chooksRCute Posted June 27, 2019 Author Share Posted June 27, 2019 (edited) Update from France Fencing completed, just the gate to sort. Finally have some chooks , a Marans, Coucou, a Faverolles Cocq & 4 faverolles Hens. Currently have 18 eggs in the incubator, primarily to check Frankie’s fertility, but these will be for the pot. When Im around the chicks love nothing better than rummaging around in the woodland Just ordered a second cube to house youngsters in till they’re integrated & can choose for themselves. Looking at having a pair of large geese - my neighbor is generous with the eggs which are to die for Pottager is up & running & I cannot believe how fast things grow here, especially the weeds Solar panels installed & finally, I have hot water! Just as temperatures hit 44* Edited June 27, 2019 by chooksRCute 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Lovely lovely Faverolles! And just look at that grass, being in Portugal I don't know what that looks like anymore! Hope you are still enthralled with everything French, and surviving the heatwave, it must be unpleasant for you and the fluffies. But it won't last forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 Nice garden and chickens . What works well for shade is bamboo as it allows the hot air to escape. Of course it isn't water proof so only drinkers can go underneath. We have tarps on the runs but have discovered that they only last one season before the sunlight destroys them. We've considering rearing for the pot, primarily because of the cost of chicken here. It is reared to high standards and that's probably why it costs so much, but €10 seems a bit too much. Hope you are managing in this record heatwave. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chooksRCute Posted June 28, 2019 Author Share Posted June 28, 2019 Hi Beantree, wow it is rather hot! The chickens have taken to standing in a bowl of water lol & I’m tempted to join them My French neighbored raises, chicken, guinea fowl, turkey, duck, geese & rabbit for the pot! I’m promised a few lessons in preparing the birds (with trepidation) because yes, meat is an expensive luxury That clear tarp has lasted 3yrs but beginning to show some wear now. They have lots of shade from fruit trees outside the run but the main reason for the tarp is to keep the run dry. I’d prefer a roof but my DIY skills don’t meet my expectations. Let me know how you get on, my first lot are in the incubator as we speak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 ChooksRCute - looks and sounds glorious 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chooksRCute Posted June 28, 2019 Author Share Posted June 28, 2019 Daphne, first time having Faverolles & I’m loving there gentle calm nature. But this heat, wow! I don’t know how you cope with it month in month out & yes, I’d miss the green grass. What breeds do you have in hot Portugal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 Sadly I don't have any chooks. Its far too hot for my beloved orpingtons; most people either have hybrids or naked necks. I'd go for the latter, but we travel too much at the moment, I don't have anybody I'd be happy imposing on to look after them. Added to which its a very alien environment for me, I am used to my chooks on the range with excellent pasture, but here I'd be forced to rely on hard food June/July through the end of September as there is no forage, its all dried out, and I can't quite get my head around that. Plus, I am not sure how to cope with snakes and eggs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 Lovely set up - and beautiful faverolles - always been on my list of wants! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 It just looks so beautiful for you and your girls. Does it stay cool in your house, being made of such beautiful stone ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chooksRCute Posted July 1, 2019 Author Share Posted July 1, 2019 On 6/28/2019 at 11:48 PM, Daphne said: Sadly I don't have any chooks, I am used to my chooks on the range with excellent pasture, but here I'd be forced to rely on hard food June/July through the end of September as there is no forage, its all dried out, and I can't quite get my head around that. Daphne, but chickens are happy scratching about in dry earth! I’d just go for it & try a trio out, plenty of water & shade and they’ll be fine Luvachicken Normally Is say yes the house stays lovely & cool but this month it is really struggling. 44’ in the day & Im recording 32’ at night inside 😩 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Controlling the temperature inside a house here is a bit of a juggling act and requires the basics to be in place. We have 9" of loft insulation under a ventilated roof space and all the small windows are shuttered. All the windows and doors are opened just before daybreak, when the temperature outside is low and everything is closed up tight as soon as the outside temperate reaches the inside temperature. All sources of heat inside need to be avoided, so energy saving bulbs and absolutely no cooking in the house. Based on experience, things that don't work here are open staircases, loft conversions and Velux windows. We had those in the last place and the bedroom was often 34C and so we had to sleep downstairs. Problem is once the heat is inside the building you struggle to reduce it unless you have expensive air conditioning. Sometimes it just doesn't get cool enough at night so the house gets rather stuffy. The inside temperature got to 24.5C in the heatwave, which isn't a lot but means or fridge goes into overload without a fan blowing air through the heat exchanger at the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Maybe you can explain the basics to my upstairs neighbours @Beantree, as they put their air-conditioning unit on the balcony (in the sun...) and then open all windows... HATE the noise of their airco with a passion! 😡 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Oh that did make me laugh Cattails! They open all the windows with the aircon switched on; I wouldn't like their electricity bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 I am looking forward to your updates. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 On 7/1/2019 at 1:47 PM, Cat tails said: Maybe you can explain the basics to my upstairs neighbours @Beantree, as they put their air-conditioning unit on the balcony (in the sun...) and then open all windows... HATE the noise of their airco with a passion! 😡 That's funny, my neighbours had some weird kind of air-con on through their windows. It looked like a tumble dryer pipe coming out through the open window but with nothing filling the gap. Kind of defeats the object. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chooksRCute Posted August 29, 2019 Author Share Posted August 29, 2019 Did I mention lambs 🤣 Thank you for all your messages, in the absence of TV is lovely to log in & read your comments & check out your recent adventures. Three adult geese & one came with a gosling Gary! The incubation produced 18 chicks but I’ve sold 8 & the other 10 are now huge. 7 weeks old & should reach a good weight before Christmas Im busy harvesting the fruit & veg and preserving. This retirement lark is like a full time job & a huge learning curve. Attempted green tomato chutney which made me turn green 🤢 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Love all those photos, especially the baby ones. So cute. You are so lucky being able to do such wonderful things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minnie&Moose Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Your lambs look lovely - very pretty - what breed/s are they? We got our first 3 lambs a couple of months ago and are really enjoying having them around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 Love the photos. Cute lambies, very pretty breeds. Chiiiiiiiicks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
