Théo and the chickens des Sauches

ManueB · Oct 1, 2023

BDutch said:
This sucks and is really weird. Can you explain why they restricted selling chickens/ poultry and other animals. ?

I think the two main ideas were to stop people detaining animals in bad health condition to sell them, and to stop traffic of endangered specie, some of it not always illegal.
It's also forbidden to sell live animals in shops, apart from cats and dogs and I think fishes.

You are supposed to get a certification for breeding /detaining animals, if you want to sell. I’m not sure in what it consists exactly. It was already the case for specie that are not considered domestic or only partially, for example Serval and Savannah cats up to F4.

I don't think it will stop anyone from selling poultry though. You just have to do it orally.

RoyalChick · Oct 2, 2023

ManueB said:
I had one of them on the phone, she wants the rooster for her grandfather, who lives in the village next to us. He hasn't had chickens for many years and she wants to help him start a small flock with five hens and a rooster. She is buying him a coop and looking for chickens. She would have wanted to buy the four pullets as well, but we're not ready to sell them, especially as they are not really attached to Pied Beau.
Nothing is done yet. On that site many people make contact and never follow up.
But we’re not worried because we always have the solution of putting Pied Beau in Gaston's flock. His 18 year old son has moved in to live with him, the son takes care of the chickens now, and I think that he is changing some of the things that I didn't like about how they were kept.

The "secret".... was rather peculiar. The woman who called me said she had flashed on the ad because her mother was born on the same day as Pied Beau.

By the way, I discovered that it's now illegal for someone who is not a professional, or has a breeding capacity, to sell any other animal than cats and dogs. It's one of the new points from the 2023 animal welfare law.

Interesting perspective, I never saw it that way.
I’m actually less stressed for my flock now they are 18, than last year when they were 10, because the global interactions feel more like one big flock with a good dose of bickering and quarrelling, and not like two groups hating each other.
Some things remain the same independently of the number of animals : buying food for six or twenty, for example, takes the same time.
It's true that it becomes more likely many will have issues at the same time, and that's something I find hard to cope with, when you need to tend to multiple different problems.
Cleaning the coop and the yard takes a lot more time !

But it's with chickens as with life in general, things are fine for a while and you just don't think about it, and then all of a sudden all kind of troubles seem to happen at once.

And sometimes positive things also take time and attention, like getting your chickens to accept going in the new roost without it being stressful !
I’m pretty sure there is a number which means a change in scale and in the way of doing things. Like not giving names to all the chickens, tending only to sickness if they could affect the flock.. but I don't know what that number would be.
******
We are having an Indian summer. It went up to 27c today. In the shade it's really nice though, so the chickens enjoy their morning and then they have a long spanish nap until four.
The pullets did not leave the yard today, and Lilly only stayed part of the day with Pied Beau, so he was alone most of the day. While Piou-piou really tried to avoid him, at one point she forgot and went in the garden when he was there. I heard running and terror cries and she managed to be fast enough to escape and to fly over the netting, which is just incredible seen how her mobility is terrible!
At another point Pied beau arrived out of nowhere while Théo and Piou-piou were eating in front of our house, and he started doing the chase. I ran after him and stopped him with arms wide open and that scared him in turn.
It seems Théo will bully Pied beau away, but not when Pied beau does the chasing thing. He really scares everyone doing this.
Pied beau is still very friendly with us, and terrified of Gaston. Again I thought he wouldn't roost tonight ! When he did he wanted to roost next to piou-piou so there was a bit of chaos as everyone moved around.

Nieva’s foot is still not great. One is definitely better ; the scab came off with the dressing, and it's less swollen. Hopefully it's on it's way to healing. But I took the scab off the other one and there was still a bit of pus under, and the foot is still hot and swollen. I think we may have to go back to tending it every two days instead of three, at least when my partner is home.

Soon I will be tail less.
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Soon I will have a tail again.
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Gaston sweet talking to Mélisse.
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His black is really looking blue now.
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Merle is not looking good. She is molting underneath and shedding huge amounts of dandruff and today she seemed to be panting a bit. She has just began laying again two days ago and her eggs have changed colours, they used to be cream, almost white, and now they are light beige.
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What's up there ?
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Nougat is both molting and getting a bare back from over mating by Gaston .
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Sorry about Nivea’s foot.

BDutch · Oct 2, 2023

ManueB said:
I think the two main ideas were to stop people detaining animals in bad health condition to sell them, and to stop traffic of endangered specie, some of it not always illegal.

These are good ideas. But it should effect only the abuse and wrong doing. Not hobbyist who care for their animals.

Here we have lots of restrictions too like:

Only smal pets / rodents such as rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, white mice and aquarium fish are allowed in the shops. Poultry, cats and dogs may not be sold in a shop.
Its only allowed to kill rabbits and poultry for your own consumption. Other animals need to be slaughtered by someone with a licence.
Recently the gov. added rules to breeding with cats and dog who have headaces and other pains because of their extreme looks.

ManueB · Oct 2, 2023

MaryJanet said:
Isn't it wonderful!

Will you put it in picture of the week, MB?

I have quite a few i’ve been wanting to post in POW and I keep forgetting !

BDutch said:
These are good ideas. But it should effect only the abuse and wrong doing. Not hobbyist who care for their animals.

Here we have lots of restrictions too like:

Only smal pets / rodents such as rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, white mice and aquarium fish are allowed in the shops. Poultry, cats and dogs may not be sold in a shop.

Its only allowed to kill rabbits and poultry for your own consumption. Other animals need to be slaughtered by someone with a licence.

