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

[getaclue]

Keeping #2 as a back-up is the best option. That was why I suggested hatching out more, so it would give you more options, and hopefully another Mr. Tank-boy without the sprigs. Please don't give up on your line of chickens. I know it seems like a lot of hassle, and for awhile, it is. BUT It won't be long until you have renewed, upgraded, and replenished your line, and things will be running smoothly once again.

 

[speckledhen]

Keeping #2 as a back-up is the best option. That was why I suggested hatching out more, so it would give you more options, and hopefully another Mr. Tank-boy without the sprigs. Please don't give up on your line of chickens. I know it seems like a lot of hassle, and for awhile, it is. BUT It won't be long until you have renewed, upgraded, and replenished your line, and things will be running smoothly once again.

Thanks. It's just that hatching and raising a lot of chicks seems daunting when dealing with other life issues, yet we do need to replace at least some birds, or will soon, or we'll be back to buying our eggs frequently.

Of 20-something large fowl hens, 14 are 6-9+ years old (with 8 of the 14 being 8 & 9 yrs old, with 4 of the oldest 8 laying sporadically). And that Amanda, one of the BR sisters out of McMurray parentage, who turned 9 yrs old last month and can't walk from arthritis, hauls herself up over the lip of the floor level nest to lay her eggs, laid a couple this past week. She is amazing, but I can't imagine her living that much longer and naturally, I cannot count on her eggs, nor can I count on any hen in those upper years to provide the eggs for us. By then, they are just pets who have served the family and earned their place here.


Anyway, I guess for now, #2 is going to stay, barring something popping up that I don't expect. So, have to find a name other than #2 to make it easier to refer to the little hoodlum. Actually, #3 is the hoodlum-he is the sparring champ, making the larger ones scream and run, lol.



ETA: .....and so it begins. Ad up at the co-op for the two males, no pullets, and what is the first call? Someone who doesn't want to be woken up in the morning by a rooster crowing.

He asked if I'd have any later on. Yep, a pair, but I don't usually sell pullets alone unless I have a real surplus. So, again, why can't folks read? Or are they just hoping since I have chicks that I also have pullets? Of course, if I did, I'd be advertising them and they'd be gone in an hour. Well, maybe. One year I had six extra Belgian D'anver pullets and I could not sell them to save my life.

 

[getaclue]

I started with a couple production hens, and a rooster. A couple years later, after I had some experience under my belt, I decided on SOP Black Australorps. I got my trio from a very reputable breeder. The rooster was fantastic, and in his prime. The two hens were fantastic quality, but older. They had already begun to taper off in their laying. Between both hens, I was getting around 12 eggs in a 10 day period. I had no equipment for hatching eggs, had never hatched, but knew I was going to have to get busy fast if I was going to maintain my line.

I got a Little Giant styrobator from TSC, with the turner, and proceeded to try to hatch out some eggs. It holds 40 eggs, and I couldn't even half fill it. Remember, I live in Florida, and it was a rainy year, so the humidity fluctuated wildly, shooting up to 95% on the rainy days, and there were a lot of them. In addition to all of that, the older the hen, the more porous the eggs, so with all the humidity that was working against me too. I believed the biggest part of the problem was my inexperience at hatching eggs, so I even enlisted the help of a gal that works at my local feed store, and she's experienced at hatching eggs. I gave her 16 eggs. I managed to hatch out 3 chicks, a cockerel, and two pullets. She too managed to hatch out 3 chicks, a cockerel, and two pullets. I did manage a bit later to hatch out one more cockerel, but one wing was not right. The only thing that saved my bacon at that point was that I was blessed, and the first 6 were good quality.

I was concerned about their quality, so I took them to the APA show in Inverness. They did really good. All of them got either first, or second place, except one cockerel got third place. They are 2 years old now. From the original trio, the rooster is still good, but is 4 years old now, and the hens are down to about 2 eggs a week. I have the original hens in with my back-up rooster, and the original rooster with the hens I hatched out. I again, am forced to hatch more birds out to maintain my line. I seriously dreaded the thought of having to hatch eggs.

One thing I did to help the hatching situation is that I just got an Rcom 20 Pro. First off, I can fill it with eggs within the 10 day collection deadline. Even if all 20 eggs hatch out, that's not too many chicks to deal with at a time. So far, temp is rock steady, and I will know more about the humidity when I candle in a few days, but it is holding steady too. I will be forced to cull a few of my existing older birds to make room for the new ones. I don't relish the thought of culling, but the thought of losing my wonderful line is even worse, so I will do what must be done. In about 5 months, my coop should all be running smoothly again, and that will hold me for a couple more years. Something I forgot to mention is that I rent the property my coop is on. Hopefully, it won't be too much longer, and we can buy a home with a few acres. At least, that's our plan.

 

[speckledhen]

I started with a couple production hens, and a rooster. A couple years later, after I had some experience under my belt, I decided on SOP Black Australorps. I got my trio from a very reputable breeder. The rooster was fantastic, and in his prime. The two hens were fantastic quality, but older. They had already begun to taper off in their laying. Between both hens, I was getting around 12 eggs in a 10 day period. I had no equipment for hatching eggs, had never hatched, but knew I was going to have to get busy fast if I was going to maintain my line.

