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

[speckledhen]

Cyn, I hoped that was what you were going to say! I thought it, but didn't want to get my hopes up. The chick is beautiful. All of them are, they are such a mixed lot of colors, o can't wait to see how they mature. But I prayed really hard for a Delaware!

He can't be truly considered a Delaware, but definitely you can call him a Delaware cross. Not sure how the coloring will turn out. The smuttiness in the feathers may clear out or it may stick around, hard to say. Will be fun to see how he looks as he grows up. Sammie Jo came from Ty's sire out of her barred 1/2 Delaware Aunt Delia and looks like a 100% pure Delaware so you never know.



ETA: Off topic, but I have to see this movie. @wekiva bird , you may be interested in this one.

 

[wekiva bird]

He can't be truly considered a Delaware, but definitely you can call him a Delaware cross. Not sure how the coloring will turn out. The smuttiness in the feathers may clear out or it may stick around, hard to say. Will be fun to see how he looks as he grows up. Sammie Jo came from Ty's sire out of her barred 1/2 Delaware Aunt Delia and looks like a 100% pure Delaware so you never know. ETA: Off topic, but I have to see this movie. @wekiva bird , you may be interested in this one.

oh yes I want to see that movie Max when it comes in my area.

 

[drumstick diva]

I'd love to see it too, and bring a box of Kleenex. Dog movies always make me cry.

 

[speckledhen]

My land guy showed back up yesterday and worked until quite a few hours, dug a huge hole, burned much more slash and stumps, or started them anyway-some are humongous and will burn for ages. He's apparently had lots of family health tragedies, sad for him, lost a 24 yr old nephew who was going to Univ of GA to brain cancer, his uncle is in hospice and he's had to keep taking his mother to visit since he doesn't have long. I hate to hear when folks go through all that because we've been there ourselves.

He brought his cute Blue Heeler puppy, Bella. OMGosh, what a cutie! Wish I had a video of the interaction between her and Finn when, at the end of the day, he let her out of the trailer. She wanted to play with Finn since she plays with their cat, but he wasn't having it and she was scared of him. What a hoot!

Hard to see perspective in these photos but the lot he's making into mostly pasture is close to an acre and a half. Groups of trees will remain but it will be leveled and seeded. He got part of our perimeter fence line scraped so we can put up the back fence again-the lot itself will be fenced separately with a truck gate and the chain link gate in the back fence will enter into this pasture lot. He's talking to us about growing out a calf for meat on it, maybe getting a cow and inseminating her (local vet does it for $25) so she can raise it and maybe do one every couple of years if we want. He has 75 head himself on about 5 acres, which sounds like a lot to me. Maybe he'll sell us one. Anyway, definitely considering it since we can't afford beef much and grass fed beef, definitely not! I'm not a huge meat eater, but DH sure is, or would be if we could afford it. Will have to investigate it more thoroughly, if the livestock fencing and steel posts are adequate to hold her/him and maybe a lean-to to hold a hay bale for supplemental feed if needed.




Below is the largest completely open area, sort of round, that I call "the meadow".





This runs up the new back fence line between the lot he's working and the one we won't own anymore.

Picked the biggest Boston cucumber for my salad tonight. It's way ahead of most of the others so I have to wait for a bunch to come together at the same time for making pickles. So many are still tiny but they're doing great.

 

[1muttsfan]

If you have good grass you can likely do one cow calf pair on 1 1/2 acres. There is no way he grazes 75 cows on 5 acres, they would eat it down to the dirt which ruins the pasture.

Pretty view.

 

[holm25]

If you have good grass you can likely do one cow calf pair on 1 1/2 acres. There is no way he grazes 75 cows on 5 acres, they would eat it down to the dirt which ruins the pasture.

Pretty view.

X2. A good rule of thumb is 1 to 1½ acres a cow.we jave managed 6 cows on 1½-2 acres. But we have the pastures split in 2. And when they r on one side the other grows quick enough for the cows to go back on in 2-3 days.

 

[speckledhen]

If you have good grass you can likely do one cow calf pair on 1 1/2 acres. There is no way he grazes 75 cows on 5 acres, they would eat it down to the dirt which ruins the pasture.

Pretty view.

I may have misunderstood what he said. He may use other pasture from other family and not all 75 are on that 5 acres, but that's what it sounded like. I don't see how that would be possible unless you only feed them hay. He lives on the Cherokee reservation.

X2. A good rule of thumb is 1 to 1½ acres a cow.we jave managed 6 cows on 1½-2 acres. But we have the pastures split in 2. And when they r on one side the other grows quick enough for the cows to go back on in 2-3 days.

Thanks, rotating pasture sounds like a great idea, wish I could do it with the chickens. They are bad for eating everything in sight, but then, they do free range and the pens themselves don't have to have vegetation, necessarily.


Video of Sammie Jo's leg injury. She is living in Zane's cage and we took her out today for a very short walk. She's still laying. Hope this heals up.

 

[holm25]

I love having the chickens in the pasture. They go and scratch down all of the cow pies and spread them out good. Its kinda like permaculture.

 

[speckledhen]

I love having the chickens in the pasture. They go and scratch down all of the cow pies and spread them out good. Its kinda like permaculture.

Atlas and his hens do go all the way back to the fence that divides the main property from this lot we're making into pasture so I bet they'd go in there with the cow. We're moving the gate further back to the meadow area, always hated where we put it but since we took it all down, we can put the gate wherever we want.

 

[speckledhen]

Adding some pictures of Atlas and his hens, since this is supposed to be his thread. Finally, no broodies in that group. Wendy and Rowena are fine with Xander and Dusty and are both laying. Click to enlarge so you can see the size difference between the same-age splash Rock and the Stukel Rock hens.