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

[1muttsfan]

I don't think that an aggressive interlude with another rooster, win or loose, will alter his behavior towards you. Chickens see each other as individuals, just as we do. It may increase his overall tendency towards aggression if he has frequent bouts with other roosters, though.

 

[Wyatt0224]

I don't think that an aggressive interlude with another rooster, win or loose, will alter his behavior towards you.  Chickens see each other as individuals, just as we do.  It may increase his overall tendency towards aggression if he has frequent bouts with other roosters, though.

Well I know I've seen on here at byc and I wanna say Cynthia has told some on here, where a rooster will run in front of a person to protect them if they see a predator or something they don't like. If Atlas were to see Hector attack Cynthia or her husband Atlas might do something about it and maybe put an idea into Hectors head not to do that. I know hat may seem a bit of fetch but it seems to me Hector thinks he's on top of the world and needs a solid reminder that he's not the boss.

 

[speckledhen]

Well I know I've seen on here at byc and I wanna say Cynthia has told some on here, where a rooster will run in front of a person to protect them if they see a predator or something they don't like. If Atlas were to see Hector attack Cynthia or her husband Atlas might do something about it and maybe put an idea into Hectors head not to do that. I know hat may seem a bit of fetch but it seems to me Hector thinks he's on top of the world and needs a solid reminder that he's not the boss.

Yes, that has happened to me and to Ladyhawk. When the cat first showed up, Atlas ran between me and the cat a couple of times to head off Finn, who was only coming to me for tummy rubs, then he chased the cat away. Now, he considers this cat part of the landscape. And LH has had more than one rooster protect her from some threat, including people they didn't like.

I wish we could set Hector up to be knocked down a few pegs, but you never know if Atlas will think he's an actual threat to me, even if Hector attacked me. And Hector has only bitten me a few times and dropped his wing at me, not including the sneak attack from behind this morning. If he was full-on flogging me in the presence of Atlas, maybe he'd intervene, maybe even Apollo would intervene, but you can't really count on either of them to save the day. They probably think that the humans who are in charge can manage one little snotty cockerel all by themselves, LOL.

Hector seems to have two voices in his head. On one hand, he follows me around the fence line when I have to go down toward the pasture and he greets me when I come back into the gate. On the other, his little devil side wants to dominate me like he does his little girls. Don't we all wish we could hear the thought processes in a rooster's head?

I think this is Hector's brain on hormones:

 

[h2oratt]

Someone on this thread referred to a chicken breed as AB. What breed is that?

 

[Wyatt0224]

Someone on this thread referred to a chicken breed as AB. What breed is that?

How recent was the post?
I think that see-saw accurately represents Hectors mind. If only the good will win and keep his calm. If he does turn for the good how big do you think he will be when he's fully grown? Do you think he will be bigger than Atlas?

 

[speckledhen]

Someone on this thread referred to a chicken breed as AB. What breed is that?

The AB means Arkansas Blue. Some info on this old thread and Mary can tell you about them, too.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/624359/blue-egg-layers-from-university-of-arkansas

How recent was the post?
I think that see-saw accurately represents Hectors mind. If only the good will win and keep his calm. If he does turn for the good how big do you think he will be when he's fully grown? Do you think he will be bigger than Atlas?

Honestly, I don't know how big he'd end up. Atlas is pretty broad, lots of room between his legs. Hector would have a longer back than Atlas (so does Apollo) and if he fills in that frame, I'd guess he would be close to the same size as Atlas, just with better barring and top-line.

 

[speckledhen]

My husband said two things today that are unusual for him. Well, one is odd, for sure. We were sitting in the barn pen while Xander's group, Rita's group, Apollo and Hector with their girls and the Brahmas were all in the barn pen late this afternoon. He said, "you know, I hate to think of all the stuff involved in moving, but this place is just too much for me now". We discussed that some and then he said, as we were discussing the chickens with them milling around under the hammock he was sitting in, "I know you are wanting to breed and all that, but I would rather just have hens the way we used to have them and just not have a rooster so they could all go into the barn in one big group." He's mentioned the "old days" before but in conjunction with the moving comment, makes me think I need to maybe do something to scale back or simplify. The barn did that, in a big way, but I still have too many birds. The old ladies will start dying off. I mean, how much longer can 8, 9 & 10 year old hens live? So that will lower the numbers, especially of lesser or non-productive hens.

The combination of those thoughts means he is tired and wants further simplicity as he gets into his mid-60's. With his advancing health issues, the upkeep of this acreage has gotten to both of us, as have the 10 steps on the house. I guess, in light of all that, I can go ahead and sell Apollo and just take my chances with Hector. If Hector buys his ticket out of here, I can give his girls to Atlas. Fred mentioned giving Athena and Zara to Hector and giving Hector's girls to Atlas anyway.

Atlas isn't going anywhere, certainly. My sweet guy has earned the right to stay forever. Little Xander probably won't, either-the munchkin rooster is going on 4 years old, one year older than Atlas. I have the Belgian D'Anvers with their two roosters, but they are not even in the barn at this point in time, they don't lay and most of them are close to 6 years old anyway. If I sell off Apollo, I'll move the D'Anvers back into that small pen where Apollo is hiding out, of course.

I have my wants and then I have what I can manage, and I always want to take my husband's feelings into consideration. He would never tell me to get rid of anything I wanted to keep (unlike some husbands I know), but I can't just be selfish and do it all my way all the time. Maybe some of the way this can happen will become more clear when my dad's house is sold and I can come close to paying off my mortgage (which is about of a new pickup truck, but there, nonetheless).


ETA: My older son broke two ribs and tore a pec muscle. How? He saw a puppy about to be hit in the road, got out to save it and somehow, fell down a hill. The puppy lived, but Michael sure hurts!

AND, we have two new visitors at the house today. A brown bat and a mantis. The bat stays on the deck ceiling every fall just prior to cold weather. Sometimes, it will stay for 2 weeks or more in the same spot. I have brown spots on two or three other places where it roosted in previous years. Not sure if it's the same bat or other bats with the same predilection for my porch ceiling.

 

[Wyatt0224]

How soon would those changes take place?

 

[speckledhen]

How soon would those changes take place?

There is no way to make things happen fast. We are concentrating on a huge clean out and sale/giveaway of about 90% of the stuff in our basement/stand up crawlspace and my late father's stuff we don't want to keep. I can't do anything until the house is "cleansed" and my late father's house is sold and the money in my hand, whatever I'll get out of that. There won't be much, but maybe close to my mortgage amount. Plus, I have to replace my 1996 Lumina Sedan with a small truck. It is going to take awhile for all that to happen. And nothing happens fast here with my husband's degenerative disc disease, bad knee and now, inherited kidney problems. Plus, I won't let my birds go who have been here for years and years and have earned their place, so though it sounds crass, depends also on how long it takes them to pass away.

 

[Wyatt0224]

That's understandable about letting the birds live their life out. Will you still be breeding at all?