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

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I like the pipsqueaks. That creaky can't quite get enough air little crow. One of my d'uccle used to have an extra long soft squeak after his crow as his lungs filled back up with air. Someday maybe I will have a peewee kingdom of little chickens everywhere.

 

[getaclue]

I finally got everything wrapped, except the 2 things that haven't gotten here yet. Whew! In the next couple days, I need to trim spurs. I think I'll go ahead and worm them too.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, this part is done. And I'm doing the butter cookies now so we can just clean the house a little bit tomorrow and not leave it a mess when we're gone all day Sunday.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

The only harder thing than taking pictures of chickens, is taking pictures of chickens who hang out in the goat area. I have to try to get a good picture while being mobbed and chewed on. Perhaps I shouldn't of handed out stale bread just before.

Cyn, are those baked or raw? They look like raw cinnamon rolls.

 

[speckledhen]

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The only harder thing than taking pictures of chickens, is taking pictures of chickens who hang out in the goat area. I have to try to get a good picture while being mobbed and chewed on. Perhaps I shouldn't of handed out stale bread just before.

Cyn, are those baked or raw? They look like raw cinnamon rolls.

You bake a potato, then mash it up like you're making mashed potatoes, then you keep adding powdered sugar until it's workable (plus a dash of salt and some vanilla). You roll it out in a big rectangle, using the powdered sugar to keep your hands and the roller from sticking (like you'd use flour in making biscuits), then spread peanut butter on it thinly. Then you roll it up like you'd do cinnamon rolls and slice it, but you have to do it before it begins to dry out or it will crumble on you. That's it. No baking other than cooking the potato at the beginning.

Yup, it's official. I'm in love with that little man! What is the hen on the left in the 3rd picture down? She's a beauty, too. Oh, is that a Wellie? Her butt looked bigger than the ones I had, if so.

And your chocolate gentleman is very handsome, too. Seems like Suede's head was broader, maybe it's the age or the photo, but your boy's head is more, well, refined, for lack of a better word. Guess we'd have to compare side by side.

One question: how on earth do you clean out their pens? The hay looks so clean. I can't stand it when I put hay down for them to be warmer in winter (over shavings). The poop mats to the hay and it clumps up. Maybe it's because we do a clean up every morning and I'm used to sifting poop out of shavings and maybe it's a different way of cleaning, maybe with a hay rake? I need a different type of rake for hay/straw, that's for sure.

 

[1muttsfan]

That little guy is a cute little rascal.

I am thrilled to be down to only two roosters, the one I let go was a little bit too pushy with the hens. He went someplace where he has a whole big group of girls all to himself, so he should be happy.

And I love breakfast for dinner. I'm not overly fond of oatmeal, but I do love cream of wheat.. I have some orange blossom honey I brought back from Florida last winter and that is great added in.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You bake a potato, then mash it up like you're making mashed potatoes, then you keep adding powdered sugar until it's workable (plus a dash of salt and some vanilla). You roll it out in a big rectangle, using the powdered sugar to keep your hands and the roller from sticking (like you'd use flour in making biscuits), then spread peanut butter on it thinly. Then you roll it up like you'd do cinnamon rolls and slice it, but you have to do it before it begins to dry out or it will crumble on you. That's it. No baking other than cooking the potato at the beginning.

Yup, it's official. I'm in love with that little man! What is the hen on the left in the 3rd picture down? She's a beauty, too. Oh, is that a Wellie? Her butt looked bigger than the ones I had, if so.

And your chocolate gentleman is very handsome, too. Seems like Suede's head was broader, maybe it's the age or the photo, but your boy's head is more, well, refined, for lack of a better word. Guess we'd have to compare side by side.

One question: how on earth do you clean out their pens? The hay looks so clean. I can't stand it when I put hay down for them to be warmer in winter (over shavings). The poop mats to the hay and it clumps up. Maybe it's because we do a clean up every morning and I'm used to sifting poop out of shavings and maybe it's a different way of cleaning, maybe with a hay rake? I need a different type of rake for hay/straw, that's for sure.

Those sound delicious. So they are really just potato cookies. Anything made out of potatoes is a good thing in my opinion.

