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

[speckledhen]

She was a gorgeous girl. I haven't tried the breed. Strange she died like that.

It has gotten a bit colder here and I have been using one of your circle scarfs, they work wonderfully, and the poncho is working very well to. Easy to toss off as needed. Thank you again.

I'm glad you're enjoying the gear! I like cowls because they stay around your neck and unless they're just really long, they don't hang in the shavings like a normal scarf.

Molly was broody for about three weeks with us trying to break her the entire time. I finally relented and gave her eggs, remembering folks whose Silkies would be sitting for one brood after the other. When the chicks were two weeks old, Tom found her dead in the little broody pen. It was a good thing we had a heat lamp in there because it was quite chilly. And thank goodness for Aimee, being so accepting of new chicks. We took them to her. She tapped each one on the head gently, like "you're not mine, you're not mine, you're not mine....but c'mon in!". I think Molly had been "fake-eating", just pecking, but not really eating in favor of her chicks, but two weeks of that would not have killed her. And it may have had nothing to do with her very reduced food intake, but something internal. I was just becoming fond of her. She was quite young, still a pullet.

 

[speckledhen]

I think to bed chickens on hay (or straw, better at absorbing moisture and softer) you need quite large space. Hay or straw in a small coop becomes matted, wet, moldy and stinky, unless changed frequently. Shavings are more absorbent and easier to clean out, as hay/straw tends to mat up. It is especially tough to clean out when frozen.

I do throw a little hay or straw down outside in the pen in winter, and when it is really muddy, to encourage the girls to come out, but there is lots of fresh air out there, and it breaks down well.

Yes, and we do "de-poop" every morning and later in the day if they're stuck inside. It does mat up. If my barn was a big open space, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe I should change to getting wheat straw rather than hay? One feed store sells big black garbage bags of swept up hay from bales in their warehouse for $2-3 per bag, which is why the hay. I could take a lawn/leaf bag and put it over a bale of straw to transport in the SUV, though, have in the past if you think that's a better choice.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@speckledhen
How large of an area do your birds have indoors?

I use wood shavings as the main floor covering and only the shavings under the roosts.

They are on a cement floor so I try to give enough insulation for winter that they aren't stuck on that cold cement. So during the winter, in the lounging areas, I have a couple of areas that I give them some thick HAY. They will usually lay on that but it doesn't get much poo. I seriously never remove it all winter.

But...
They have a lot of space in there so the hay is nowhere near the roosts.

I have the feed and water on an elevated wood platform and I just scrape off the poo that gets on there into the wood shavings (not the hay).

I'll have to get some photos.

 

[Leahs Mom]

PS: I am leery of using straw for a couple of reasons. One reason is that it seems to be a better harbor for little buggies like mites. Another is the mold/fungus factor that you really have to watch both for your hay and straw. I literally put my face in it and smell for any hint of mold on the hay.

Then there is the issue of pesticides and other chemical input on the growing fields. Since chickens are such small creatures, I try to be careful on what I expose them to.

For my hay, I'm blessed to have a farmer not too far away that has an organic farm on which he grows his own hay. It's very close to the same price and I don't use a lot of it. I got it from him when I had a couple of goats for cleaning up the woods. That hay is fresh smelling, never a hint of mold which is amazing actually. The farmer must know his stuff, and he feeds it to his horses (Amish) which are beautiful and healthy. Anyhow, I think I found a gem in him.

I've had hay from other sources that I had to discard because of mold issues. So I'm pretty picky now.

 

[speckledhen]

@speckledhen
How large of an area do your birds have indoors?

The entire barn is 20x24. The area each group has depends on the pen size. I have three large pens and several smaller ones. The largest two which house the Brahmas and Old Hens Group #2 (just put Liz back in there so 9 hens in that one) are about 9x8, then three 5x8 and one that is part of one of the larger ones I divided off for the bantams so they would be in the same building, but I may eventually remove that temporary wall-it was originally a 9x8 and I cut off almost 3' for the bantams so theirs is 8' long x almost 3' wide. The remaining part houses Atlas and his hens. I just put Tessa back in there so right now, there are 5 hens and Atlas in about a 6+x8 area. I could put the bantams back in their separate coop, but I like that one for the covered pen for broodies and babies so not sure I'd want to do that.

