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

[speckledhen]

I am so mad! Alice is in the hospital cage tonight and will be for some time, I think.
Tom found her hiding her head under the end of the PVC tube feeder, all bloody. Someone had made a huge wound on her left side just before the tail. I'm glad he found her when he did or she'd be dead.
My bet is on Atlas's sister, Wendy, that witch! Alice is picked on by Wendy all the time, and I've seen Jane pick at butt fluff feathers, but Jane is out of sorts growing her feathers back and I can't see her attacking Alice right now. If she did, Georgie or June would jump her. June just put a beat-down on Wendy yesterday for some infraction I didn't see (good head hen). No one had blood on their beak and no one was still picking at her so I think maybe Georgie or June stopped it. They have never bothered Alice and neither has Zara or Athena that I recall. Alice should recover, though it's a wound the size of a half dollar coin. We sprayed it with wound spray and slathered it with silvadene cream and antibiotic ointment so it would stick better, plus she has Duramycin in her water for a few days, just in case. She is eating and seemed very happy to be rescued from whoever did this.

Changes are coming! When Alice has sufficiently recovered, she, Georgie and June will go into Hector's pen and I will put Hector, Thea and Jill in the largest pen with whoever is left, which includes Wendy, Zara, Athena, Maddie and Jane. Let him sort them all out. Maybe he'll be so confused with 7 hens, he'll have to accept them. I will not have my sweet Alice hurt again, period. I thought about putting Wendy in with Atlas, but he's the reason she's completely missing her comb now. He hates her.

 

[1muttsfan]

When I make pen changes I always try to mix as many birds as possible old with new, seems to confuse everybody quite a bit. Except the rooster usually seems to know what's going on. Hopefully Hector behaves himself, or maybe he will have to be on his own for a while

 

[getaclue]

Wow. Senility in their old age?

 

[speckledhen]

When I make pen changes I always try to mix as many birds as possible old with new, seems to confuse everybody quite a bit. Except the rooster usually seems to know what's going on. Hopefully Hector behaves himself, or maybe he will have to be on his own for a while

I hope so. He'll go from 2 hens to 7 hens. Should be interesting. I hope he lays down the law to Wendy if she tries to keep up that mess. I don't know what it is about the Atlas women. Maybe there's a "bully gene" in that line! Remember, I rehomed both Tessie and Lizzie because they caused so much ruckus in that same group, it drove me insane!

Wow. Senility in their old age?

I don't think it was the older ones who did it. Wendy will be 6 in April. June is almost 12, Georgie is almost 11 and I'd bet money they were not the attackers. Zara and Athena are a few months older than Hector and may have taken a few pecks if they saw blood, but generally Athena only bosses Zara. Zara bosses Jane and Maddie, but no one else that I remember. Wendy is the big bully in that group. June is always laying down the law to her, especially after that one time Wendy had the audacity to peck her head hen at a feed bowl. June bowed up and ran her all over the pen for quite awhile. Ever since then, June has an eye on Wendy.
Someone ran the attacker away from Alice because she was doing her best to hide and no one was around her when Tom found her. She was bleeding all over the place, poor girl. Since her neck has been twisted up, she can't defend herself. And I know she can't peck at her own wound because she can't get her head around that far to do it, which in this case, is a good thing. She should heal up okay.

 

[speckledhen]

Alice is bright and alert and talking up a storm. She wants out of the cage. I distracted her with grits & eggs mixed with oil and various other things. She has not lost her appetite, that's for sure! Sweet old thing.

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, good grief, Bash's daughter, Cora, blew all her feathers overnight! She looks plucked, No back, butt or chest feathers! I'll have to put some heat in there briefly until she gets some cover because Alice is occupying the hospital cage. Always something.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I got a few naked ones walking around here too. I still have a few that haven't even started molting yet.

 

[getaclue]

Yeah, she's going to need a bit of heat until she regrows some feathers. Up her protein a little, and hopefully it won't be too long. Usually when they blow them all like that, they get them all back in at the same time too. They look like porcupine hens for a time.

 

[speckledhen]

Yeah, she's going to need a bit of heat until she regrows some feathers. Up her protein a little, and hopefully it won't be too long. Usually when they blow them all like that, they get them all back in at the same time too. They look like porcupine hens for a time.

Well, if she eats her layer pellets, she's getting 22% protein, but I do give them eggs and stuff, sometimes a sprinkle of Finn's expensive salmon cat food on top.

 

[speckledhen]

A guy is bush hogging our bottom lot that we just re-acquired. He only charges $40/hr! I'm amazed, seriously. It won't take more than 4 hours. Gotta go grab some cash to pay him. It is going to look completely different. It's really a pretty piece of land, especially those two lots together.