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

[speckledhen]

Miss Tessa at 12 weeks old today. I think I see some shaping up, don't you?

 

[holm25]

Shes beautiful!!

 

[speckledhen]

Shes beautiful!!

Thank you, Isaiah. I think her barring is improving as she gets her "teenage" feathers. She may be almost as nice as Lizzie, but she's much calmer than Lizzie, who, by the way, at 28 weeks, still hasn't laid an egg.

She must be really taking after that heritage Rock side of the family.

 

[1muttsfan]

Nice back, good wing carriage, and good legs. And a kind eye.

 

[speckledhen]

Nice back, good wing carriage, and good legs. And a kind eye.

Thanks! I thought she was shaping up pretty well. Can't wait to see her a month down the road. She will most likely be with Deacon but if she looks really great, she could be potentially with Atlas at some future date.

 

[speckledhen]

Atlas was one-eyed last night at roost time, right eye completely closed, probably poked himself in one of his fence battles with Deacon next door. Geez, roosters just never learn! Today, it's open, but I bought some quite expensive Terramycin eye ointment at the feed store to be sure he doesn't get an infection. All that wire is dirty, of course. What will they think of next to hurt themselves?

We have made progress in the decision for our big coop build. Just need someone to do the site leveling and tamp down a load of gravel in a 25x25 area before we put down the deposit. I would have today but you never know if you can get someone to work for you. I still don't have seed in my pasture lot. Apparently, Mark couldn't get the last guy to show up so he had to go looking for another hydroseeder. It's getting pretty late in the season, too. If he was here, I'd see about paying him to do the coop site work, but I asked him to move his dozer outside the back perimeter fence line so I could put that back up, he said he would, and it's still sitting there. He's leaving for Cuba next month sometime so he has to move it or DH, who knows how to run big equipment, will take matters into his own hands.



This carport is what we had priced out today, with optional 7' leg height rather than 6', putting the rollup door at the back of that storage area, only framing out the size for a garage door on the inside so we could put a double door (wheelbarrow entry for litter removal), adding full sides, the front end, two windows on each side, a single entry door on the front end (has a diamond shaped window, not a 9-lite, could change that later). Of course, insulation, pens, more ventilation, a barn fan, lighting, etc, will come as we work on it. But this gives us 24'wide by 25' deep footprint for less than a much smaller wood building that would still need the same things done inside to make a coop. Will do a light colored roof to reflect heat and maybe gray color walls.

 

[1muttsfan]

 

[speckledhen]

That's the way I feel and probably will until my bank acct is drained, LOL. Anyway, this is my tentative interior plan for the building, though I do think that later, we will add a window or two, definitely more ventilation and a barn fan and overhead lighting, in addition to the insulation and all the pens, roosts, etc.
One difference in what we'll be getting and the one pictured is our roof will be placed vertically, not with horizontal sheets of metal, necessitating more bracing and making a stronger roof and overall building.
On the left side of the storage, we want to enclose an "office/crash pad" and on the other end will be feed storage in the metal trash cans and shavings, etc. We might build a loft over the center aisle, but that can come later.

 

[1muttsfan]

well at least this time of year you are unlikely to need a barn fan until spring

 

[speckledhen]

The fan I was talking about was the louvered, sealed motor, installed-in-the-wall exhaust type. A ceiling type might be good, too, to add to the air flow.