Théo and the chickens des Sauches

[BDutch]

As promised , the labels on the feed bags.

The mixed grains contain from most to little;
Wheat, corn, barley, sunflower seeds, mussel shells.

The chick crumble contains from most to little:
Wheat, corn, soy, sunflower seeds, wheat semolina, oats, peas, sesame seeds, etc. ( additives)

 

[BDutch]

Most dreid mealworms one can get in the UK are not raised in the UK and some at least have some very unpleasant chemicals in them.

I found a report from our nat. food department on dried mealworms*:
It says that there is no reason to believe that there are toxins in the dried mealworms regarding the used methods.
They also write that it’s not clear if the chitins ( N-acetyl D-glucosamine ) are a hazard if eaten much. But eating no more than 45 grams freeze-dried mealworms a day there are no problems to expect.

*The common dried mealworm in NL sold as bird/chicken feed are the yellow mealworms. These are larvae from the beetle Tenebrio molitor.

 

[ManueB]

wonderful to read that Laure has turned a corner and is improving.

Yes ! But, I'm still wondering what goes on exactly when those moulting hens start stumbling and seem to lose their balance, or the control of their leg or legs. Also, I wonder why it isn't more talked about. It's very impressive to see, so maybe it happens only to my chickens. I saw it with Nougat, Blanche, and now Laure, considering 18 hens have lived here and 16 moulted it's not an exception.

It also happened to Piou-piou once when she wasn't moulting, and someone on BYC made a guess she could have a nerve pinched from a stuck egg (she had missed two days laying). It seemed possible in her case because as soon as she laid it was over.

I imagine Theo is not happy about it.

No, he isn't! But he hasn't flied in to get her back out with him the last two days... and I think that's because he knows she will soon be broody again and disappear from his life for another month .

I'm still getting courgettes, just about, but the late planted tomatoes are not going to produce any more ripe tomatoes this year. It's just too wet and chilly with not enough sunshine.

When it gets too cold, before pulling out the tomato plants, we pick the green tomatoes, and keep them inside in huge brown paper bags with an apple and they ripen slowly. Not as tasty as the ones that ripen outside on the plant but still a lot better than the ones from the supermarket.
My partner eats them until mid November but I don't feel like eating tomatoes once it's autumn.

It's the first year I cut off the dead or sick leaves from the courgettes, and it has made a big difference in helping them stay productive.

As promised , the labels on the feed bags.
View attachment 3951082
The mixed grains contain from most to little;
Wheat, corn, barley, sunflower seeds, mussel shells.
View attachment 3951080
The chick crumble contains from most to little:
Wheat, corn, soy, sunflower seeds, wheat semolina, oats, peas, sesame seeds, etc. ( additives)

Thank you very much for remembering . I'll have to take the time to compare the values, but the first thing that strikes me is that there are indeed many additives in the organic chick feed you buy, just as my organic layer feed has many.

Am I right in guessing that the selenomethionin in the additives comes from brewer's yeast ?
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At last it seems Chipie and Léa have decided they will stop sitting. It's funny because the last two days they spent a lot of time together doing the "I will stare you down" thing - Chipie still dominates Léa, even though she is second to last in the hen's hierarchy whereas Léa is near the top. Obviously they discussed it together because this evening they were both waiting as usual in front of the coop for me to open the door but when I did, neither went to their nest and they just went looking around a bit lost to decide where they would roost.

It's a good thing for Chipie who has been at it way too long, but it's hard for her to come back in the flock as everyone hate her guts and try to attack her. Gaston protects her when he is around but Chipie tends to stay away from him.

All the hens are moulting now more or less discreetly. But for now, none apart from Lilly look too bad and all are eating normally and don't seem too affected. But it may be just the beginning.

Lilly's foot abscess and Alba's swelling are getting worse. For Alba, I'm going to try clay cataplasms. It's quite usual to do that here for human sprain. The vet told us before that we could try it for a chicken, when Piou-piou was limping. I would use wintergreen and Italian strawflower essential oil for myself, but I couldn't find any information to be sure they are safe for chickens. So we will stick to plain green clay for Alba and hope it helps a bit.

I had planned to go see my parents Monday and Tuesday. But someone who was part of the extended family passed a few days ago. We are not sure what day the burial will be, and I'm still hesitant to go. He was my aunt's partner. I lived with my aunt until I was fifteen : she shared a house with my parents before moving with him, and she died of brain cancer at 60.
His daughter will be there, we sort of grew up together as children, but then we completely lost contact. Now she lives in Venezuela so it's the only chance I'll have of seeing her again.
This man had been a very good friend of my parents, they had met in Chile when Pinochet took over, I think it was a special time for all of them trying to help their chilean friends in whatever way they could.

Just go away.

My partner dug the second half of the potatoes then it rained so it's an all you can eat worm buffet.

I tore out the last cucumber vine to plant the few kale seedlings that survived summer but it turned out it still had a lot of cucumbers .

A sun and earth meditation. With an intruder - Mélisse aka Saucisse has no manners.

 

[BDutch]

Am I right in guessing that the selenomethionin in the additives comes from brewer's yeast ?

I really don’t know. Did you see this on the label?.

Sad to hear Lilly and Alba have these lasting foot problems again. Hope they both heal soon.

His daughter will be there, we sort of grew up together as children, but then we completely lost contact. Now she lives in Venezuela so it's the only chance I'll have of seeing her again.

Sorry for the loss of your uncle.
Do go. I think I would regret it forever if I didnt.

 

[MaryJanet]

Sorry to read about your uncle. Hope you get enough opportunity to talk about him in the days to come

 

[Molpet]

His daughter will be there, we sort of grew up together as children, but then we completely lost contact. Now she lives in Venezuela so it's the only chance I'll have of seeing her again.

Sorry for your loss and hoping you get to see her