Théo and the chickens des Sauches

[MaryJanet]

Laure is definitely getting fat bigger! Such a strange endearing hen she is.

She has spectacular wattles!

 

[Molpet]

So maybe it's a genetic issue ?

I know very little about meat birds. I've started following rescues on social media who take in broilers and I was surprised that in several cases, some of those fast growing industrial meat chickens outlive their expected lifespan for quite long. I suppose they are exceptions, but some get to live five years and more.
I suppose having the fastest growth isn't really what you're looking for !
Glad that you only had outdoor damage, could get some warmth, and that all of you including the chickens are fine ! The first winter we spent here, we had a snow storm and three days without power. We only use the stove for heat and to cook, so that made no difference, but by the third day we caved in ...and went to take a hot shower at my partner 's mother ! Warmth, warm water, light... It does make you think about how unfit we have become to live without energy. Take away electricity and oil, and we would be in trouble. People lived without them for many centuries I know, but however much I enjoy simple living I also realise I need confort.

Yes I think it might be genetic.
I am breeding for 6 lbs dressed cockerel at 16 wks
The rooster that just died was probably larger than that at 16 wks.
The ones that were from a lavender old English orphington rooster were much slower growing and didn't get to that size. I only have 2 hens left from that breeding. The orphington rooster was killed by a jake so I didn't get too many from him.
Some of the ones from the dark Cornish are at that size around 20 wks , which is ok if they are healthier. Still have a gout/arthritis issue with roosters, but I think that's the CX broiler genetics.
Unfortunately getting quality standard heritage Cornish has been difficult. Out of 3 shipments of hatching eggs only one cockerel hatched.


I was watching something and they were saying only a third of the people in the world have electric all day.
I am with you that I appreciate refrigerator , running hot water, central heating and air conditioning. A few days is ok , but I would be sad without for ever

 

[Perris]

Warmth, warm water, light... It does make you think about how unfit we have become to live without energy. Take away electricity and oil, and we would be in trouble. People lived without them for many centuries I know, but however much I enjoy simple living I also realise I need confort.

You put it perfectly. There has been a TV show running here, a dramatization of Hilary Mantel's books on Henry VIII and Cromwell. BBC historical drama at its best, and I couldn't help noticing how many layers everyone is wearing. These aristocratic movers and shakers look like balls on sticks, with their many layers of thick furry body-warmers atop legs in tights. More subtly, they wear two-layer hats, a sort of skull cap that stays on when the elaborate outer layer is doffed in greeting equals and superiors. The cod-piece makes sense now . And they're wearing all this *inside*, indeed, apparently at all times and in all places except bed (when traditionally a nightcap is worn of course). That was the Tudor solution to warmth and comfort for those who could afford it.

The ex-batt's had reproductive issues when they ate only layer feed, and I still see reproductive issues in the hens more than should be the case now I've changed the way of feeding

One of the most surprising things I discovered in the NG literature is that the number of taste receptors that develop is itself a response to the nutritional environment, especially in the juvenile stage. For example, locusts reared on a single, nutritionally balanced, 'optimal' powdered feed developed fewer chemoreceptors on their mouthparts and antennae, and fewer sensilla are associated with slower, more indecisive feeding responses, especially to marginally acceptable foods. It seems likely that the sensilla are not the only body parts subject to this. In any case, changing the diet of an adult bird that is used to a homogenised feed is not necessarily going to change much in a short time frame.

And I also find there is so much evolution in nutritional recommendations, it's a fast moving science, and it's not always easy to know even with scientific studies if the findings are hard facts, or will be subject to new interpretations.

isn't that the truth! The nonsense is usually quite easy to spot and dismiss, but the genuine disagreements between people who really know what they are talking about and who really believe what they're saying are much harder to untangle and resolve.

I wonder what causes the difference in timing between the chickens.

That was one of the unresolved questions in the moulting book. Nobody knows, yet.

 

[Molpet]

and I couldn't help noticing how many layers everyone is wearing. These aristocratic movers and shakers look like balls on sticks, with their many layers of thick furry body-warmers atop legs in tights. More subtly, they wear two-layer hats, a sort of skull cap that stays on when the elaborate outer layer is doffed in greeting equals and superiors. The cod-piece makes sense now . And they're wearing all this *inside*, indeed, apparently at all times and in all places except bed (when traditionally a nightcap is worn of course). That was the Tudor solution to warmth and comfort for those who could afford it.

And the zipper had not been invented yet. Nor elastic. Most things slipped on or were tied.

