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

[speckledhen]

Rain stopped for two hours and it just started again. I'm so sick of humidity!

This has been another wet summer. I'm sure I'll have to treat Dottie's chicks for cocci now. They cannot escape the dampness and they're just getting to the age when you start seeing that.

 

[speckledhen]

Today is the 22 Week Photo Session for Atlas, Rowena, Rachel, Wendy and Robin. The mud is everywhere. Impossible to keep waterers completely clean when the pounding rain throws mud into them every night, but I dump the trays and keep trying. I'm weary of trying, I must say, sigh. So, forgive the muddy waterer tray in the photo.










This is Rachel on the bar with Atlas. She's the larger of the two barred pullets, but her barring is more blurry:







Rowena-had to rescue her from the Orp pen today. She gets hassled and flies up and over the fence into their domain. They ignore her.



And the black girls, Wendy and Robin, who are with their daddy, Rex. Robin's comb is larger and she is almost solid black. Wendy has more silver ticking on her chest and head.


Flash washed out Robin's coloring. She's close to laying, I think. She squats for Rex now.



That's Druscilla in the background. I believe she will be joining Atlas, Ro and Rachel, as well as Dottie, who raised Atlas.

 

[holm25]

 

[Peanutsmomma]

Loved the update! Hope the coop building is going well today.

 

[speckledhen]

No coop construction today. Had to go do some errands at 1:30 p.m. and it was pouring when I got back. Seems, though, that the rain is subsiding for the weekend. If that is true, we plan to have the entire coop constructed and maybe on the way to being painted by the end of the weekend.

I picked up 3 gallons of exterior satin Ooops paint at Walmart in a deep greenish slatey-blue color (hard to describe) so that's the color the coop is going to be. It was half the price of the regular stuff so that saves us some $$$. I have the trim paint that is on our house and all the other coops, a garnet/burgundy color and it ought to go well with this color. We are still lacking the 1x4's for all the trim, but will pick them up at the beginning of the week.

 

[1muttsfan]

You get a good idea of how big they are getting when you see them next to that waterer. Not a bad tail spread on - Rowena?

 

[speckledhen]

You get a good idea of how big they are getting when you see them next to that waterer. Not a bad tail spread on - Rowena?

Yup, that nice V spread belongs to Rowena, good eye!

We're hoofing it to finish this coop by the end of Sunday, so crossing fingers, toes and eyes (well, maybe not eyes or we'd fall down, LOL) that it won't rain and we can accomplish what we need to. When the old hens move out of Atlas's coop, he wont know what to do with himself, they'll have so much room. I'd move in Druscilla but I'd like Dottie to go in at the same time and her chicks are too young, not sure what he'd do with those babies.

 

[crazyhen]

I am jealous of your hens feathers. I am having the fall of the molt. Everywhere they are molting. I get only about 3 or 4 eggs from my ? 14 hens. I have never had a molt this bad before. I have even increased their protein with a bit of calf manna and scrambled eggs(occasionnaly). They truly look like the hen of yours did one yr. when I was there. I have never seen so many before. Poor babies they look right pitiful. Even the Delawere Roo is molting.

 

[speckledhen]

I am jealous of your hens feathers. I am having the fall of the molt. Everywhere they are molting. I get only about 3 or 4 eggs from my ? 14 hens. I have never had a molt this bad before. I have even increased their protein with a bit of calf manna and scrambled eggs(occasionnaly). They truly look like the hen of yours did one yr. when I was there. I have never seen so many before. Poor babies they look right pitiful. Even the Delawere Roo is molting.

Ha, you mean Gypsy! She molted completely bald about 3 different times, looked like a vulture! She hasn't been that bad in years now, thankfully.

We have the roof decking and the door end on. Need to put plywood on the front and it will be fully enclosed, but we have to cut through the chain link fence to do that. And Atlas mated Emily this morning, ack! I yelled, "I'm sorry, Em, we're hurrying as fast as we can!" LOL.

 

[speckledhen]

Here is Atlas's little sibling today. I had to hold it back to even get more than a little tushy photo. Kids, sheesh! They are all around my feet, running after me like I'm their mama rather than Dottie. They were even getting in the way of the coop build today, fearless!



The usual photos I get are like this one:





The coop! The sun was so blinding today, I felt like one of the Morlocks in the movie The Time Machine! But I'm not complaining! Deep blue skies and sunshine, haven't seen it like this for months!

Three vents in front, one on the end plus the turtle back vent in the roof to draw air through, up and out.







The turtle back vent in the roof. First time we ever cut a hole in a roof on purpose, but we've had this for about 15 years and finally got to use it. Felt paper is on and shingles will come later, but at least it won't fill up with water if it rains.