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

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:

I still miss my hatchery EE that passed away last year to internal laying. She would fly up onto my arm for treats. Out of the 7 I started with 5 1/2 years ago, I have 3 left. Pretty good for hatchery hens.

 

[1muttsfan]

Nice to remember old friends.

It is fascinating how much your weather is like ours, and you are probably 12 hours south of here.

 

[speckledhen]

Atlas has had a few tests on different fronts of late. Yesterday, he was let out to free range with his two pullets. He has to go out the human door and through the storage area rather than the gate since now, the gate leads into the bantams' pen. I was inside for awhile then went back out to find him and herd the three home. Couldn't find them right away. Then, I heard something and on a hunch, went inside his coop and called to him. He came out from under the coop, having already taken his girls back inside and into their pen. Good boy!

Today, I went in to put feed in the feeder and I see his comb all bloody. He has a cut at the base in between two points and a stream of blood has run down each side toward his beak and clotted there. So, now the test: can I pick him up, take him to the house, hold him on my lap and keep him calm so DH can clean off the blood and apply antibiotic ointment to the cut? And, he was fabulous! He never offered to nip either one of us, was sweet and as we worked on him more and more, he became more and more calm about it. Took him back, sat him on the floor and he was a perfect gentleman.

Here is his little brother, Levi, today:

 

[1muttsfan]

I know we have talked about the quality of barring in the past. What to you make of Levi's? Or is it too early to tell much?

Good boy Atlas!

 

[speckledhen]

I know we have talked about the quality of barring in the past. What to you make of Levi's? Or is it too early to tell much?

Good boy Atlas!

Well, Levi is single barred, not double barred like Atlas so he will look like their sire, Rex. You notice how dark Levi is, more like a BR pullet.

 

[1muttsfan]

Yes that I could see. His barring is not very even?

 

[speckledhen]

Yes that I could see. His barring is not very even?

Yes, it's uneven and the black outweighs the white, just as it would with a BR pullet. BR females carry a single barring gene, whereas a normal BR male would carry two barring genes, as Atlas does. Levi only has one barring gene; since his sire only has one barring gene which he passes to only a portion of his progeny, he did not pass it to his son in this instance, so Levi got his one barring gene from mama Ida and none from dear old dad. Atlas received one from each parent, which is why he's the stud muffin he is. Levi is a sweetheart. I bet he'll be a good boy like his daddy and his big brother is turning out to be, finally.

Ladyhawk and I are feverishly rebuilding our Blue Roo Creations website on a new host. It's way more complicated, but also, way more professional looking, IMO. But, I feel like I'm in a foreign country right now, getting it all set up. Then, to input about 200 store items...ack!

 

[1muttsfan]

Nice!

I have some Cream Legbar (barred) hens that I am going to cross with a blue Arkansas Blue roo next summer, looking for sex link blue egg layers. A new project as I was not completely happy with my CL's, but only managed to hatch out 2 AB (blue cockerel and a white pullet), not enough to breed on their own. CL roo got rehomed with several of his girlfriends with the understanding I could get some hatching eggs in the spring.

 

[speckledhen]

Today, I let them out again to free range after they were so good the last time, and as usual, Intellicast's radar failed me so we had to try to rush them back in as the thunder started up and the rain was upon us. Atlas tried to go back in as I requested, but his girls had other ideas. He wouldn't leave them, understandable and responsible, so we had to do a Keystone Cops roundup. The two idiot girls went different directions though finally, Atlas got one to follow him into the coop. We shut Atlas and Rowena inside and went to retrieve the other from underneath the coop where she was hiding. When finally, we got Rachel inside, Atlas delivered a masterful scolding, aka resounding head thunk, to her for not doing as he commanded. Good boy, keep those girls in line, Atlas! He's been nothing but good since moving back to that coop. I'm very pleased.


I have decided that when Dottie begins pushing her three chicks away, she will go in with Atlas. She has never really gotten back in the groove with her former group since the last bunch of chicks so I figure this new group will work as well as the other one. I may not give him any others before Spring and then I'll decide if, who and when.

 

[1muttsfan]

Few things are as silly as young pullets - maybe young teenage girls