The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread
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Wonderful results, Cyn! How nice you had so many hatch and be healthy. Can't wait to see the pics as they grow.
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Thank you, my dear!
Thanks, Robin. It is very, very nice. I hope to do as well on the Brahmas. Should have a boatload of beautiful chicks to keep and to share the wealth, if so.
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Wish I had not forgotten my cell phone today so I could get a picture for you. At the Co-op was a sale board outside "Straight Run Chicks $1". So, I had to see. A huge metal stock tank held maybe 75-80 Barred Rock chicks. Oh, my the silver in that tank! There were probably at least 99% or more cockerels. I said to myself, "Well, I see a boatload of boys there!". Some older guy passing by at the time asked, "Can you tell?". I gave him a crash course in BR sexing. Oh, my, I've never seen BR males as silver-white as these were! NO question about almost all of them. I truly did not see one I could definitely say was a pullet. Someone who knew BRs had already been in and taken advantage of that sale, LOL.
I re-candled and removed the two questionable eggs from the Brahma batch today, no development in either.
Who is ready for CHICK PICS? Yeah, I know they don't even have their wing feathers yet, but hey, it's chicks, right? I think I may have at least 5-6 pullets, but if there's more, I have no idea, and one I can tell will keep me guessing until the wings are in, for sue- they don't hold still long enough to get a count! Try counting ants!
I re-candled and removed the two questionable eggs from the Brahma batch today, no development in either.
Who is ready for CHICK PICS? Yeah, I know they don't even have their wing feathers yet, but hey, it's chicks, right? I think I may have at least 5-6 pullets, but if there's more, I have no idea, and one I can tell will keep me guessing until the wings are in, for sue- they don't hold still long enough to get a count! Try counting ants!
"People who count their chickens before they are hatched act very wisely, because chickens run about so absurdly that it is impossible to count them accurately."
— Oscar Wilde
— Oscar Wilde
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I am at this moment unsure of how many I have
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I have 33 total, including the bantams and counting Athena as part of Atlas's group, but not any of the chicks since I'm not sure who's staying or going just yet.
I will most likely not keep the BR and Brahma chicks as long as most breeders would before selecting my keepers. I don't have the room, the $$ or the physical energy (or husband available) to hold onto a large number of birds for too long. I am going to be rushing it a bit, taking cues from younger birds than are optimal in order to make choices on those I can keep. So, I'll rely on you guys and your eagle eyes to check out my pictures and give your input, if you don't mind. With this quality of lineage, I should have a better than average chance of getting a very nice male, even choosing earlier than I'd like.
Jill said the temperaments are good on this cross and I'm going to take her word for that and hope that I get a male who is at least as easy to deal with as Atlas has been. Atlas may have some flaws but his stellar temperament is unparalleled. I kept him at the time because he was the only cockerel, but if I'd had a choice with any of the sons he's produced (other than the weird comb guy-that was all his Splash Rock mama's fault)I'd have chosen them over him, they were that much improved over dad.
I have a tentative buyer for the BR pair, hopefully, this time a "normal" one, LOL. A young couple with a baby and one on the way who already have 14 chicks about the same age in a small coop with hubby building a larger one. Sounds like they're adding to both families. They are going to come pick them up after the holiday weekend (it's been ages since we had any plans on a holiday, just never go anywhere-not that I want to).
I will most likely not keep the BR and Brahma chicks as long as most breeders would before selecting my keepers. I don't have the room, the $$ or the physical energy (or husband available) to hold onto a large number of birds for too long. I am going to be rushing it a bit, taking cues from younger birds than are optimal in order to make choices on those I can keep. So, I'll rely on you guys and your eagle eyes to check out my pictures and give your input, if you don't mind. With this quality of lineage, I should have a better than average chance of getting a very nice male, even choosing earlier than I'd like.
Jill said the temperaments are good on this cross and I'm going to take her word for that and hope that I get a male who is at least as easy to deal with as Atlas has been. Atlas may have some flaws but his stellar temperament is unparalleled. I kept him at the time because he was the only cockerel, but if I'd had a choice with any of the sons he's produced (other than the weird comb guy-that was all his Splash Rock mama's fault)I'd have chosen them over him, they were that much improved over dad.
I have a tentative buyer for the BR pair, hopefully, this time a "normal" one, LOL. A young couple with a baby and one on the way who already have 14 chicks about the same age in a small coop with hubby building a larger one. Sounds like they're adding to both families. They are going to come pick them up after the holiday weekend (it's been ages since we had any plans on a holiday, just never go anywhere-not that I want to).
Sound perfect.
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Can chicks be completely rotten at 4 days old? I go clean their brooder a little, play with them a little and they're fine....for awhile. Then, suddenly, the chirp chorus begins. When I walk in, they all shut-up. So, I sneaked up from around the corner and they were all standing up, cheeping loudly, heads in the air. When they saw me, silence. Then, when my hand goes into the brooder, I'm mobbed. Now, that's a proper BR, not in the least flighty.
Lord help me from falling in love with all the little boys! Ladyhawk says that's her sexing method, the Rooster Magnet Method. If the chick runs straight to her, it's a male. If it screams when you pick it up "Don't touch me! Ack!", it's a pullet. She also says if she could find a rooster who'd lay an egg, she'd have only roosters. We have it bad! LOL.
BTW, at least 13 of those 33 birds are over 6 years old. And Gloria Jean was prolapsed yesterday. We have her fixed for now, but she's been bloated up had lots of issues over the past year or more, only laying for a short period before acting off again, so I may lose her and she's only 5 years old, one of my younger hens. Sounds odd to say that a 5 year old is one of the younger ones.
I have only 5 that are 2 yrs old or under, and that includes Athena.
Lord help me from falling in love with all the little boys! Ladyhawk says that's her sexing method, the Rooster Magnet Method. If the chick runs straight to her, it's a male. If it screams when you pick it up "Don't touch me! Ack!", it's a pullet. She also says if she could find a rooster who'd lay an egg, she'd have only roosters. We have it bad! LOL.
BTW, at least 13 of those 33 birds are over 6 years old. And Gloria Jean was prolapsed yesterday. We have her fixed for now, but she's been bloated up had lots of issues over the past year or more, only laying for a short period before acting off again, so I may lose her and she's only 5 years old, one of my younger hens. Sounds odd to say that a 5 year old is one of the younger ones.
I have only 5 that are 2 yrs old or under, and that includes Athena.
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