I got a Little Giant styrobator from TSC, with the turner, and proceeded to try to hatch out some eggs. It holds 40 eggs, and I couldn't even half fill it. Remember, I live in Florida, and it was a rainy year, so the humidity fluctuated wildly, shooting up to 95% on the rainy days, and there were a lot of them. In addition to all of that, the older the hen, the more porous the eggs, so with all the humidity that was working against me too. I believed the biggest part of the problem was my inexperience at hatching eggs, so I even enlisted the help of a gal that works at my local feed store, and she's experienced at hatching eggs. I gave her 16 eggs. I managed to hatch out 3 chicks, a cockerel, and two pullets. She too managed to hatch out 3 chicks, a cockerel, and two pullets. I did manage a bit later to hatch out one more cockerel, but one wing was not right. The only thing that saved my bacon at that point was that I was blessed, and the first 6 were good quality.

I was concerned about their quality, so I took them to the APA show in Inverness. They did really good. All of them got either first, or second place, except one cockerel got third place. They are 2 years old now. From the original trio, the rooster is still good, but is 4 years old now, and the hens are down to about 2 eggs a week. I have the original hens in with my back-up rooster, and the original rooster with the hens I hatched out. I again, am forced to hatch more birds out to maintain my line. I seriously dreaded the thought of having to hatch eggs.

One thing I did to help the hatching situation is that I just got an Rcom 20 Pro. First off, I can fill it with eggs within the 10 day collection deadline. Even if all 20 eggs hatch out, that's not too many chicks to deal with at a time. So far, temp is rock steady, and I will know more about the humidity when I candle in a few days, but it is holding steady too. I will be forced to cull a few of my existing older birds to make room for the new ones. I don't relish the thought of culling, but the thought of losing my wonderful line is even worse, so I will do what must be done. In about 5 months, my coop should all be running smoothly again, and that will hold me for a couple more years. Something I forgot to mention is that I rent the property my coop is on. Hopefully, it won't be too much longer, and we can buy a home with a few acres. At least, that's our plan.

I sure wish the best for you in your search for your homestead! I have a Genesis incubator, works fine, will probably have to use it when Tom's Brahmas begin laying, depending on if there is a broody at the time. I have Maretta, my EE hen who was broody not long before we moved them into the barn, though she was losing her resolve to sit, never really stuck so I could give her eggs, but not sure she'll do it again. I'm wondering if Lizzie or Tessa will have the tendency, but even if they do, if pattern holds, they'll wait a couple more years to do it.

 

[speckledhen]

DH's sister, Sherry's house burned down last night. She lost a house just 3 months before our house fire just a few years ago, and now, AGAIN! I couldn't believe it. Crazy. Now, I'll be paranoid. When I saw the email, I thought it was her phone resending an old email, but no, another house is a total loss.

At least, this time, they saved the vehicles. Last time, they burned with the house. Only the front steps were standing. Almost as bad this time, total loss, though a small portion of the house is standing, they say. Wiring in the attic was supposedly the cause, maybe squirrels, a super nice big newer house.

 

[1muttsfan]

Oh that is SOO too bad! Thank goodness everyone is safe. As they (and you) have found, you can replace stuff, but not people

 

[speckledhen]

Oh that is SOO too bad! Thank goodness everyone is safe. As they (and you) have found, you can replace stuff, but not people

I told DH that if that happened again, grab the violins, grab the quilts, my chicken art, especially Isaac's painting, (and Finn, if he's in here) and let it burn to the ground. I don't ever want to go through it the way we did last time. I'd rather start from the ground up.

 

[robhuncor]

Quote:
This is unbelievable that fire should strike so often! Cyn, do you have all the necessary smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, etc.? Make sure they are all operational!

 

[speckledhen]

This is unbelievable that fire should strike so often! Cyn, do you have all the necessary smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, etc.? Make sure they are all operational!

Yes, I do. I did back then, too. The heat melted the smoke detector on the wall. My extinguisher was 30 years old but still worked, enough to kick back the fire so it didn't spread until the volunteer guys got there. I've always had smoke detectors in my house, trust me. Replaced them and added a carbon monoxide detector, though I don't know why I'd need one since we dont use central heat/air. But, it's there.

 

[MistyMountain]

Oh wow. That is unbelievable. Dad, having been a firefighter, was always picky about smoke alarms. I remember he would test them anywhere we stayed. We have also been big on smoke alarms. Ours are wirelessly connected, and we will eventually have one in our barn that will set off the alarms in the house. When we bought this house they had two alarms. We now have 8. They also remind me when my cooking is less than perfect….

There was a fire that claimed the lives of two young children nearby recently. We have since held drills in our home, letting the boys explore all of their escape options, crawling and feeling with their arms. We timed them and taught them how to open the windows and push out the screens. We burn wood to heat the house in the winter, so we are constantly double checking the stove and clean the flue often. Fire is such an unforgiving thing.