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

[Leahs Mom]

I seriously think I could make an acre work to do a micro-homestead that would be enough for me. But I'm like you - I don't want to be right next to folks but do want to be close enough that a neighbor is nearby in case of emergency.

I think things get crazy when you think about breeding. If you could just get in the mindset of having a flock for yourself, then it wouldn't matter if they were pure or mixed as long as they give you eggs and enjoyment.


ETA - Have you ever seen weed em & reap? They have a pretty small lot - walls on both sides - and have a mini-farm going on there. Pretty inspiring for such a small lot. And not too overwhelming to take care of.

 

[kitkat5505]

I’ve had to decide on downsizing our mini zoo here lol. Just have so much going on that I was getting overwhelmed. So I found a home for the little 6 week old leghorn male, he was starting to be a bit of a bully to the girls, as well as our 2 rabbits. They were cute when we first got them but then the novelty wore off and the kids didn’t care for them and they poop soooo much! So a guy with a 17 acre farm took them. Then I was able to clean out their little coop and put the two 6 week old pullets (who’ve been living in my bathtub) in it out by the big coop since the weather is warm now. Hopefully by the time they’re big enough to join the older girls they will be used to each other. So that’s helped my stress level a bit. Still plenty of other things to stress about with kids and remodeling and needing to get my garden planted before it’s too late lol.

 

[speckledhen]

Tom's back was better yesterday, but today, he's back to barely being able to walk so chores once again are all on me. He's feeling very guilty about being out of commission, as he always does. Guess I should remind him of when I broke my ankle and was pretty much useless for months.

 

[kitkat5505]

I’m sorry his back has been giving him so much trouble it’s hard when you want to be able to do more than your body will let you. My husband would also feel guilty if he couldn’t physically help as much as usual.

 

[getaclue]

Sorry about Tom's back. Back problems tend to be very painful.

kitkat, glad you chose to downsize. It's a hard choice, but when it's overwhelming, it's the best choice, otherwise the quality of care for all the animals starts lacking, and soon you just can't keep up. They suffer for it. Better to provide great care for a few, than not so good care for many.

 

[robhuncor]

Somehow hearing you all is making me feel less desolate about the downsizing of my own little hobby farm. I have always been very aware of the fact that this is my project and I always tried to keep it to just what I could manage myself. I started when I was home with my babies and not working but then when I had to go back to work, I had to cut back and got rid of the goats but still had poultry, rabbits and smaller garden that I did on my own. My DH helped out with building shelters, pens and fencing,etc. but I never expected him to do any of the care of the animals or garden. Kids weren't interested so I never asked for their help - after all, it was MY thing, not theirs. They sometimes pitched in, mostly with yard cleanup (4.5 acres). But then, just like you Cyn, when I broke my foot and ankle a year and a half ago and was completely laid up, DH took over the care of the poultry for the duration and it struck me like a brick - this is not what he wants to be doing plus he's not doing it to my standards and I better start making plans to phase it all out. I can't leave all this to people who aren't into it like me. Somehow I just didn't think it would all end so soon but it has to. This getting old thing really DOES suck! It seems like all the joy in life is going. But it's better to plan and act then to wait and have it all dumped on people who don't want to deal with it. I have not hatched new chicks in 2 years and the old girls (and boys) are going to go when it's their time, not having someone who doesn't love them take them away to a strange place or butcher them. With the way my hens live on for years, they probably will outlive me! Half of them are over 10 years old! I still get enough eggs for us and to give to my daughter and maybe I'll manage to keep a very small (6 or less) flock of just egg layers for a few more years.

 

[speckledhen]

Somehow hearing you all is making me feel less desolate about the downsizing of my own little hobby farm. I have always been very aware of the fact that this is my project and I always tried to keep it to just what I could manage myself. I started when I was home with my babies and not working but then when I had to go back to work, I had to cut back and got rid of the goats but still had poultry, rabbits and smaller garden that I did on my own. My DH helped out with building shelters, pens and fencing,etc. but I never expected him to do any of the care of the animals or garden. Kids weren't interested so I never asked for their help - after all, it was MY thing, not theirs. They sometimes pitched in, mostly with yard cleanup (4.5 acres). But then, just like you Cyn, when I broke my foot and ankle a year and a half ago and was completely laid up, DH took over the care of the poultry for the duration and it struck me like a brick - this is not what he wants to be doing plus he's not doing it to my standards and I better start making plans to phase it all out. I can't leave all this to people who aren't into it like me. Somehow I just didn't think it would all end so soon but it has to. This getting old thing really DOES suck! It seems like all the joy in life is going. But it's better to plan and act then to wait and have it all dumped on people who don't want to deal with it. I have not hatched new chicks in 2 years and the old girls (and boys) are going to go when it's their time, not having someone who doesn't love them take them away to a strange place or butcher them. With the way my hens live on for years, they probably will outlive me! Half of them are over 10 years old! I still get enough eggs for us and to give to my daughter and maybe I'll manage to keep a very small (6 or less) flock of just egg layers for a few more years.

