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

[speckledhen]

Good advice, Robin - it is so easy to pick them apart.

My favorite is the big one covered with chicks in the hammock. He's a keeper

Yeah, that one has a place here until he kicks the bucket. He may be arthritic and limps a lot, but he still watches out for predators.

 

[robhuncor]

My favorite is the big one covered with chicks in the hammock. He's a keeper

I agree! A good one of those is hard to come by and must be given lots of TLC!!!!

 

[speckledhen]

I agree! A good one of those is hard to come by and must be given lots of TLC!!!!

Yes, they are a very rare breed, priceless even.

 

[speckledhen]

Excellent, thoughtful article that hit the nail on the head. Thought you might enjoy it.
http://appalachianmagazine.com/2016/07/05/americas-greatest-problem-weve-been-off-the-farm-too-long/

 

[Peanutsmomma]

Just getting caught up with your precious chicks. Love the pic of Tom covered in the babies! Thanks for posting the Appalachian Magazine article. No truer words were ever spoken...or should I say written.

I wanted to tell you I have come up with a pretty good approximation of that Target Candy Cane coffee. Take a 1/4 cup of coconut oil and mix in a drop or two of peppermint essential oil and then when you make a cup of regular coffee, stir in a teaspoon of the coconut/peppermint oil mixture and voila! it is pretty close.

 

[speckledhen]

Just getting caught up with your precious chicks. Love the pic of Tom covered in the babies! Thanks for posting the Appalachian Magazine article. No truer words were ever spoken...or should I say written.

I wanted to tell you I have come up with a pretty good approximation of that Target Candy Cane coffee. Take a 1/4 cup of coconut oil and mix in a drop or two of peppermint essential oil and then when you make a cup of regular coffee, stir in a teaspoon of the coconut/peppermint oil mixture and voila! it is pretty close.

Hmm. I have peppermint oil because I make a barn freshener spray with it (and eucalyptus oil and sometimes, lemongrass oil). I don't have coconut oil, though. I bet just the peppermint oil by itself might do it.

I loved that article. No one REALLY knows truly hard work except us homesteaders. The millennials think hard work is sitting in front of a computer screen for 8 hours. I mean, WORK, the kind that makes you drip buckets, makes you sore at the end of the day and makes you sweat out toxins with no need for a gym membership. The kind that fills your shelves and freezer with little need for commercial grocery stores. That training is what will separate the survivors from the ones who starve (or worse, think they must prey on others' hard work) when times are really bad. And to quote Patrick Swayze in Next of Kin, "oh, you ain't seen bad yet... but it's a-comin..."


The Barn Freshener Spray I use, in case you're interested. I got this from a lady I follow on YouTube and FB and it's really nice. One regular size spray bottle (that mists well), add water to near the top, then a tablespoon of dish soap, natural castile soap is good but any dish soap for the viscosity to "grab" the oils, and a few drops of peppermint oil and a few drops of eucalyptus oil. I've also used lemongrass with eucalytus, but I prefer the peppermint with it. I just mist it around windows and the entry doors lightly a couple times a day, just a spritz or two in the air. It really seems to freshen the air in there, not too strong for the birds' sensitive olfactory systems, only a light fragrance. I think it helps with flies. I used the vanilla air freshener trees, but this barn is much larger and more open and it's not impregnated with DE everywhere yet so flies were worse this year. This spray seems to keep their numbers down in the barn. She also uses citronella oil, but I don't really like that much. Lemongrass is similar.

 

[1muttsfan]

It is interesting when people come out to my place and can not figure out how I have the time to do everything - work 8-10 hours a day, sometimes weekends, then come home and head straight out to take care of the horses, chickens and gardens, then find time to do the housework too. Guess which I don't always get to?

I heard my first strangled attempt at a crow from my youngsters this morning, boy are they growing up fast!

 

[Peanutsmomma]

I tried the straight peppermint oil in the coffee and could never get the ratio just right that is why I decided to mix it with coconut oil but that way may work out perfectly for you. I was putting coconut oil in my coffee for other reasons and decided to combine them. Oh, and when I can find Boston Creme Donut Kcups I put the peppermint coconut oil in that too and it is delightful.

