batt with nine lives.

She was the first hen we named for a simple reason : when the ex-batt's arrived as pullets, she was the only one we could tell apart because she was whiter than all except Cannelle, and smaller. But she turned out to be the last to learn her name. It took the time for her to discover her passion in life : eating ! Blanche's brain was in her belly. Once she understood we brought her treats, she would run as fast as she could when we called "Blaaaaannnnche" right from across the yard, and that would last most of her life.

March 2020, Blanche on the right and Cannelle on the left.
View attachment 3830151
She was a small thing with a strong temper. At roost time she was determined to be on the higher bar of the ladder where they roosted. For months Cannelle, Vanille and her quarreled for that place above and often they would squeeze in the three of them- they didn't understand that they could use the roost and not just the ladder, to sleep !

I'm not sure when we realised that she was going to have health issues. We quickly saw that even though she kept stuffing herself, she was smaller, always hungry and her crop was never full, but she was so lively and active this didn't seem to be a problem.
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She was the craziest of the ex-batt's and we felt sometimes that she was a bit..silly. Rain, snow or hail, nothing could keep her from staying outside and more than once she got soaked wet when her friends thought better.
View attachment 3830214
The first problem she encountered was in early 2021 when she started missing feathers on her back, until she had a huge bare patch. This was when we first noticed because she was wet.
View attachment 3830152
No treatment seemed to help and she wasn't being picked on. She stayed for months without feathers and since she didn't molt like all of my ex-batts their first two winter, they didn't grow back- until one day they did, a long time later.
The next problem was a lot more serious. Like Vanille, she began having trouble to lay her daily egg. She would be egg-bound for one day, and lay two eggs the next. This happened every day for two months. We gave her calcium and began supplementing her with scrambled egg and sardine but it didn't seem to help. It really looked like she would die. She only had about an hour of respite after laying the second egg and then she would act unwell again. But somehow she pulled out of it and started laying normally again. It was then we realised that in spite of being a bit mad,she had grit and she really wanted to live.
View attachment 3830150
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View attachment 3830215
We really thought she would be one of our first ex-batt's to die with Vanille but she proved us wrong every time. And each time, as soon as she felt better, she went back to her crazy happy chicken ways.

Just before Christmas 2022, there was a hawk attack under the laurel tree and she was struggling during about a minute before we heard and chased the hawk away. All we saw was a slight superficial peck on her head and she was blinking and closing one eye. It didn't look serious, the year before Brune had been attacked in the same circumstances she had had a far deeper peck and kept her eye totally closed for two days, and she healed in a week. But it turned out differently for Blanche. It was obvious her eye hurt her, although we didn't see anything wrong with it, and she spent her mornings lying down inside the coop. After some time we realised she was loosing sight in her eye. Her personality underwent a major shift as well. Before that she had been totally unafraid and unconscious of any dangers. After the attack she became a lot more timid. Even when she was well we could see she stayed close to the coop because she wanted to be able to come back to hide. She was also afraid of the roosters and both Gaston and Théo took advantage of that, although both could be kind to her in some ways.
View attachment 3830218

During all 2023,she kept alternating phases where she was really down and moments when she was much better. She kept her love for food, so when she wouldn't eat any of the things she loved, we knew she felt really bad. We also realised she had a problem with her digestive system. She kept vomiting water but her crop always felt empty.
We called her the demon hen, because she was so mean to all the new comers. We used to joke chasing and pecking other hens what was kept her going. This turned back on her when the bigger hens Kara and Lilly managed to take over her and began bullying her ; she was utterly terrified.

We also called her the hen with nine lives because it seemed incredible she was still there and fighting. I can't tell you the number of times I thought she would die. And each time, as soon as she felt a bit better, it seemed as if nothing had ever been wrong. She focused on the present.

I think her ending was relatively peaceful, once we found out she had a lice infestation and treated it and managed to ease her sour crop. She deliberately chose to spend those last weeks with us instead of with her kin, which felt very strange, both sad and endearing. I tried many times to put her back with the most tolerant hens, or to have her see them on the other side of the mesh. The last chickens she interacted with were Gaston and Nougat, but she just didn't want to. My guess is that either she felt too weak to keep up with them, or they were treating her like she was already dead whereas we were spoiling her and giving her a lot of attention.
She kept wanting to go in our house the first days we brought her a bit inside, then we had a routine of taking her out toward 9 or ten, and she would hang out in front of the house or in the woodshed until she was too tired and we put her to bed in the crate in the coop. The highlights of her days was when we brought her tiny portions of whatever food she liked to eat at that moment, she would try to run to us and make greedy sounds, and when we put her on our knees, either my partner or me, to nap. She became the first pet chicken we have ever had during her last month.