We do deep litter in our goat and donkey areas of the shed, so you are seeing where the goats pull hay down out of the feeder and it becomes bedding. Floor starts looking bare, more hay is fed inside. Throw out scratch daily in it and the chickens work it well. I personally would leave it to compost down but my husband insists on shoveling it out during summer, so it starts over each fall.

My chickens have various places they can move about to. The older birds stay mostly on the donkey side and the younger ones in the goat area. I have fences they need to crawl through or go over, so they can get away if necessary.

My rooster was hatched in May, so I'm sure he will continue to fill out for another year or so. I'm really hoping the siding change on my shed keeps him from getting frostbite on his comb. Most end up losing their points around here. He will still be pretty, but I really hope it helps.

That hen in the third picture was an oops. I had ordered some barnevelder hatching eggs from MPC along with those Orpingtons. One hatched out not like the others. It turns out she is a welsummer. I find it a welcome mistake. She must be of good quality as she's definitely better looking than my hatchery stock.

If you like fluffy butts...

 

[1muttsfan]

Nice!

 

[speckledhen]

Those sound delicious. So they are really just potato cookies. Anything made out of potatoes is a good thing in my opinion.

We do deep litter in our goat and donkey areas of the shed, so you are seeing where the goats pull hay down out of the feeder and it becomes bedding. Floor starts looking bare, more hay is fed inside. Throw out scratch daily in it and the chickens work it well. I personally would leave it to compost down but my husband insists on shoveling it out during summer, so it starts over each fall.

My chickens have various places they can move about to. The older birds stay mostly on the donkey side and the younger ones in the goat area. I have fences they need to crawl through or go over, so they can get away if necessary.

My rooster was hatched in May, so I'm sure he will continue to fill out for another year or so. I'm really hoping the siding change on my shed keeps him from getting frostbite on his comb. Most end up losing their points around here. He will still be pretty, but I really hope it helps.

That hen in the third picture was an oops. I had ordered some barnevelder hatching eggs from MPC along with those Orpingtons. One hatched out not like the others. It turns out she is a welsummer. I find it a welcome mistake. She must be of good quality as she's definitely better looking than my hatchery stock.

If you like fluffy butts...

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I keep hearing the line from that song, "... I like big butts and I cannot lie", LOL. Gorgeous! That buff hen reminds me of my late Nugget. That was a great hen and a wonderful broody.

You're right, that Wellie is rounder than the two I used to have, which is why it took a second look before I recognized her as one. Beautiful!

Thanks for the explanation about the hay. I guess I need to throw scratch down into mine for them to work it around more than they do, at least in the winter when it's on the floor. Mine do not have as much room as yours do, of course. I am still thinking about the one huge space, all hens together with little Xander lookalikes. Sounds wonderful at times, though both my husband and I really love our three big boys we have now. Hector and Atlas are both good boys and Bash is just a big teddy bear of a rooster. I'm seriously thinking about not reproducing them, at least to keep any males here. I know that would tank my plans for Hector at some point, but I do think I will put Hector in Atlas's spot if I lose Atlas. My big sweet Atlas is having terrible issues with his joints now that the weather has turned cold.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I keep hearing the line from that song, "... I like big butts and I cannot lie", LOL. Gorgeous! That buff hen reminds me of my late Nugget. That was a great hen and a wonderful broody.

You're right, that Wellie is rounder than the two I used to have, which is why it took a second look before I recognized her as one. Beautiful!

Thanks for the explanation about the hay. I guess I need to throw scratch down into mine for them to work it around more than they do, at least in the winter when it's on the floor. Mine do not have as much room as yours do, of course. I am still thinking about the one huge space, all hens together with little Xander lookalikes. Sounds wonderful at times, though both my husband and I really love our three big boys we have now. Hector and Atlas are both good boys and Bash is just a big teddy bear of a rooster. I'm seriously thinking about not reproducing them, at least to keep any males here. I know that would tank my plans for Hector at some point, but I do think I will put Hector in Atlas's spot if I lose Atlas. My big sweet Atlas is having terrible issues with his joints now that the weather has turned cold.

You and I are heading in the same direction I think. You could always breed bantam barred rocks or Brahma. I like them big or small. Not a big fan of the in between breeds.