I am with you on the citronella...not my favorite smell. It smells like soap to me. I do use an essential oil coop spray everyday made from Rocky Mountain Oil "Purify" (main ingredient is Lemon Grass) and lavender essential oil. I have used it every day for the past two year and we never have a bug problem in the coop. Thanks for the tip about the castile soap. I will go add some to my concoction. Now, maybe I won't have to shake the bottle so hard.

I think I will make up a bottle of your peppermint version and spray it around the back porch. A woman at our local chicken club meeting was telling us the other day how that she had 1 vanilla tree hanging in their coop and her husband (thinking he was helping) put up 5 more!! She said within 30 minutes her ladies were coughing. It is amazing how delicate their respiratory systems are.

Has it been super hot up your way? It is RIDICULOUS here. At 10:15 am this morning the heat index was 97. That means it will be 107 around 2:30. I cannot wait to get out of here!!! When I wake up and there is condensation on the windows and the AC is set at 76, I know it is going to be a tough one.

 

[speckledhen]

It is interesting when people come out to my place and can not figure out how I have the time to do everything - work 8-10 hours a day, sometimes weekends, then come home and head straight out to take care of the horses, chickens and gardens, then find time to do the housework too. Guess which I don't always get to?

I heard my first strangled attempt at a crow from my youngsters this morning, boy are they growing up fast!

I heard one of the little BRs trying the other day, not sure which one. I can't wait for the Brahmas to crow; that should be a very deep, booming crow. I miss big old Suede's crow.

I tried the straight peppermint oil in the coffee and could never get the ratio just right that is why I decided to mix it with coconut oil but that way may work out perfectly for you. I was putting coconut oil in my coffee for other reasons and decided to combine them. Oh, and when I can find Boston Creme Donut Kcups I put the peppermint coconut oil in that too and it is delightful.

I am with you on the citronella...not my favorite smell. It smells like soap to me. I do use an essential oil coop spray everyday made from Rocky Mountain Oil "Purify" (main ingredient is Lemon Grass) and lavender essential oil. I have used it every day for the past two year and we never have a bug problem in the coop. Thanks for the tip about the castile soap. I will go add some to my concoction. Now, maybe I won't have to shake the bottle so hard.

I think I will make up a bottle of your peppermint version and spray it around the back porch. A woman at our local chicken club meeting was telling us the other day how that she had 1 vanilla tree hanging in their coop and her husband (thinking he was helping) put up 5 more!! She said within 30 minutes her ladies were coughing. It is amazing how delicate their respiratory systems are.

Has it been super hot up your way? It is RIDICULOUS here. At 10:15 am this morning the heat index was 97. That means it will be 107 around 2:30. I cannot wait to get out of here!!! When I wake up and there is condensation on the windows and the AC is set at 76, I know it is going to be a tough one.

Haha, 5 vanilla trees? I had one in each coop and when I got the barn finished, I put 4-5 in it, but it's 20 x 24 and very high ceilings and tons of airflow. They do keep flies out, usually, unless it's a very bad year, like this year is. If you put that many in a normal size coop, oh my! Any aromatic that is very strong is bad for chickens and some can actually be fatal. The barn spray helps to freshen but it is not going to hurt the birds.

Even the insecticide I use is Orange Guard, completely citrus oil based and safe around the birds. I spray in all cracks and crevices where bugs might set up housekeeping. Smells great, even kills termites so very effective.

Yes, it's been very hot for here, more than my birds are used to. Temps approaching 90* with heat index up to around 105* on some days. Humidity is the killer, as you know. Today is much cooler, but rain keeps moving through with a nice breeze.

 

[speckledhen]

I am here to announce that my husband is now officially free of lice and mites.










This is Male #1, most comb points, but the largest by a speck.

This one is about as large as the first and has a nice 6 pointer.



Honestly, other than the smallest male, not really a bad choice in the bunch at this point. The #4 male has a wavy, slightly odd shaped comb, though it will probably straighten out as he matures and he's the next to the smallest, but closer in size to the three largest males than he is the the smallest one, if that's clear as mud. I'll probably pick between the last two pictured here, but too soon to tell yet. The feathering is getting there!