 

[RoyalChick]

I am with you that I appreciate refrigerator , running hot water, central heating and air conditioning. A few days is ok , but I would be sad without for ever

Sad indeed!
After Hurricane Sandy and before that, a freak snowstorm in October, I was without power for a couple of weeks at a time.
I was fine without light, but because I have a well I also didn't have water, and that was horrible.
I was reasonably well prepared so I had a huge laundry tub I had filled with clean water ahead of time and that was my only drinking and cooking water that I rationed out very carefully.
I collected rain/snow for flushing. I was unable to leave my house because of live wires down all around me and my life started to center entirely on managing the next 24 hours in terms of water.
Once the power came back on I found it psychologically hard to just tip my remaining clean water down the drain as it has been my life support for so long - I think I kept using it for rinsing dishes for several more days.
After the second storm event I invested in a generator and it is the single best thing I have every spent money on in my life. Everyone laughed at me because I got it after those two 'once in a hundred years' storms, but it turns out it has saved me on multiple occasions since.

 

[Perris]

that sounds really challenging; water is truly the most precious resource. Regarding

I invested in a generator and it is the single best thing I have every spent money on in my life.

the nearest pub had done the same. They not only were able to go ahead with a wedding that was booked for Saturday, but also provided loads of us in the vicinity with delicious and more importantly *hot* food and good cheer throughout the blackout.

 

[RoyalChick]

that sounds really challenging; water is truly the most precious resource. Regarding

the nearest pub had done the same. They not only were able to go ahead with a wedding that was booked for Saturday, but also provided loads of us in the vicinity with delicious and more importantly *hot* food and good cheer throughout the blackout.

How wonderful.

 

[Molpet]

Sad indeed!
After Hurricane Sandy and before that, a freak snowstorm in October, I was without power for a couple of weeks at a time.
I was fine without light, but because I have a well I also didn't have water, and that was horrible.
I was reasonably well prepared so I had a huge laundry tub I had filled with clean water ahead of time and that was my only drinking and cooking water that I rationed out very carefully.
I collected rain/snow for flushing. I was unable to leave my house because of live wires down all around me and my life started to center entirely on managing the next 24 hours in terms of water.
Once the power came back on I found it psychologically hard to just tip my remaining clean water down the drain as it has been my life support for so long - I think I kept using it for rinsing dishes for several more days.
After the second storm event I invested in a generator and it is the single best thing I have every spent money on in my life. Everyone laughed at me because I got it after those two 'once in a hundred years' storms, but it turns out it has saved me on multiple occasions since.

I learned as a kid to keep supplies, including jugs of water. ( Came in handy with covid.) We too had a few snowstorms with no power, on a well. Roads were blocked for a week in 67 and several frontend loaders got stuck. They kept sending bigger ones

 

[ManueB]

Sad indeed!
After Hurricane Sandy and before that, a freak snowstorm in October, I was without power for a couple of weeks at a time.
I was fine without light, but because I have a well I also didn't have water, and that was horrible.
I was reasonably well prepared so I had a huge laundry tub I had filled with clean water ahead of time and that was my only drinking and cooking water that I rationed out very carefully.
I collected rain/snow for flushing. I was unable to leave my house because of live wires down all around me and my life started to center entirely on managing the next 24 hours in terms of water.
Once the power came back on I found it psychologically hard to just tip my remaining clean water down the drain as it has been my life support for so long - I think I kept using it for rinsing dishes for several more days.
After the second storm event I invested in a generator and it is the single best thing I have every spent money on in my life. Everyone laughed at me because I got it after those two 'once in a hundred years' storms, but it turns out it has saved me on multiple occasions since.

That must have been quite an awakening experience, and also a very stressful one, especially being on your own to deal with it.
Many older people here have generators, as shortages used to be more frequent. But generators need oil. I can't help wonder what would happen if both electricity and oil became rare, which used to be complete science fiction but I'm not so sure now.
These natural events, storms, floodings, fires... I find it terrifying what little help our technological progress is when they hit hard.
***********
I had the confirmation today that Lilly's issue is more serious than a lack of calcium. This morning when I cleaned the coop I found under her a big glob of blood and egg white, and a very tiny forming egg, the size of a hazelnut.
She is still acting normal although maybe she did rest a bit more than usual during the day. She didn't want to go to roost tonight - Lulu and her had escaped from the terrace beyond the chicken yard, jumping the two walls above and I found them behind the old houses .
But it's getting hard to believe this is just a phase. We will wait some more before deciding if we attempt something for her. We haven't developed the same bond with the four hens we bought as with those that grew up here, and they have so much health issues that we regret having bought them, but she is our favourite of the four.

 

[Perris]

sorry to read about Lilly's condition - but if she can jump two walls, going uphill, she's evidently still got a lot of get up and go, so she gets over it, whatever it is, quickly.