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

[speckledhen]

Twins? Hope they were both heifers

Apollo will be happy with his own girls and no competitors, that's for sure.

Yup, I think he let him out with them already, though he says he's usually more cautious, but he felt confident in Apollo's health. I advise quarantine for all birds, of course, but it is inconvenient and you can't make folks do it.


Here you go. Here is Piglet today at 4 1/2 wks old. No pink in the comb like his brothers. His barring is super nice, but that's a moot point. The dwarfish head is more apparent now. The dwarf pullet in the other group is very skittish, but that's probably from being with mama and not as much handling. Pooh-bear is not as spry as Piglet, who seems very energetic and normal other than his appearance.

 

[GingersHuman]

Its definitely hard to rehome, but sometimes necessary. Sad to see the end of Atlas's male line though.

 

[speckledhen]

Its definitely hard to rehome, but sometimes necessary. Sad to see the end of Atlas's male line though.

It may not be the end entirely. Atlas would pass the gene to half of his progeny. So, his next son may not have it at all. And Wynette and Ida are laying again suddenly. So, if Thea does go broody, I could still put their eggs, plus Jill and Rowena's under her. It would be a long time until we could determine if the gene was present, though, and he would have to have unrelated hens so not sure I could put Hector's daughters under that one, not unless they came out of Jill.


Here is the other son of Apollo and Pooh-bear.

 

[GingersHuman]

It may not be the end entirely. Atlas would pass the gene to half of his progeny. So, his next son may not have it at all. And Wynette and Ida are laying again suddenly. So, if Thea does go broody, I could still put their eggs, plus Jill and Rowena's under her. It would be a long time until we could determine if the gene was present, though, and he would have to have unrelated hens so not sure I could put Hector's daughters under that one, not unless they came out of Jill.

Nice! I was afraid Atlas's girls were aging out of laying.

 

[speckledhen]

Nice! I was afraid Atlas's girls were aging out of laying.

They are, but they still have a few in them, looks like. I definitely do not want to hatch with Atlas out of Tessa or Lizzie because one of them could carry the gene, but Dru, Wynette and Ida would be fine, preferably Wynette or Dru since Ida is Atlas's mother.

 

[holm25]

Here is a pic of the twins. Not a great one but oh well. It is a set of bulls so we have our butcher steers for next year

 

[holm25]

The chicks are looking good! Love the little dwarf! So cute!

 

[1muttsfan]

Looks like mom has plenty of milk for both

 

[speckledhen]

Aw, handsome little guys, Isaiah. Your freezer will be full, then. If we were going to seed our pasture for growing out a calf for meat, what would you suggest we seed it with? It's greening up, but I know it's a mix of tall fescue and not sure what all the weeds are out there. I've been spreading buckets of the poopy shavings from the coop out there to fertilize/enrich it because the ground is so hard and dry in places, not having been there long after the logging was over.

 

[speckledhen]

Sons of Apollo, plus one Partridge Brahma that has me still guessing on sex at almost six weeks old. Piglet was enjoying the sunbath. He is so much more laid back than his sister is. If I get them together, he'll show her that humans are good.