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

[speckledhen]

Tessa today at 8 weeks old, plus a bonus Finn.

 

[drumstick diva]

My sister also had hyperthyroidism and the radiation treatment many years ago, of course has osteopenia and couldn't tolerate, Fosamax, and most others, she gets an infusion of some kind for that. Can't remember what? Also lactose intolerant

 

[speckledhen]

My sister also had hyperthyroidism and the radiation treatment many years ago, of course has osteopenia and couldn't tolerate, Fosamax, and most others, she gets an infusion of some kind for that. Can't remember what? Also lactose intolerant

I'm hypothyroid and can't tolerate Fosamax. Wonder if that's why? They never offered the infusion as an alternative, though my military healthcare might not cover it. I was on some HRT pill for years until the price went up on my plan and I just quit taking it.

 

[1muttsfan]

Definitely a girl. That second pic should be titled "That is the weirdest chicken I've ever seen!"

 

[speckledhen]

Yup, in spite of slightly pinkish comb and wattles, Tessa is definitely a little girl-chicken. I need her. Lizzie is 24 weeks old, no egg yet. I have literally 2 eggs in my fridge only because neither of us had one this morning. I refuse to buy eggs. The elderly hens are hanging on, laying an egg occasionally; in fact, one of the two in the fridge belongs to almost-eight-year-old Gypsy.

Rowena laid an egg on the roost shelf yesterday morning. It was ominously covered in gooey albumen. She lays almost daily, but she also acted like she did not feel well most of the day, not her perky, spazzy self. I checked my splash Rock hen's abdomen yesterday, which has been very bloated for months and it was completely deflated, but she also has lost weight in her keel and is molting. Could be the beginning of the end for Gloria Jean (she's 4 1/2). Hope she makes a liar out of me.

 

[drumstick diva]

I too, was on HRT after menopause - the dr.gave me the dose and never monitored it. I blew up like a balloon, - when I called - the nurse just said "drink more fluids.it will push out the fluids." HUH!! I saw an ENT dr. for something else, and he said you have thyroid trouble, I didn't. Then he said "tell your doctor to lower your dose of HRT."

I lost 11 lbs.(fluid) in 10 days. No more swollen face. I was on for several years - then started reading articles that you weren't supposed to be on HRT longer than 5 yrs.
I discussed it with my GYN and told him I wanted OFF. He wasn't happy but, concluded with "you can always go back on it you want." I didn't. I wasn't getting any noticeable improvement anyway.

I think one hand doesn't know what the other is doing. Patients really need to do research - the drs. don't seem to.

 

[chickenflicker]

Hey Specklehen, everything ok? Haven't heard anything in awhile. With all the falls I start to get concerned.

 

[speckledhen]

Hey Specklehen, everything ok? Haven't heard anything in awhile. With all the falls I start to get concerned.

Aren't you a love! Thank you for checking on me. We've been so busy with a family get-together here at the house last Saturday and trying to recover from that. i almost canceled it but it had been in the works for more than two months. I am very, very sore still, my knee still very swollen and discolored and my chest and arm hurt from the impact on my elbow, but I think it will just take time.


There has been something stalking my flocks. They've been petrified the last few days. I did see a huge redtail swoop from a tree directly over Isaac's head the day before yesterday right inside his pen so I think maybe it's this persistent hawk. Ike was whooping it up and all the girls were crammed under the coop. Yesterday, Isaac himself was way up under the coop as far as he could go, sitting down with the girls behind him. They hid for hours. The bantams were all hiding in their coop, too, every one crammed into a back corner. All the pens were eerily empty-looking, all birds under coops if they could get under or inside if they couldn't.

A few days ago, the bantams were free ranging and I heard a huge racket, all of them screeching in voices that seemed different than their usual weirdness, and running for the coop when I ran to check. They hightailed it for the pen, but I couldn't find Tessa. DH finally located her under the azalea bushes, hunkered down, not moving an eyeball. When he went to retrieve her, she ran home faster than I've ever seen her run, so I think the hawk had done a swoop over them that day. I've never had such frightened birds so many days in a row so I'm thinking this hawk may truly be hunting my birds.

