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

[speckledhen]

Geepers! you are ahead of me too. I have them all growing but about two wks behind your garden. When did you plant? I was afraid of a late frost here.. Then too the root canal and then pullling and infection of the wisdom tooth really set me back a good three wks.
My Dells are really growing and as you said they are very beak active. Ouch! the little babies bite. I don't remember the ones before doing this much but I only had one roo before. This time I am going to have at least 4 I think. Thats actually a good thing. I will have a choice when i decide to have one for breeding next yr. How is the little Dwarf? I probably would not have gotten any eggs and hatched if he had been what I needed for breeding. Sigh! All I needed really was a good rooster. Now I have 15 dels and threeGNH . They are soo sweet and playful. I love chicks.

We planted cabbage mid-April, or maybe a little sooner, since it can take some cold. We did the rest about the second week of April, seeing the projected temps through Accuweather, gambled and won. The biggest first row of tomatoes were bought plants, the sandwich type tomatoes: Parks Whopper, Goliath, Big Boy. The other 48 or so plants we started from seed, Rio Grande, for canning salsa and stewed tomatoes. And we have peppers, both bell and jalpeno, cucumbers for the first time so I can make pickles, corn and okra. Tom did a separate little corn garden of Peaches and Cream because a lot of the seed he had in the main didn't come up. Then we have potatoes and a couple kinds of squash behind the chicken pens, plus some Italian flat leaf parsley and Mexican spicy oregano in one of those boxes.

I just love my Dels. But I have to say the Buckeyes are just like them, only a pretty gold color. Luckily they are all going to my sister next weekend. They do have the annoying tendency to pick the little brown speckles on my arms - ouch!

Yup, ouch, indeed!

So sorry to hear that Nugget has taken her inevitable downward turn. She has been such a trooper the past several weeks.

On a happier note, your garden looks great! What varieties of tomatoes are y'all growing?

I have to join y'all in the being late with the garden this year. I normally have everything planted by the first week of April since we are finished with our frosts by then but this year I was 3 weeks late because it took us so long to get our fence up and then I had surgery so I am hoping to make up for some lost time this weekend. I feel like I have a thousand things to do right now. I wish I could clone myself.

Our last frost date is usually the 3rd week of April, but on rare occasions, we get a later cold snap. Farmers here don't plant until after Memorial Day into mid-May, so many here follow their lead. I listed the tomatoes up in my answer to GJ. Not a lot of varieties, just mainly different types for sandwiches and salsa.

Poor Nugget

I hate it. I love her, my beautiful golden girl. She is such a love. It was so touching to see Xander talking gently to her and her looking up into his face and answering quietly. He knows.

Poor Nugget!! I'm so sorry!! Your garden looks great!!

Thank you. I hope for a great garden haul this year. I'm bracing for losing Nugget and a string of others after her, unfortunately. It's the nature of just keeping them until they age out, having to go through this. But, Amanda and Caroline, Becca and Gypsy, just keep on trucking, thankfully! Gloria Jean knows how much I love that Gypsy.

 

[1muttsfan]

We have frost warnings tonight and tomorrow night, so no tomatoes yet - so far just peas, lettuce, and I did put potatoes in the ground but they will not be affected by the frost. Old farmers often say not to plant until after the first full moon after Memorial Day, so maybe next week if it warms up. Oh and the Rhubarb is already way up! My first apple tree is starting to bloom, so hopefully we will not get frosted.

Good lad that Xander.

 

[speckledhen]

We harvested the rhubarb a month ago. It did great this year.


Yes, Xander is a good little man, took great care of his four big boned ladies. Sad he'll be left with only one, but she's a doozy. Dusty must weigh 10 lbs herself; I know she's heavier than Isaac right now.

 

[crazyhen]

Our last frost date here is May 15th. I lost one garden a couple of yrs back because I did not wait till then. So my garden went in right after that date. I don't plant directly in a flat garden anymore. We built 12x4 boxes , 18inches high. I can hold onto them when I garden now. The diabetes has reared its ugly side since my tooth was infected so I feel the results lots more.