Recently the gov. added rules to breeding with cats and dog who have headaces and other pains because of their extreme looks.

I think regulating with legal means is important, but it's effective only if there are ways to make sure the laws are applied.
Abandoning animals is quite severely punished legally, and in all our different countries we can see that the numbers are frightening. The french are the European champions at it.

I’m not sure I feel completely good about selling animals, pets especially , but in a way, it's one of the means to be sure buyers will take care of them. Humans unfortunately tend to think that what has no financial value isn't worth anything. On the other hand they tend to think they're allowed everything once they have paid money

.

How do we feel about selling humans ? I know selling animals is not the same for many reasons, but still a thing i’m not totally confortable with.
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The roosters are starting to get angry at one another again, Gaston threw Théo out of the coop three times tonight before letting him stay. Good thing Théo and Pied Beau are keeping out of the chicken's yard that is Gaston's territory for the time being. I think he doesn't like that Lilly hangs out with pied beau as Piou-piou and Merle with Théo ; he tried to tread Merle today which I think has not happened for months.

Lilly has had enough of Pied Beau. This morning he jumped on her as soon as she crossed the netting to go out, and she attacked him after that. It is the first time I see her doing something like this! And she ran away from him several times today.
I think he is mating her too often since she is the only hen that stays with him. He is definitely going through the hormonal phase !

Pretty fog and light from running this morning.

Piou-piou's wound is healing nicely ! Now if she would just stop plucking her new quill feathers away

.

I'm trying to get Laure to be less afraid of me and it's working a bit, but she is still scared of other chickens and of my partner. She is growing big, I think she will be the size of my bigger hens. And she has a huge comb and wattle!

The four pullets. It's rare they regroup all together now !

Kara

Blanche

GregnLety · Oct 2, 2023

Perris said:
I think there's often a mismatch between the sort of maths that maths teachers/ curriculum setters think is important (and therefore offer) and the sort of maths that practically everyone needs to function in the time and place they live in (and therefore might actually be interested in to learn).

I agree Perris. I went to a technical school so the math and physics were driven to help with electrical engineering. I don't consider myself a mathematical genius but I understood the importance and applied myself. I graduated with highest honors. My daughters were my motivation, they were only 2 and 3 when I graduated.

Perris · Oct 3, 2023

GregnLety said:
I don't consider myself a mathematical genius but I understood the importance and applied myself. I graduated with highest honors.

well done you! Motivation is the key to learning anything.

ManueB · Oct 4, 2023

We’ve been busy these two day finally putting a real gateway instead of old fences made of whatever rubbish is lying around to block the goats. Making concrete and stone pillars is taking longer than we thought and because it's in full sun it's tiring, which is why I haven't posted yesterday. The chickens are doing fine except Blanche who seems to be getting very tired again and barely eats and moves anymore. I’ve done another full round treating for lice and while I didn't see any mass of adults on all the chickens I was able to check carefully, I still saw one or two baby louse.

Perris · Oct 4, 2023

what goats? you've probably said but I've forgotten. Wild? transhumant? neighbours'? cute or a pita?

ManueB · Oct 5, 2023

Perris said:
what goats? you've probably said but I've forgotten. Wild? transhumant? neighbours'? cute or a pita?

The goats belong to my neighbour Amelia, and yep I wrote before about them extensively here

: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/théo-and-the-chickens-des-sauches.1549149/post-26995307
*******
Life rant

I screwed up pretty badly today. My partner's father came to help with the pillars, and at lunch he started his usual macho, racist, homophobic bu****it. (And yes, he impressively manages all of that in just one sentence). I was already in a horrible mood and while I always change the subject or leave until he’s finished, today I screamed at him that I wasn't putting up with this kind of talk anymore and that he could enjoy his lunch without me, and left the table. I did come back to apologize for having been rude before he went home. He said he didn't mind, that he liked discussing with people who didn't agree with him, and that our generation couldn't understand a thing anyway because we didn't have grandparents who died for France in the war like his

.
I’m afraid my country life project may be coming to an end soon, because I just don't want to go on living for free at his house, and my partner is completely opposed to it every time I mention paying his father a rent.
The pillars of discord.

********
I was able to spend more time with the chickens today. Things were a bit chaotic when I opened the coop. Since she got back to laying, Léa lays around 7am in the only high nest i’ve left accessible, and that means she disturbs Gaston, the three ex-batts and usually one of the leghorns. I was wondering why they were all awake and up when it was still night, and this is the answer!

I try to stay and watch a bit when I open the coop because I don't want either Gaston or Pied Beau to tread on Piou-piou while she’s still bare skin and irritated. Usually she comes out quickly of the chicken yard and then she is safe, but this morning she wanted to lay as she had skipped a day yesterday, and she was terrified of Pied Beau, who always stays for a while hanging out in the coop with the pullets. She ended up going outside to lay in the woodshed, with Théo by her side. Once Pied Beau came out with Lilly, she went back in the chicken yard to avoid him. And when Pied Beau went in the woodshed to keep watch for Lilly while she was laying, Théo attacked him !

However, even if it's getting a bit complicated with the three roosters, it's still working out not that bad, and i’m surprised how much during the day everyone mingles together and act like one flock. It's only at roost time that it gets really difficult.

A bit surprised that Merle, who didn't lay yesterday, also did not lay today, at least up to now. The day before she was very unconfortable laying, so I hope she’s just on pause for a molt and not having egg issue. I keep track daily of hens laying, but I don't add the numbers up. Apart from Chipie who’s a grandma, Merle is definitely the hen that lays the least, as she is often broody and takes long pause.

This morning sun coming out