 

[robhuncor]

So glad to hear from you Cyn! How did the family get together go? Did you enjoy yourself or just work like a dog. That's usually what I do - never get a minute to sit down. Probably poor planning on my part.

I feel for you with that hawk situation! Sometimes protecting the birds just seems to take all the joy out of it. This summer we had 2 pairs of hawks actually nesting within 100 feet of my barn chickens! Red Shouldered Hawks and Sharp Shinned hawks. The lousy little Sharp Shins swoop in the pens all the time even though I have wire and twine woven back and forth across the top (pens too big to net without a lot of support) Those little hawks are actually smaller than the hens! Usually the "cats cradle" on top breaks their trajectory and they just crash and fly out all flustered. The thing that gets me is the hawks & foxes will attack right in front of me - they seem to have no fear when they are on the hunt. In the early summer, I was weeding and my little bantams were right near me pecking around and all of a sudden - streak of red - and my sweet little frizzle, Fluffernutter, was grabbed by a fox. And me standing there with a pair of scissors in my hand - my first thought was to bury those scissors in that miserable thing, but even though he paused to taunt me with Fluffer in his jaws, I couldn't get my feet moving fast enough to even get close. I was screaming and my son who was out with me, came flying and chased it down to the swamp in back but there was no hope of saving Fluffer. I'm still feeling terrible about it. Here we have this beautiful summer and my poor birds have been on lock down ever since.

 

[speckledhen]

So glad to hear from you Cyn! How did the family get together go? Did you enjoy yourself or just work like a dog. That's usually what I do - never get a minute to sit down. Probably poor planning on my part.

I feel for you with that hawk situation! Sometimes protecting the birds just seems to take all the joy out of it. This summer we had 2 pairs of hawks actually nesting within 100 feet of my barn chickens! Red Shouldered Hawks and Sharp Shinned hawks. The lousy little Sharp Shins swoop in the pens all the time even though I have wire and twine woven back and forth across the top (pens too big to net without a lot of support) Those little hawks are actually smaller than the hens! Usually the "cats cradle" on top breaks their trajectory and they just crash and fly out all flustered. The thing that gets me is the hawks & foxes will attack right in front of me - they seem to have no fear when they are on the hunt. In the early summer, I was weeding and my little bantams were right near me pecking around and all of a sudden - streak of red - and my sweet little frizzle, Fluffernutter, was grabbed by a fox. And me standing there with a pair of scissors in my hand - my first thought was to bury those scissors in that miserable thing, but even though he paused to taunt me with Fluffer in his jaws, I couldn't get my feet moving fast enough to even get close. I was screaming and my son who was out with me, came flying and chased it down to the swamp in back but there was no hope of saving Fluffer. I'm still feeling terrible about it. Here we have this beautiful summer and my poor birds have been on lock down ever since.

So sorry about your little hen! Darn foxes got one of the two sexlink hens that belonged to the elderly lady across from my driveway and one little, lonely red hen is left. I feel so bad for her since she saw what happened to her sister that day, bless her heart. DH had to go tell her that one of her chickens was gone since he found the feather pile and followed the trail into the woods, eventually, finding her head and one wing. There free range area (and that's all she does is let them out into the woods) is a predator highway where three dark, leafy tunnel unmaintained gravel roads converge.

The reason a hawk will attack with us standing right there is the way they focus in on their prey, it's all they really see. It's why they'll crash into a mesh satellite dish if they see a bird through it. An eagle sees all the surroundings, I'm told, but a hawk only sees what he/she's going after. If he misses and gets on the ground in either Isaac's, Atlas's or Deacon's pens, he's toast because once on the ground, if the rooster is quick to attack, he can't escape very well and also, cannot fight much to speak of. Deacon may only have one spur but it's a doozy!

We had been working on cleaning up the place before our little spills so most of it was already done, thankfully. DH had to stand and get up and down for 12 hours to do the smoking for the BBQ so he was beat. We're slowing getting better, making plans for a new, better coop that will house ALL the chickens rather than these separate coops. It will be expensive, but I hope to get some $$ from Dad's estate to do it, though not sure how long that will take. Maybe you guys can help me with the details of that, how about it?