Now I am on two kinds of insulin and a pill. Before a pill controled it or I thought it did. my A1C was always good. I tire so easily and get dizzy sometimes. I love my boxes. I have 5 so far and would like to have one more to be able to put tomatoes in next yr. I like to not plant peppers, tomatoes or eggplant behind each other for at least two yrs. It keeps disease down.
I know how you feel about Gypsy. She is a loving girl. I remember when she was almost bald. Such a sweet little personality. I hate it when I lose any of my ladies too. Losing my roo last fall was terrible. He was one of the gentle nice ones, my Adam( first male Dell from Kathy). He looked after his girls and never ate till they walked off full. That always amazes me. He was too young to expect it. Just almost 3.
I am hoping that this batch of chicks will give me Adam num. 2 . The dells are not as bitey after they grow up. They just have to investigate things more when babies. They are not at all afraid of anything. I moved my chicks to a larger area today and they will have outside access now at 3 wks. They already have wing feathers and little tails, well almost all. The boys look oddly tailess.

It takes them longer to grow a tail. Butt ended for sure.

. I wish I could let my hens out to range . The family next to me has 16 ducks. They come over, up hill into my yard, to poop and eat clover from my grass. I am very aware that this new virus H1n2 can be transmitted by them. Ducks show no symptoms but act as carriers. I am upset that they have come but hate so bad to kill then since they belong next door. They have two ponds there. I wish I knew the answer to Bad thoughtless neighbors. There is drugs , alcohol in acces etc. Bad deal. I love my place though and do not want to leave. The local sheriff ignores them unless they get out close town. Then they get ticketed or pulled for drugs. Everytime they get bailed out and never pull any time.

If it were anyone else they would be under the jailhouse. Sigh...

 

[1muttsfan]

Waterfowl become infected, carry and pass on the disease while not becoming clinically sick themselves. But your neighbor's ducks may not be as big a big risk, as they are not migratory, unless they are exposed to migratory ducks.

One of the little 4 week old Deli cockerels called the other chicks over when he got his first taste of scratch grain this morning - so cute!

So sorry to hear about your health issues!

 

[drumstick diva]

Hope the neighbors ducks are at least healthy and non-carriers.

 

[speckledhen]

Sad news. We just buried sweet little Jet. He was in the big black rubber pan on top of the portable nest boxes eating with who I think was Lizzie-I only saw out of the left side of my peripheral vision. I had the bucket and the scooper and was reaching around to scoop some poop out of the main wall nest next to him when suddenly, he launched into the air over Lizzie, I think maybe hit the back wall, didn't see clearly, happened so fast, and landed in the middle of the floor, flapping. I thought he'd hurt his leg and scooped him up, called to Tom. He began gasping in Tom's arms and died quickly.

He and Rocky are never alarmed by the scooper or poop bucket, never afraid of much of anything so I can't imagine he was startled. I truly believe he had a seizure and what happened was the result. After all, he was a dwarf, 11 weeks old, not expected to live very long, though he seemed quite healthy other than peeping quite a bit for reasons I could never really figure. Tom is devastated. He really was attached to the little munchkin who loved to sit on his shoulder.

Nugget can no longer walk. She is sitting and alert but she is at the point that Serena was, no use of her legs, crop not functioning, having to push food through so she can get nutrition, but she is with her peeps in the broody cage adjoining their coop by a welded wire wall divider so Dusty can't pick on her and doesn't seem stressed much.

 

[chickenneighbor]

So sorry for your sad news. It's so hard to lose any pet, no matter if you've had them three weeks or ten years. I'm sure it is tough on the flock mates, too. Hugs to all of you.

 

[speckledhen]

So sorry for your sad news. It's so hard to lose any pet, no matter if you've had them three weeks or ten years. I'm sure it is tough on the flock mates, too. Hugs to all of you.

Thank you. I really thought Rocky would go first but he's pretty tough for a little man. They are so sweet and their limited time on earth is why I cannot risk breeding from Deacon again. Sammie Jo isn't feeling well herself so she will probably leave us as well. What the heck is up with all these younger hens going before my oldsters? It's just weird.

Ida decided it was too boring to sit on a nest, at least so far. Wynette is still broody and one of the often-broody D'anvers is broody again. Neither have eggs nor do I intend to give them eggs so I hope they don't kill themselves over it.

 

[drumstick diva]

Poor little Jet

he had a short life but a good one. I thought you'd be posting about Nugget not him.