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

[Anime2lover]

Thank you, we love him. He's an old guy now, lots of arthritis that gives him fits, but he's a Mama's boy (like most of them) and I'll miss him when he's no longer with us. Nothing more wonderful than a sweet rooster.

I love my rooster d,. He isnt a pet but he does his job well. So far hes he's to get all semi free range hens in the coop by seven, not a single one has yet to spend the night outside the coop. And so far, none missing from predators either. Though he's a bit of a chicken so far, just over a year old.

 

[1muttsfan]

I agree you are beautiful!

Not so sure about the smoking thing. Actually kind of sounds British- couldn't be the ex DIL or her sweet babboo?

 

[speckledhen]

Well, thank you, but I thought it was a little creepy. Weird. People are so weird!

 

[speckledhen]

The joy keeps coming. Mary Jo is injured like Lizzie was by Atlas, if you recall. She is unsteady on her feet, so she's been hurt and now, she's in the hospital cage. We got Lizzie back on her feet and healed, but Atlas is too rough, probably because his own leg stiffness is making him clumsy.

 

[1muttsfan]

 

[getaclue]

speckled, maybe it's time to separate the old hens, from the old roosters. Due to circumstances, you might want to hire someone to humanely cull some of the old, feeble ones. Have them do it on your property, so you can see they're not being abused, and that it's being done quickly, and humanely. Then bury them. I know it hurts, but at this point, it may be what's best for them, and you guys too. It's the sad part of animal ownership, but it's the responsible thing to do sometimes. When they're too old, limping around, or barely able to get around, having regular crop issues, being eat up with tumors, possibly cancer, it's time to consider other options. Just because they're hanging in there, doesn't mean it's always the best choice.

Even with surgery, it's going to take Tom quite some time to heal up, then there's physical therapy. After he's healed, that doesn't mean he will be able to return to doing all the things he did before. There will be limitations on what he can do. The goal is to have it done, so eventually he's not in so much pain.

 

[speckledhen]

Cheryl, I only have one old rooster, Atlas, or one that is a problem for the hens. The Belgian D'Anver roosters are older, but they are not dedicated breeders so not a problem for their four hens. And Atlas just has stiff hock joints, but he's vigorous and breeds the hens like his Delaware grandsire. He really needs more, but I have no more to give him and would rather not risk more hurt hens.

 

[speckledhen]

DH's cardiologist did not seem too concerned. He's getting an echo cardiogram this morning. Two guys are coming to work on the property, picking up limbs, raking huge piles of leaves out of the yard and walking areas, picking up trash that has blown all over and who knows what else. I'm hoping this guy who sent these two workers is one we can depend on for future work of different types. Of course, I woke with a nice headache. Never ends. Birds won't be thrilled that they have to stay in the pen today. Tough luck, kids. They'll get spooked by strangers and hi-tail it into the outer corners and I do not relish looking for them high and low. If Gypsy was here, she'd probably be begging for one of them to pick her up. What a girl she was.

 

[speckledhen]

My son seems to be still on the right path, noted below. He did call and gripe about how it was going to cost $3000 to fix the veins in his legs, griped to his dad. If he'd griped to me, my answer to him would have been "Make payments". I have no $$ to give him. Well, I do, but if I did, it would not end there, it would deplete my coffers, and he's probably forgotten the $1000 we did give him years ago. Wish I hadn't done that.

Re-inventing Bacon
57 mins ·
This has been a kind of rough week. Working through injuries, a hectic work schedule, and limited meal prep and gym time. I half expected to see zero progress on the scale despite a couple less than desirable food choices this week. I got on the scale this morning anyway and weighed in at 301.9! Almost at goal one, sub 300. So, down another 5lbs this week!

 

[getaclue]

speckledhen, my bad. I thought you had several old timers (chickens, not Tom) that are in a declining state of health. Sorry.

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but since your son is working in a kitchen, standing on his feet for long periods of time, he needs to invest into two things: 1. Medical Grade Support Hose. Yes, they're a pain to put on, but he should notice a big difference after the first time he wears them to work. They work wonders at preventing varicose veins, and offer some decent back support too. 2. Good shock absorbing shoes, that are slip resistant. They will prove themselves worth their price over time, with less wear and tear on joints, muscles, veins, and back problems.

My aunt was a waitress all her life. The veins in her legs looked like a street map of Miami. She went through the surgery thing to have the veins stripped, more than once. When I was still young, and working part time as a cocktail waitress, she came for a visit, and took me shopping. She got me my first support hose, and a pair of Nursemate shoes. The shoes were great, but I wasn't wearing those old lady support hose. No way. As I left for work, she checked, and insisted I put them on. Like she said, if I didn't like them, I didn't have to wear them after she left, but to please give them a try. I did. WOW! The difference was impressive. Enough so that I never went without them when working there, again. Later, when I went through cosmetology college, I started wearing them again, so by the time I graduated, and was working, I was totally used to wearing them. Through the years, I was faithful to wearing support hose, and good shock absorbing shoes, and it paid off. I don't have even one varicose vein.