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

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'm even considering going back to hand-quilting for this quilt so I can sit with a quilt on my lap! I'm dead serious about this, too, carpal- tunnel or not.

Sounds wonderful right now. We need a break from these below zero temperatures. Supposedly we will be in the 20's on Sunday before going back down. It won't be enough. My chickens are having troubles acclimating, and one of my older frizzle hens doesn't look like she will be around for long. Thankfully her sister is still fine, but they are reaching that age now. I have lost most of her batch already. It's sad watching old chickens get old.

 

[getaclue]

I bundled up good, and went to help train dogs earlier. My neighbor is a professional dog trainer, and I help sometimes. With the sun out, and being busy, it's not as cold, but it's still cold.

 

[speckledhen]

Sounds wonderful right now. We need a break from these below zero temperatures. Supposedly we will be in the 20's on Sunday before going back down. It won't be enough. My chickens are having troubles acclimating, and one of my older frizzle hens doesn't look like she will be around for long. Thankfully her sister is still fine, but they are reaching that age now. I have lost most of her batch already. It's sad watching old chickens get old.

Yes, it is, Lisa. And when you have one as long as I have, it's like having a dog pass away. Some hens I have lived as long as some of my dogs.

 

[kitkat5505]

I'm even considering going back to hand-quilting for this quilt so I can sit with a quilt on my lap! I'm dead serious about this, too, carpal- tunnel or not.

When I have crocheted baby blankets in the winter I loved as they got bigger and covered more of my lap while I worked lol. I hate being cold. Luckily our winter this year has been pretty mild so far. My chickens have done great, nights rarely less than 20*. Of course they’re all young and healthy so I don’t have any old girls to worry about yet.

I’m glad June is doing better today, sounds like she just needed a day of rest.

 

[speckledhen]

When I have crocheted baby blankets in the winter I loved as they got bigger and covered more of my lap while I worked lol. I hate being cold. Luckily our winter this year has been pretty mild so far. My chickens have done great, nights rarely less than 20*. Of course they’re all young and healthy so I don’t have any old girls to worry about yet.

I’m glad June is doing better today, sounds like she just needed a day of rest.

Kara, it's no fair that your weather is better than ours in GA! I remember Utah winters, though, and I would prefer them to Ohio winters any day. Nice, dry air, powdery snow not wet, heavy stuff that brings down the power lines.

 

[1muttsfan]

I just brought one of my AB's in to the garage where it's warmer than the subzero outside. I can turn the heater on to 45 degrees. She moulted late this fall, and I did not realize how few of her feathers have opened out. I found her in the nest box and when I pulled her out she was cold and shivering, and exhausted too I think. They are not birds that love to be touched, but she did not put up a fight. This weather is brutal.

 

[speckledhen]

I just brought one of my AB's in to the garage where it's warmer than the subzero outside. I can turn the heater on to 45 degrees. She moulted late this fall, and I did not realize how few of her feathers have opened out. I found her in the nest box and when I pulled her out she was cold and shivering, and exhausted too I think. They are not birds that love to be touched, but she did not put up a fight. This weather is brutal.

See, this is what I want, folks who think and don't just chant "Chickens don't need heat, chickens don't need heat" ad nauseum. Fully-feathered, healthy reasonably young chickens don't need heat, but a naked chicken, like a dog, does not have antifreeze for blood. Each situation calls for a decision. I hope she's okay. They use a lot of calories to stay warm and if they're still partly in molt, that is so hard on them.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

See, this is what I want, folks who think and don't just chant "Chickens don't need heat, chickens don't need heat" ad nauseum. Fully-feathered, healthy reasonably young chickens don't need heat, but a naked chicken, like a dog, does not have antifreeze for blood. Each situation calls for a decision. I hope she's okay. They use a lot of calories to stay warm and if they're still partly in molt, that is so hard on them.

I totally agree with you. Everyone needs to access their situation and decide for themselves what is right for them and their birds. It is just as right for people to provide heat as it is for me not to.

 

[speckledhen]

I also think that chickens are acclimated to the climate they grew up in, something folks rarely mention. Mine wouldn't make it in Wisconsin and yours would be partying hard here, thinking they had made it to Chicken Shangri-La (well, maybe not so much tonight, LOL). Maybe the Brahmas and mostly younger to middle aged hens don't need heat at all, but an ailing bird, a naked bird, or one like old Amanda may need a heat spot. It really depends on the situation. And Lisa, you also have other animals in the barn, too, and use the deep bedding as well. You have a really good barn for them to be out of the wind like I do, though yours is larger than mine. I have no larger livestock to provide body heat and we don't do deep bedding, though I piled in some hay with Georgie's group and the other old hens' group tonight.

 

[1muttsfan]

My Speckled Sussex looks like a basketball tonight, she is so pouffed out