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

[Wyatt0224]

Have you ever had anything like this happen with other chickens? Heritage or hatchery? Rooster or hen?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Have you experienced a recent weather shift. Sometimes they can look off when temperatures drop for a few days. Hopefully it's nothing serious.

 

[h2oratt]

I can't believe they would let a man like that live out his life.... It kinda goes to show how messed up our cou try is...

Not sure what you mean. What does that have to do with our country.?

 

[1muttsfan]

Sorry to hear Athena is off, hopefully she perks back up.

Looks like you guys are in line for some serious rain later this week.

 

[speckledhen]

Have you ever had anything like this happen with other chickens? Heritage or hatchery? Rooster or hen?

Not exactly. I did have a pullet about that same age start to lose weight after just beginning to lay. She started very late, produced a few eggs and quit, just like her sister did. That was the Buff Orp sister of my big Buff gal who had the baseball size tumors in her liver from eggs deposited there. She refused to eat, just wasted away because she would not eat. So, that, IMO, was something to do with them genetically, some weird insufficiency they shared, something off about them genetically. I notice the long-time Buff Orpington breeder is no longer breeding Buff Orpingtons so makes me wonder if they had issues crop up that were messing with their program. Unfortunate if that was the case because their Buffs were so nice. My Nugget who lived to be 7 1/2 was also from them, but different parentage.

Have you experienced a recent weather shift. Sometimes they can look off when temperatures drop for a few days. Hopefully it's nothing serious.

Well, not really. The weather has been warm for the season, with a few cold nights, nothing earth-shattering. If she wasn't acting weird, the cessation of eggs would not alarm me; as I always tell folks, hens are not machines. But, it just seems that there is something there, something really not right when I observe her. I think she may have been hurt. Seems that Zara was hurt early on when in Atlas's group, too, and was off for a bit, but she was not laying at the time, was much younger and the group was being hassled mercilessly by Tessa and Lizzie. I believe Zara flew into the wall getting away.

Sorry to hear Athena is off, hopefully she perks back up.

Looks like you guys are in line for some serious rain later this week.

I hope we get some rain. We need to burn some paper trash in our burn pit and have been holding off until it was safe. There's probably a burn ban locally, don't really know, but we keep a water hose ready when we burn anything and there is little chance of spread, much less if it's after a good rain.

 

[speckledhen]

The reason I have not introduced Hector's own thread was apparent this morning. Well, it may have been an isolated incident, but still, it makes me back off of trusting him fully again. I opened his pen door and though I usually point at him and tell him to let his girls come out first, which he will do most of the time, he rushed out and I didn't stop him. He turned to the right, went to me, as I was standing back from his path so he could leave and bit my sweatpants. I reacted so fast, it startled him. I smashed him to the ground, pushed his head down, popped him on the back of the neck, and yeah, I yelled at him "DON'T DO THAT!NO!"Then, I sort of fast-walk-chased him around a little, but I don't have time or inclination to deal with a backsliding rooster. He came out all full of you-know-what-and vinegar, as they say, as most roosters do in the morning and he just had to grab something. I was it. Geez.

 

[GabrielBane]

Oy. We just sent a beautiful Wheaten cockerel to freezer camp for not understanding that our faces were not targets whenever we knelt.

Hopefully he'll learn his lesson, little bugger!

 

[MistyMountain]

Oh Hector, we're all rooting for you, but you gotta keep it together. I hope Athena gets to feeling better. She is such a lovely girl.

We just got back from camping in Pigeon Forge. We took the boys to the aquarium and they had a Pearl harbor display. It was pretty cool, and right up my 8 year old's alley. He reads and reads books about the Civil War and WWII. I saw this "poster" among many that made me think of you... they certainly did promote home preserving once upon time. It is sad that much of that is lost on many today, myself included. I'm trying to learn, though. I am certain my grandparents canned at some point in time, but my parents never did.

And a view of one of the fires in the south, probably not one affecting your air quality, though. This is from the summit of Clingman's Dome.

 

[GingersHuman]

The reason I have not introduced Hector's own thread was apparent this morning. Well, it may have been an isolated incident, but still, it makes me back off of trusting him fully again. I opened his pen door and though I usually point at him and tell him to let his girls come out first, which he will do most of the time, he rushed out and I didn't stop him. He turned to the right, went to me, as I was standing back from his path so he could leave and bit my sweatpants. I reacted so fast, it startled him. I smashed him to the ground, pushed his head down, popped him on the back of the neck, and yeah, I  yelled at him "DON'T DO THAT!NO!"Then, I sort of fast-walk-chased him around a little, but I don't have time or inclination to deal with a backsliding rooster. He came out all full of you-know-what-and vinegar, as they say, as most roosters do in the morning and he just had to grab something. I was it. Geez.

Cockerels can be a pain in the rear! I thought I had it made as I had a LF and a bantam cockerel that got along great and were good with the hens and with people. Then my bantam cockerel was killed by a hawk and I hawk-proofed my run and got another bantam cockerel. After a week my LF cockerel still won't get get along with the bantam, chasing him mercilessly, and then started chasing my bantam pullet this morning too. He needs to cut it out or he will be going to my cousin's house where he will join freezer camp. I already have two 9 1/2 week old cockerels I'm happy to replace him with.

 

[speckledhen]

Oy. We just sent a beautiful Wheaten cockerel to freezer camp for not understanding that our faces were not targets whenever we knelt.

Hopefully he'll learn his lesson, little bugger!

He'd better. I'm out of patience for his shenanigans. And though he didn't understand me, or maybe he did, I said to him, "Better watch it, buddy, I still have Apollo".

Oh Hector, we're all rooting for you, but you gotta keep it together. I hope Athena gets to feeling better. She is such a lovely girl.

We just got back from camping in Pigeon Forge. We took the boys to the aquarium and they had a Pearl harbor display. It was pretty cool, and right up my 8 year old's alley. He reads and reads books about the Civil War and WWII. I saw this "poster" among many that made me think of you... they certainly did promote home preserving once upon time. It is sad that much of that is lost on many today, myself included. I'm trying to learn, though. I am certain my grandparents canned at some point in time, but my parents never did.

And a view of one of the fires in the south, probably not one affecting your air quality, though. This is from the summit of Clingman's Dome.

I love that sign. Yup, you got it. My dad was raised on a farm and he and my mom both canned during my childhood, that was in addition to me having the fortunate experience of being on my grandfather's farm and seeing the work of raising and butchering animals all during my childhood.

Cockerels can be a pain in the rear! I thought I had it made as I had a LF and a bantam cockerel that got along great and were good with the hens and with people. Then my bantam cockerel was killed by a hawk and I hawk-proofed my run and got another bantam cockerel. After a week my LF cockerel still won't get get along with the bantam, chasing him mercilessly, and then started chasing my bantam pullet this morning too. He needs to cut it out or he will be going to my cousin's house where he will join freezer camp. I already have two 9 1/2 week old cockerels I'm happy to replace him with.

It's hard to introduce a new male cold like that. Even hens are hard, but males are almost impossible.


Another thing that is changing is Apollo has an interest in the Brahma pullets. He likes those hairy legged foreign women, LOL. They like him, too. He found something and clucked for his girls and Brandy came running to see what he had for her. He has been hanging around the Brahma Brigade more than his own pullets, who seem to prefer Hector or no male company at all. Poor, sweet Apollo. He deserves more respect than he gets. And the Brahma males like the BR girls. Nobody is happy with their own girls around here! Bunch of defectors.