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

[Happy Chooks]

Wow, you guys are working quick! It's looking great!

 

[1muttsfan]

Coop progression pics too! Bonus.

 

[speckledhen]

We can barely move tonight! Ack!

 

[Peanutsmomma]

Sounds like a sleeping with the heating pad night to me. Loved the coop update pics and those precious chick pics too.

 

[drumstick diva]

Coop build is looking grea

t

 

[speckledhen]

Thanks, all. We just watched the premiere of Hell's Kitchen and I'm going to crash in a minute. Tomorrow, we can secure the rafters on the front wall and begin the plywood on walls and roof. We have a turtle back roof vent we're going to put in up there that we've had for years in addition to three large vents. Then we'll have to build the human door and the pop door, which will be a slider like the current bantam coop has (I think it will be, not 100% decided on that yet). To put plywood on the front wall, we'll have to cut that fencing on the pen so the old hens and Atlas will have to stay in the smaller main pen from then on.

 

[speckledhen]

We managed to get the plywood on the back and the window end just before a storm hit us. Stupid Intellicast tends to tell you it's raining AFTER someone on the staff looks out the window. It was a 20% chance of scattered thunderstorms until I came in soaking wet and looked again and they'd changed it to an 80% chance of thunderstorms both today and tomorrow. Sheesh. So, we are stopped again.


And my computer at the repair shop for almost a month just now has been discovered has in addition to having a blown power supply and motherboard, a blown processor as well. Guy said it was only the 4th time in his 30 years of repairing computers that he's seen a blown processor. This adds $50 to my bill, which, if I'd known it was going to cost this much more, I'd have bought a new computer like the one I had and switched out the hard drives from my old one. Sigh.

This small coop has already cost more than my original 8x8 we built over 9 years ago, as well as more than the 12' addition we put on it a year later. Those only cost about $350 each. The 8x12 bantam coop we built about 4 years ago cost about $600 with fewer scavenged materials than we had for the first two. At least, we do have the roof paper and shingles as well as the window sashings we made the two windows from. We had time those years ago to scavenge dumpsters at construction sites for lumber, etc, but this time, lumber is much more expensive, plus we are in a time crunch with Atlas's hormonal stuff going on so we really don't have the time to leisurely hunt around for things.

Atlas grabbed Emily, my black Rock, today. She screamed like a raptor, turned on him, hackles flared, eyes blazing, and chased him all over the pen. He still have a slight fear of those big older hens, but that will not last very long. And photos don't show how big that guy has become. Yesterday, he struck a certain pose and I almost called him Rex; somehow he looked just like his late uncle Rex for just a split second, my original Stukel Rock male. That cockerel was really something and though Atlas is not as stupendous as he was, he is showing more similarities than I realized at first.

 

[1muttsfan]

My computer is on the waiting list for a new hard drive, guy is supposed to call me today. He might not be really happy with me right now though, I gave his wife some chickens and she is HOOKED

 

[speckledhen]

My computer is on the waiting list for a new hard drive, guy is supposed to call me today. He might not be really happy with me right now though, I gave his wife some chickens and she is HOOKED

ENABLER!!!

These are all the pics I have and they aren't great because it's wrapped against the weather until we can get back at it. I guess we are halted until at least Saturday because DH is older than he used to be (and so am I), not to mention, he can barely lift his arm to practice his violin in prep for his lesson on Friday afternoon. He won't do anything physical before he leaves for the lesson around 2 p.m. so that's it until the weekend. RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY!

We used to be able to go and go until an entire building was dried in, but those days are over. And this is a smaller building than the others, too. My arms and shoulders are fine because I lift weights to stay strong for toting feed sacks, but my back is telling me that I ain't no spring chicken like I think I am. What? Moi? I'm only 35, right???

 

[drumstick diva]

Coop is Looking good though - we are finally having a few dry days of course todays high is only 55 was suppose to be 60. Supposed to have several fall days. I don't mind the cooler air but, hate the up and downs.