Her days shortened progressively until we knew it was the end, she just opened her eye when my partner said goodbye before leaving for work early in the morning, and then she did not wake up until she died.

August 2022
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October 2022
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January 2023 not long after the hawk attack. Staying in the coop with Nougat.
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August 2023 with Nougat and Gaston
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September 2023
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October 2023
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December 2023
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2024
One of the few times she managed to go down the chicken yard with the other chickens.
View attachment 3830329
Getting to the end and still longing for some yummy treats.
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And finally crossing over. Goodbye, Blanchette, we will remain in awe of how you fought for life.

Spoiler

View attachment 3830349

What a beautiful tribute to her

 

[RoyalChick]

The post about Blanche, the little ex-batt with nine lives.

She was the first hen we named for a simple reason : when the ex-batt's arrived as pullets, she was the only one we could tell apart because she was whiter than all except Cannelle, and smaller. But she turned out to be the last to learn her name. It took the time for her to discover her passion in life : eating ! Blanche's brain was in her belly. Once she understood we brought her treats, she would run as fast as she could when we called "Blaaaaannnnche" right from across the yard, and that would last most of her life.

March 2020, Blanche on the right and Cannelle on the left.
View attachment 3830151
She was a small thing with a strong temper. At roost time she was determined to be on the higher bar of the ladder where they roosted. For months Cannelle, Vanille and her quarreled for that place above and often they would squeeze in the three of them- they didn't understand that they could use the roost and not just the ladder, to sleep !

I'm not sure when we realised that she was going to have health issues. We quickly saw that even though she kept stuffing herself, she was smaller, always hungry and her crop was never full, but she was so lively and active this didn't seem to be a problem.
View attachment 3830153
View attachment 3830154
View attachment 3830156
View attachment 3830326
She was the craziest of the ex-batt's and we felt sometimes that she was a bit..silly. Rain, snow or hail, nothing could keep her from staying outside and more than once she got soaked wet when her friends thought better.
View attachment 3830214
The first problem she encountered was in early 2021 when she started missing feathers on her back, until she had a huge bare patch. This was when we first noticed because she was wet.
View attachment 3830152
No treatment seemed to help and she wasn't being picked on. She stayed for months without feathers and since she didn't molt like all of my ex-batts their first two winter, they didn't grow back- until one day they did, a long time later.
The next problem was a lot more serious. Like Vanille, she began having trouble to lay her daily egg. She would be egg-bound for one day, and lay two eggs the next. This happened every day for two months. We gave her calcium and began supplementing her with scrambled egg and sardine but it didn't seem to help. It really looked like she would die. She only had about an hour of respite after laying the second egg and then she would act unwell again. But somehow she pulled out of it and started laying normally again. It was then we realised that in spite of being a bit mad,she had grit and she really wanted to live.
View attachment 3830150
View attachment 3830156
View attachment 3830215
We really thought she would be one of our first ex-batt's to die with Vanille but she proved us wrong every time. And each time, as soon as she felt better, she went back to her crazy happy chicken ways.

Just before Christmas 2022, there was a hawk attack under the laurel tree and she was struggling during about a minute before we heard and chased the hawk away. All we saw was a slight superficial peck on her head and she was blinking and closing one eye. It didn't look serious, the year before Brune had been attacked in the same circumstances she had had a far deeper peck and kept her eye totally closed for two days, and she healed in a week. But it turned out differently for Blanche. It was obvious her eye hurt her, although we didn't see anything wrong with it, and she spent her mornings lying down inside the coop. After some time we realised she was loosing sight in her eye. Her personality underwent a major shift as well. Before that she had been totally unafraid and unconscious of any dangers. After the attack she became a lot more timid. Even when she was well we could see she stayed close to the coop because she wanted to be able to come back to hide. She was also afraid of the roosters and both Gaston and Théo took advantage of that, although both could be kind to her in some ways.
View attachment 3830218

During all 2023,she kept alternating phases where she was really down and moments when she was much better. She kept her love for food, so when she wouldn't eat any of the things she loved, we knew she felt really bad. We also realised she had a problem with her digestive system. She kept vomiting water but her crop always felt empty.
We called her the demon hen, because she was so mean to all the new comers. We used to joke chasing and pecking other hens what was kept her going. This turned back on her when the bigger hens Kara and Lilly managed to take over her and began bullying her ; she was utterly terrified.

We also called her the hen with nine lives because it seemed incredible she was still there and fighting. I can't tell you the number of times I thought she would die. And each time, as soon as she felt a bit better, it seemed as if nothing had ever been wrong. She focused on the present.