Here is the way it's set up, though there have been a few changes inside a couple of pens as well as where certain groups are housed in there since we first set them up.We don't use all those 250w heat lamps, those were left over from past years. They last a lot longer than reptile bulbs, but throw a ton of light and use more juice, of course. And they really provide too much heat. I had them for brooding large numbers of chicks in the other buildings we had.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Wow! That is very nice!
Do the sections have external pop doors or do they just exit through the hall and out?

I still very much like using shavings as the base and only using the hay for a small area or corner that is for lounging on in the cold. With smaller divisions like you have I think it is just inevitable that you have to clean things out more. But a hay lounging area is sure nice in winter.

And I see that your birds prefer Pepsi over Coke.

 

[speckledhen]

Wow! That is very nice!
Do the sections have external pop doors or do they just exit through the hall and out?

I still very much like using shavings as the base and only using the hay for a small area or corner that is for lounging on in the cold. With smaller divisions like you have I think it is just inevitable that you have to clean things out more. But a hay lounging area is sure nice in winter.

And I see that your birds prefer Pepsi over Coke.

Haha, actually, we don't prefer Pepsi-it was on sale and did not have aspartame. Diet Rite was not in stock. We only drink Diet Rite, but when it's not available or not on sale, we buy whatever does not contain aspartame, which gives us headaches. Pepsi is not too bad, but we used to be Coke only people. Now, we try not to drink too much of any carbonated stuff at all. I limit mine to one per day, if that, because it gives me horrible reflux if I drink more than that. Trying to get my husband to drink less, too. He does make his own lemonade, which the doc said was good for his kidneys (he gets stones on rare occasions).
We keep those bottles filled to give Snow and Amanda water in their bowls since they don't do well with a normal waterer.

No pop doors. They all exit down the hall so don't get to spend all day outside like they used to do when each group had its own separate pen. Now, I have too many groups and the barn is not set up for divided pens, especially on the Brahma side, which backs up to the rock wall. I manage my hay like you do, shavings as the base and for hens who don't roost, in winter only, I put down hay in one or two areas for them to snuggle into, remembering how warm it was in my grandfather's hayloft. But, you know chickens, they mix it all in and it spreads around the pen. Only the old hens have that. In other pens, the nests may have a base of hay and then shavings on top, cushions the eggs better.

 

[1muttsfan]

Straw is softer, more absorbent ( the stems are hollow), less likely to be moldy, and often less expensive.
It is superior as bedding to hay, including in nest boxes.
Hay has leaf material, not just stem, so had edible parts. It provides green bits and has entertainment value.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'm glad you're enjoying the gear! I like cowls because they stay around your neck and unless they're just really long, they don't hang in the shavings like a normal scarf.

Molly was broody for about three weeks with us trying to break her the entire time. I finally relented and gave her eggs, remembering folks whose Silkies would be sitting for one brood after the other. When the chicks were two weeks old, Tom found her dead in the little broody pen. It was a good thing we had a heat lamp in there because it was quite chilly. And thank goodness for Aimee, being so accepting of new chicks. We took them to her. She tapped each one on the head gently, like "you're not mine, you're not mine, you're not mine....but c'mon in!". I think Molly had been "fake-eating", just pecking, but not really eating in favor of her chicks, but two weeks of that would not have killed her. And it may have had nothing to do with her very reduced food intake, but something internal. I was just becoming fond of her. She was quite young, still a pullet.

I've had hens sitting for almost 3 months, they were thin and depleted but they recovered. There must of been something wrong with her. You did get lucky having another hen take them. I have yet to have one of those hens.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

As far as me using hay, I only do it during winter because we freeze hard as a rock. When it's warm we only use shavings and clean as necessary. Hay and straw doesn't work as well in warmer climates. The bags of fines from the feed store are great winter fodder though.