The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread

[speckledhen]

Cyn, what're your thoughts on the Rocks sold from Brinkhaven in Ohio?? I just won 20+ chicks from them in the Barred and Silver Penciled varieties. Excited to have them. Haven't had rocks since High school.

I am out of the loop on that one, Gabriel, sorry, don't know that name. Congrats on the win, though! Hope they are good examples of the breed and you're pleased with them.

 

[getaclue]

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[MistyMountain]

Cynthia, I am so sorry you lost Mary. I know this one is especially difficult as you had such big plans for her.

I hope the excitement of Miss Bonnie hatching eggs is a welcome distraction. There is just something about chicks, especially broody raised chicks. Your storie(s) have started their next chapter--- babies from the new additions that were just babies themselves not so long ago!! I can not wait to see how the new chicks turn out (I've always been a silent Bash and Apollo fan here!!).

 

[holm25]

Cyn I am sorry to hear about Mary


I cant wait for little fluff butt pics!

 

[speckledhen]

Cynthia, I am so sorry you lost Mary. I know this one is especially difficult as you had such big plans for her.

I hope the excitement of Miss Bonnie hatching eggs is a welcome distraction. There is just something about chicks, especially broody raised chicks. Your storie(s) have started their next chapter--- babies from the new additions that were just babies themselves not so long ago!! I can not wait to see how the new chicks turn out (I've always been a silent Bash and Apollo fan here!!).

I know, seems just yesterday when we were trying to figure out how many males and females I had. Oh, Bash is a sweetheart! He was always the "good" one, though Bruno was not mean, just wasn't receptive to any real attention. He was not above biting if you reached for him from the front, though he never flogged me. Bash is very friendly, even likes petting. My husband was becoming attached to him already.

Cyn I am sorry to hear about Mary

I cant wait for little fluff butt pics!

Thanks. Bonnie is sticking to it so far. It was a real blow, losing Mary like that. But, I still have Jill. She and Thea will move in with Apollo and Athena, while Rowena, Lizzie and Zara will go with Hector.

 

[speckledhen]

Welllll, I tried. Rowena was trying to fly out of Hector's pen, hitting the door. Lizzie looked shellshocked and Zara was the most comfortable because she knows Hector. I took Ro out rather than have her kill herself unnecessarily. May try later, but if I can keep Lizzie and Zara with Hector, he has two beautiful girls.
Apollo has Athena still and I put Thea and Jill in there. He's thrilled, them not so much, but they are used to Apollo.
Poor Tessa is completely naked. I mean bare skin on her back, sides and chest! Poor baby! Thankfully, we're having a few days of spring-like weather, though the nights will be chilly for her.
And I finished making all the quilt blocks. Have to look it over to be sure it's arranged the way I want and start putting them together while I wait for some fabric and the batting to come by mail.



ETA: I ended up taking Thea back because she begged. Seriously. She kept flying onto my back before I could get out of Apollo's pen and then she "hugged" me and closed her eyes. That girl! I can't say no to Thea. I told you, I'm not a breeder! I empathize too much with my chickens. Jill is still with Apollo and Zara and Lizzie are still with Hector, for now.

***Wednesday a.m. report: Late yesterday after hearing major chaos over the baby monitor, my husband went out to the barn and put Lizzie back with Atlas. So, today, Apollo is starting out with Athena and Jill and Hector has Thea and Zara. Basically, I switched out Jill and Zara. Thea can't be reproduced, though. I can't hatch anything right now anyway. If I eventually lose Atlas, Hector will get those girls, I think, IF there are any left since four of them are in the 6 yr old range. Not sure about much else.

 

[getaclue]

In case I didn't say it before, I'm sorry you lost Mary.

 

[speckledhen]

In case I didn't say it before, I'm sorry you lost Mary.

I know you are and I appreciate it, but you're recovering yourself, so don't worry about me at all. Hope you're feeling okay today!

Jill is not happy in the least with her new situation. She was always the least friendly of the three so she doesn't run to me for comfort like Thea did. Thea and Zara seem to be getting on just fine.

I put Tessa in the hospital cage with a reptile bulb over her. She is literally completely naked under her wings-back, sides, chest, butt, all like a plucked chicken for dinner. And it happened almost overnight. Poor baby! She is miserable. If she's separate for a few days, she can rest, stay relatively warm, or as warm as she can with bare skin all over, and she can get special food to help her speed her new feathers along w/o having to share.

 

[1muttsfan]

The good news is that when they drop feathers all at once, they take much less time to molt. I have a sweet Speckled Sussex hen that I think molts one feather at a time, takes her months to finish it all up, then she has to start all over again. But she is my friendliest hen, and Jimmy likes her best, so she stays, even without much in the way of egg contributions.

 

[speckledhen]

The good news is that when they drop feathers all at once, they take much less time to molt. I have a sweet Speckled Sussex hen that I think molts one feather at a time, takes her months to finish it all up, then she has to start all over again. But she is my friendliest hen, and Jimmy likes her best, so she stays, even without much in the way of egg contributions.

I've had both types over the years. I like the fast molters, but I feel so sorry for them! My big red RIR/Buff Orp hen, Meg, used to throw every back feather all in one afternoon when she molted. She didn't do that until later in her life, but it looked so uncomfortable. This is Tessa's first big molt. Remember, Lizzie just went through hers not long ago, but not as dramatically as Tessa. Tess looks like half a chicken!