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

[speckledhen]

Those are fabulous! I love that rooster fabric.

Hopefully she's too broke to come back until things are completed.

Thanks to the first one and amen to the second!

 

[speckledhen]

People would be shocked at how many hens we have who are 8-12 years old. Here are a few of my old gals (there are quite a few more, too), plus a few not quite as old. As Athena gets older, she looks like our late Ida in the face. I was never quite sure which Stukel hen was Athena's mother, but now, I'm pretty sure it was Big Ida.
My Gypsy, how I love that hen! And sweet Panda, no one would know that she and Gypsy had the same mother. Panda was broody once in her entire almost 10 years of life and raised one son of Suede's. And, Tiny....well, just look at her spurs that I have to periodically trim so the curved one doesn't grow back into her leg. She's still as nuts as she ever was and twice as needy. When Georgie is gone, that will be the end of an era. She'll be 10 years old in February. At last, Hector and Jill have given me two daughters that I can breed from in the spring when I have a broody hen (Brandy is trying to go over the edge now, but I told her, "No way, sister!")

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

People would be shocked at how many hens we have who are 8-12 years old. Here are a few of my old gals (there are quite a few more, too), plus a few not quite as old. As Athena gets older, she looks like our late Ida in the face. I was never quite sure which Stukel hen was Athena's mother, but now, I'm pretty sure it was Big Ida.
My Gypsy, how I love that hen! And sweet Panda, no one would know that she and Gypsy had the same mother. Panda was broody once in her entire almost 10 years of life and raised one son of Suede's. And, Tiny....well, just look at her spurs that I have to periodically trim so the curved one doesn't grow back into her leg. She's still as nuts as she ever was and twice as needy. When Georgie is gone, that will be the end of an era. She'll be 10 years old in February. At last, Hector and Jill have given me two daughters that I can breed from in the spring when I have a broody hen (Brandy is trying to go over the edge now, but I told her, "No way, sister!")View attachment 1597965 View attachment 1597966 View attachment 1597967 View attachment 1597969 View attachment 1597970 View attachment 1597972 View attachment 1597973

I don't have as many older birds, nor are all mine as old as yours. I do have a few. Two old roosters are separated because the get beat up. My older RIR is half blind and I'm constantly tripping over her. Our climate is brutal in the winter so it probably plays a bit on longevity, plus I don't worm. I do enjoy older birds. Yours are all looking good for their age.

 

[speckledhen]

I don't have as many older birds, nor are all mine as old as yours. I do have a few. Two old roosters are separated because the get beat up. My older RIR is half blind and I'm constantly tripping over her. Our climate is brutal in the winter so it probably plays a bit on longevity, plus I don't worm. I do enjoy older birds. Yours are all looking good for their age.

Well, there is a downside to the older hens as you know. Alice, the blue Rock, is actually laying right now. In fact, I get the most eggs from that Old Hens' #2 Group. Gypsy, Panda, Tiny and Emily (plus Amanda and Snow in the hanging cages) are the oldest group, with Amanda turning 12 in March and Gypsy the second oldest right after Amanda.

I leave Zara and Athena in with Georgie's group because they are dwarf gene carriers and have no need of a rooster. Zara is so thin, she acts like she's always starving from her molt, and she keeps flexing one of her legs like her joints are beginning to give her some trouble. She's only 3 years old so that makes me wonder if the dwarf gene carriers, though you can't really tell who they are by looking, have joint issues. Isaac did, Atlas sure does and now, Zara is showing early signs of it. I've seen nothing out of Athena yet and I hope she doesn't have that problem. I'm only guessing from experience because there is no data on what internal issues the carriers may have that stem from the gene.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I know, I'm not the best geriatric care giver either. Older chickens aren't always a blessing, sometimes they are a lot more work. I am amazed that yours still lay. That's remarkable.

 

[speckledhen]

I know, I'm not the best geriatric care giver either. Older chickens aren't always a blessing, sometimes they are a lot more work. I am amazed that yours still lay. That's remarkable.

Not many in this age range do lay, but a few do periodically. Amanda, the oldest, does a round of laying about once a year. Lasts about a month or so. Tiny is still laying occasionally and Alice is the same age and she's also laying. I'd have to count the number of hens 7 years old and up and then see how many of those still produce eggs now and then. Maretta will be 8 in the spring, same as the last original Stukel hen, Wynette, and she is laying eggs every other day now. I wanted her in with Hector for more Barred EEs, but he was too mean to her and she's a small hen, didn't want her hurt. I know Georgie laid a few eggs last year, but I don't recall any this year.
At this age, obviously, you can't count on eggs from any of these old girls, but there are still some "up the pipe" with some of them. Last year, my 10 yr old EE, June, was laying, or trying to, but kept prolapsing, if you remember any of that. I don't think she'll ever successfully produce another egg and if she does try, it may kill her, but she's a tough gal and still rules that pen; nobody messes with June. Maybe I should rename my Old Hens' Retirement Home & Hospice to Energizer Avians or something like that. They just keep going, in spite of everything.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I did not choose the crying emoji. I choose this one. weird.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Not many in this age range do lay, but a few do periodically. Amanda, the oldest, does a round of laying about once a year. Lasts about a month or so. Tiny is still laying occasionally and Alice is the same age and she's also laying. I'd have to count the number of hens 7 years old and up and then see how many of those still produce eggs now and then. Maretta will be 8 in the spring, same as the last original Stukel hen, Wynette, and she is laying eggs every other day now. I wanted her in with Hector for more Barred EEs, but he was too mean to her and she's a small hen, didn't want her hurt. I know Georgie laid a few eggs last year, but I don't recall any this year.
At this age, obviously, you can't count on eggs from any of these old girls, but there are still some "up the pipe" with some of them. Last year, my 10 yr old EE, June, was laying, or trying to, but kept prolapsing, if you remember any of that. I don't think she'll ever successfully produce another egg and if she does try, it may kill her, but she's a tough gal and still rules that pen; nobody messes with June. Maybe I should rename my Old Hens' Retirement Home & Hospice to Energizer Avians or something like that. They just keep going, in spite of everything.

Do you eat them? Maybe I asked this before to you? I find old lady chicken eggs a bit

 

[speckledhen]

Do you eat them? Maybe I asked this before to you? I find old lady chicken eggs a bit

Yes, absolutely. They come so infrequently, no way I'd waste them. The yolks are already old when they start to lay because they hatch with the "seeds" of every egg they'll ever lay already there. The shells and other parts of the egg are newly formed. The way I see it is that I'd rather eat those eggs from my own old birds than old eggs from the store. I mean, fresh from the nest is better than six week old eggs in a carton from birds kept in substandard conditions fed less than great feed, from my perspective.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Yes, absolutely. They come so infrequently, no way I'd waste them. The yolks are already old when they start to lay because they hatch with the "seeds" of every egg they'll ever lay already there. The shells and other parts of the egg are newly formed. The way I see it is that I'd rather eat those eggs from my own old birds than old eggs from the store. I mean, fresh from the nest is better than six week old eggs in a carton from birds kept in substandard conditions fed less than great feed, from my perspective.

I generally get so many eggs I can pick and choose. The rest get fed back to my birds. I forget everyone isn't overrun with eggs like I am.