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

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My single silver laced Wyandotte pullet from last June follows me around looking for goodies. I found a daily treat of a scrambled egg makes chicks friendly without handling. Now I got a bunch of birds that don't get out of my way.

 

[speckledhen]

My single silver laced Wyandotte pullet from last June follows me around looking for goodies. I found a daily treat of a scrambled egg makes chicks friendly without handling. Now I got a bunch of birds that don't get out of my way.

Delawares tend to be trip hazards naturally. Goofy things. And they're smart, too, so they get into trouble if they stay inside for long periods. Probably why they are still almost extinct, LOL.

 

[1muttsfan]

True. And really they are great birds, excellent layers, good mothers, and Uber friendly. If it wasn't so hard to find good ones they might be more popular. I would have more if they didn't eat so much!

 

[speckledhen]

True. And really they are great birds, excellent layers, good mothers, and Uber friendly. If it wasn't so hard to find good ones they might be more popular. I would have more if they didn't eat so much!

I never noticed mine eating more than any other birds I have, though could be they did. Of course, now I have only Georgie left and she'll be 8 years old in a couple weeks.


Sort of worrisome news this morning: I heard a very short crow over the monitor that I could not identify, even remarked to my husband that maybe one of the little girls was tuning up. But, that was not it. When we went to the barn, I found out who it was. Atlas's crow is very weak today, disturbingly so. He sounds like Isaac did when he began a fungal infection (without the coffee pot breathing associated with that) and how Suede sounded the first time I realized he was on his downhill slide in July 2012. I picked him up to check him over. Clear eyes/nares, no discernible breathing issue, just sounds like he has no breath. And he's lost some weight, too. Geez, he's only 3 years old! I'll give him some special food, but I don't want to think that I could lose Atlas so young, even though many folks lose roosters around this age. His grandpa Isaac lived to be over 6 1/2 years old. Suede was going on 6 yrs old when he began showing he was going to leave us soon. Deacon and Rex both died from conditions associated with injuries so I can't count them.

Now I'm feeling awful. Dusty's bloat is still there, her crop refuses to go down, no matter what I do. And the older gals added to all that, better dig some holes, I guess. Crap.

 

[1muttsfan]

 

[speckledhen]

I gave him some scrambled eggs cooked in extra virgin olive oil with lots of minced garlic and cayenne pepper and whatever else I could think of to go in it. He ate heartily, did not even offer to share with the girls. My poor sweet baby boy. I hope he's not in heart failure or something, not this early.

 

[Wyatt0224]

I'm so sorry to hear Atlas isn't doing good! I hope he gets better very, very soon. He sounds like a one of kind rooster.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm so sorry to hear Atlas isn't doing good! I hope he gets better very, very soon. He sounds like a one of kind rooster.

Thank you, I hope so, too. He's such a sweet boy and has so many traits that are like his grandpa Isaac. Of course, I have Hector and Apollo, but neither are like my Atlas, not yet. Apollo is non-aggressive, but he is only a youngster, not a proven rooster like his dad. And Hector, well, Hector is Hector. He would get Atlas's hens if I lose my big guy, but I hope he's just feeling the dampness we've had lately and isn't getting pneumonia. Still, that crow along with his weight loss is worrying me.

 

[Wyatt0224]

How are you going to treat him? Is there any way to fix him?

 

[speckledhen]

How are you going to treat him? Is there any way to fix him?

Since I see no congestion or anything to treat, all I'm going to do is give supportive care, extra protein and immune-system boosting supplements. If I believe he has pneumonia, I'll treat him with Tylan injections, but at this point, I am not going to give antibiotics. If his heart is failing or something internal is wrong, I can't fix that, unfortunately. He hasn't been fighting with anyone because a long time ago, I quit allowing Apollo out with him, so he's had a pretty stress-free existence. He was chasing the hens this morning as usual so he at least had energy to do that.

@1muttsfan Mary, what do you think? Does that sound reasonable to you? I know lots of folks would throw antibiotics at him just because of the way his crow sounds today, but I don't like to "shotgun" meds that way unless I'm really think there is something that will respond to them.