Robin, like Lisa, you get me. And I remember you breaking your foot. I felt it, trust me!
I really wanted this homestead life and DH loves growing things and putting away good tasting food for storage, but now, the garden is growing up in grass, I can't stand the heat because working out in the hot sun for more than a few minutes brings on headaches, etc. It doesn't bother Tom, but he's on the couch sleeping off his meds that he lowered himself to take today. He doesn't ever do that. He used a TENS unit and that seemed to help quite a bit so maybe sessions daily will get him back on his feet. As for the chicks and future plans there, I was going to keep one of the Brahma pullets for Bash and two BR girls for Hector, but DH is 65, me only a few years behind him. My hens are living to over 10 years old. If he's this bad now, how bad will it be by then?

Who knows what will happen to me? The broken ankle was not in the plans and it changed that joint forever. I feel like I have let down any birds if I sell them, though I did recently sell Lizzie and Tessa because of the trouble they were causing. That really calmed things down, so it really validated that decision. But, sell Hector? My crazy goober that no one else will understand? Atlas has to just live out his life here at his age with his joint issues and dwarf gene. Bash, well, he's perfect, really. We both love him, but keeping a son of his in the future if we lose him is another decision I may have to face one day. Right now, the way I feel, I'd say no to that, but my heart clenches up when I think I'll never have another sweet gentle giant that is the best eye candy. Perish the thought that he'd go to some other place where he was not cared for as he is here. He deserves the best. Like you, Robin, I can't stand that someone would process my angel of a rooster, not Bash! Hector, well, he may earn his spot in the crockpot one day, one little slip-up, here or at another place, but now, we both know how to handle Hector.

Here, there is just us. DH mentioned his current back issue on FB, something he never does, and so many folks popped in to comment, but not family. Nope. Not one word. My son in Ireland reacted to it, but didn't comment, the other son might as well be overseas. So, we do what we can do by ourselves. It's almost always been us against the world anyway, nothing really new about that. So, they may one day find our mummified bodies on the mountain, all the chickens having eaten each other, etc. We'll be that weird story you see on Facebook.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I can't sell anything either anymore. I just think about them too much and wonder. Everything here will die here. I have a strange loyalty to my critters. If something happened to my husband I probably would have to figure something out though.

Can I say how much I hate Facebook in reference to family members. I'm there to follow weird pages and look at dogs and your beautiful quilts. I get very agitated at family posts. I'm about to unfriend people again, and run solo again.

Sorry I laughed about your mummy bodies.

I hope Tom finds some relief soon. I have all kinds of techniques to quiet down my back. Stretching can help, as well as laying flat with legs over the side, bad backs are the worse.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Better start looking for that one acre urban homestead!

 

[speckledhen]

I can't sell anything either anymore. I just think about them too much and wonder. Everything here will die here. I have a strange loyalty to my critters. If something happened to my husband I probably would have to figure something out though.

Can I say how much I hate Facebook in reference to family members. I'm there to follow weird pages and look at dogs and your beautiful quilts. I get very agitated at family posts. I'm about to unfriend people again, and run solo again.

Sorry I laughed about your mummy bodies.

I hope Tom finds some relief soon. I have all kinds of techniques to quiet down my back. Stretching can help, as well as laying flat with legs over the side, bad backs are the worse.

He's in a bad cycle. He won't exercise or stretch because of the pain, but the pain is worse because he won't stretch. I keep telling him to lift my lighter hand weights every night, that it will help his upper back without putting a strain on it, but he shies away from the pain of it.

I'm loyal to my critters, too, as you realize. It's why I have only sold a handful of adults in all these years and all for specific reasons. I hated to sell those last two hens but they were making life miserable for every group they were in. If Xander was still alive, he'd not have put up with their antics. Atlas did, though. And with no rooster in Georgie's group, it was even worse.
As for FB, I do not accept friend requests. That's not what I'm there for. I have maybe five people, including my husband and Ladyhawk and my dear friend, Ellie, in CA. Not even my sons are allowed.

Better start looking for that one acre urban homestead!

Nononono! One acre mountain homestead! No urban anything anymore anytime anywhere, never ever, no never, not ever! I hate the proximity of people. I just do. I hate the sound of them, their habits, their stupidity. I just can't get along with humans. They go nuts on me any time I let my guard down and start being friendly to them. Better online friends, haha. At least, you get to know them a lot more and if you ever meet in person, you probably would truly be friends. But, living next to them breeds contempt. I'll never go back to the suburbs or city. Might as well open my wrists and call it a day. I told my SIL that when she said if something happens to her brother, I'll have to move closer to them so she can take care of me. Um, NO! NO! NO! No one is taking care of me and I'll never move back into that cesspit she calls home. It's awful. I'd rather die on mountain alone. I just told her to get 4WD so she could come up the mountain because I'd move further away from people.

Actually, there are a few places with less acreage than even I have with USFS borders, but they are on the other side of the county from me in a more remote area or in the next county to my east. But, I doubt I could afford them. This is a second home market so anything is overpriced, including trailers/mobile homes. I won't live in one of those. I have no issue with other folks living in them, but I just loathe the way they look inside and out, plus they're not safe in high winds.