I think her ending was relatively peaceful, once we found out she had a lice infestation and treated it and managed to ease her sour crop. She deliberately chose to spend those last weeks with us instead of with her kin, which felt very strange, both sad and endearing. I tried many times to put her back with the most tolerant hens, or to have her see them on the other side of the mesh. The last chickens she interacted with were Gaston and Nougat, but she just didn't want to. My guess is that either she felt too weak to keep up with them, or they were treating her like she was already dead whereas we were spoiling her and giving her a lot of attention.
She kept wanting to go in our house the first days we brought her a bit inside, then we had a routine of taking her out toward 9 or ten, and she would hang out in front of the house or in the woodshed until she was too tired and we put her to bed in the crate in the coop. The highlights of her days was when we brought her tiny portions of whatever food she liked to eat at that moment, she would try to run to us and make greedy sounds, and when we put her on our knees, either my partner or me, to nap. She became the first pet chicken we have ever had during her last month.

Her days shortened progressively until we knew it was the end, she just opened her eye when my partner said goodbye before leaving for work early in the morning, and then she did not wake up until she died.

August 2022
View attachment 3830220
View attachment 3830221
October 2022
View attachment 3830217
January 2023 not long after the hawk attack. Staying in the coop with Nougat.
View attachment 3830216
View attachment 3830219
August 2023 with Nougat and Gaston
View attachment 3830335
September 2023
View attachment 3830334
View attachment 3830333
October 2023
View attachment 3830332
View attachment 3830331
December 2023
View attachment 3830330
2024
One of the few times she managed to go down the chicken yard with the other chickens.
View attachment 3830329
Getting to the end and still longing for some yummy treats.
View attachment 3830328
View attachment 3830327
And finally crossing over. Goodbye, Blanchette, we will remain in awe of how you fought for life.

Spoiler

View attachment 3830349

What a lovely way to remember her.
She was a spirited little soul and lived her short life well.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm still amazed at how much character gets packed into these seemingly fragile creatures. As I've often said,I think Red Sex links are lovely looking birds and some of your pictures of Blanche show exactly why.

 

[RoyalChick]

I'm still amazed at how much character gets packed into these seemingly fragile creatures. As I've often said,I think Red Sex links are lovely looking birds and some of your pictures of Blanche show exactly why.

I am with you - it is one of the things that fascinates me about them. They are very much individuals.

 

[ManueB]

Thank you all again for the kind words.

That's a beautiful tribute to a missed friend.

I miss her more than I imagined. Partly because spending so much time caring and worrying for her made me feel more attached, but also now she's gone I really feel a page has turned in our chicken journey.

Thanks for sharing Blances story.

One thing I didn’t understand.

If they arrived as pullets they can’t have been ex-bats. They must have been older hens or young laying hybrids.

It's due to specific circumstances. My partner and his dad drove two hours to get to the battery where they were giving spent hens and when they arrived, none were left. Because my partner's father knew the guy from the battery that was organising, he just gave him six 3 months old pullets so they didn't drive four hours for nothing.

I am with you - it is one of the things that fascinates me about them. They are very much individuals.

Which makes it terrifying to imagine their lives in the battery. The place where we got them is still very much what it was forty years ago : I think around 15000 layers, in so called enriched cages. They grow the food and they grow the pullets. The only thing they don't do is hatch the eggs. The chickens never come out.
Ban the cage is still a thing here.

How interesting about the core coming out like that.

Interesting? I would have said disgusting !
Yesterday when we took off the dressing, it had become more worrying. The hole was deeper than my partner had realised, up to the bone, and the problem was that the pus did not make a compact plug anymore but was spread all over under the skin. We didn't manage to take much of it out, maybe for lack of the right tool (I used my stainless steel ear cleaner for lack of something more appropriate.) I thought we could maybe wait a few days and see how it turned out, since she was acting lively and not seeming bothered, but both my partner and the vet said it was better to bring her to the clinic today to cut it open, to avoid infection.
So poor Lilly did have an anesthesia and now has a huge hole in her belly ; my partner should be back with her toward eight. I am so sorry for her ; in the year she has been here it's already the third time she is going to the vet .
Apparently we made a mistake to put a dressing. The vet says the hole needs to be left to open air to heal.

It's raining today and will be most of the week so the chickens are all unhappy, and they didn't come out much but spent most of the day in the run .

 

[ManueB]

The cats say they don't mind rain but they mind being woken up.
Wanted to share this that came up in my social media today. Her poetry may not be technically the best but often I feel like she expressed my exact feelings.

 

[Perris]

The cats say they don't mind rain but they mind being woken up.
Wanted to share this that came up in my social media today. Her poetry may not be technically the best but often I feel like she expressed my exact feelings.

View attachment 3831702

in my experience these sentiments are felt stronger the more one has. It is a truism here that if you are collecting for charity, you will be given far more by the poor than by the rich.