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

[robhuncor]

I didn't do that quote right. I'm still learning!

 

[speckledhen]

I know that isn't what Mary had in mind when she so generously sent me the eggs...we hadn't even found out back then that the dwarf gene was present in Atlas, further complicating things. I know that Tom would be much happier without all the roosters going off, with Hector starting the chorus at the drop of a hat. That boy can sure yell his head off!

I truly need to decide to do something about Hector. He was back to normal this morning, no idea why he lost his head yesterday. But, I would like to know if Drea is a Drew, which will better help me decide what to do about those chicks.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Earlier this season I decided to remove 2 of my roosters because it was just a bit too many of them around here. It has been much nicer with them gone, they were both okay rooster, but decisions had to be made. I prolonged my Tom turkey decisions too long too, and now I have a turkey hen with a mating wound on her side, pretty nasty, hopefully it heals up. I made the decision I needed to make months ago.

Hopefully you can make some decisions too, so you can simplify your life. If a little rooster did what yours did to me he wouldn't get a second consideration from me, but I understand it being difficult. I personally always seem to make the wrong decision, but once in a while it turns out better.

When I'm wavering I will sometimes remove and pen them separately to see if things are better without certain birds in the flock, but I'm not breeding or raising quality birds, so your decisions are more complicated than mine.

 

[speckledhen]

Since I don't mail out hatching eggs anymore and there is not a huge interest in what I'm doing around my locale, I have to ask myself why I'm doing this. Yes, I love quality birds, love the eye candy, but is it worth the stress and the agonizing and the extra work? I'm having to ask myself that, especially as my husband seems less and less enchanted with it all and has more mobility issues.

I will have Atlas until he passes away and he can look out for the layers, never a question of him leaving. He's just too good of a rooster and he's already past 3 years old. And Bash is the sweetest thing ever, even easier to handle than Atlas, which is amazing, but if I lost him for some reason, I'd hesitate to replace him, though I would certainly keep those hens. Hector is pushing his luck, the way we both feel right now. He has been a great boy for such a long time, no idea why he lost his head and decided to bite that way.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I think some times our hobbies get a bit too big and than it becomes work and not as much fun. I think you and I are sitting in the same boat this year. I plan to let many of my critters live out their lives, but I won't be replacing many like my goats due to the fact I can no longer care for them without help. I hate needing help.

I do plan to continue keeping chickens because they bring me great joy, but it's time I go back to less birds, and stop complicating my life. It has been fun building a chicken empire, but now less is more for me.

 

[speckledhen]

I think some times our hobbies get a bit too big and than it becomes work and not as much fun. I think you and I are sitting in the same boat this year. I plan to let many of my critters live out their lives, but I won't be replacing many like my goats due to the fact I can no longer care for them without help. I hate needing help.

I do plan to continue keeping chickens because they bring me great joy, but it's time I go back to less birds, and stop complicating my life. It has been fun building a chicken empire, but now less is more for me.

I do love my chickens, can't imagine having none, but lately, it's not what it used to be. I'm not in my 40's like I was when we moved here and things have changed a lot. Even thinking about moving from here to an easier house, which would be way easier with fewer birds! I'm fairly fit, but it gets hard having to keep the property up, plus the birds, with a husband who is just not able to do what he used to do.

At my biggest number, I had about 55 chickens, all large fowl. But, that was way too many. I guess we may have 39 or so now, but that doesn't count the two BR pullets (if Drea is a pullet, wondering about that more and more). I really don't need more than about 20-25 hens so we have a way to go, but if they start dying out, that ought to take care of it. I hope no more become crippled like Amanda and Snow. I don't need any more 10 year old hens, even if Amanda does still lay sporadically.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have some old hens that just keep going. I find myself with exactly 100 chickens, but they spread out so much it's hard to see that there are that many. I would like to go back to 35-50. Time to stop adding chicks for a while. I am dreaming of a smaller place too lately, but it's just dream yet. Hopefully next year we both find ourselves more comfortable and happy with our flocks, and our lives in general. Time to go feed the chickens.

 

[1muttsfan]

I have exactly 16 chickens. Or therabouts. But I just put 39 eggs in the incubator or under a broody hen . They are all Arkansas Blues except for 3 ABxWelsummer eggs that just happened to be laying around. First candling Thursday.

The AB's are just what you described, small, quick, hardy birds that forage well (and fly well too! Covered pen) and lay lots of eggs. They are not unfriendly, just do not want to be handled. And I have never had an aggressive roo.

BUT I am tired of keeping the boys, and if I get a good hatch will likely get rid of both roos, and just keep hens and chicks, ending up with a few young males in case I decide to keep breeding. Right now I feel quite overwhelmed, did not even plant a vegetable garden this spring other than onions, garlic, volunteer potatoes, and a scattering of lettuce seeds. And I would not mind if the horses were moved, they take a lot of time, and are not even mine.

As time goes on I can see a smaller house, less work and fewer responsibilities. And a camper

 

[speckledhen]

I have exactly 16 chickens. Or therabouts. But I just put 39 eggs in the incubator or under a broody hen . They are all Arkansas Blues except for 3 ABxWelsummer eggs that just happened to be laying around. First candling Thursday.

The AB's are just what you described, small, quick, hardy birds that forage well (and fly well too! Covered pen) and lay lots of eggs. They are not unfriendly, just do not want to be handled. And I have never had an aggressive roo.

BUT I am tired of keeping the boys, and if I get a good hatch will likely get rid of both roos, and just keep hens and chicks, ending up with a few young males in case I decide to keep breeding. Right now I feel quite overwhelmed, did not even plant a vegetable garden this spring other than onions, garlic, volunteer potatoes, and a scattering of lettuce seeds. And I would not mind if the horses were moved, they take a lot of time, and are not even mine.

As time goes on I can see a smaller house, less work and fewer responsibilities. And a camper

Yes, yes, yes! I see we are all in the same thought process, toying with the idea of simplifying. I already have a small house, but the steps are not good, plus the land was a raw, blank slate we've been working with for years. I'd like a place where someone else has done all the landscaping and I just have to trim and tweak, not actually do all the hard stuff. And no, or almost no, steps. But, the best places, the most affordable with mountainous or hilly, higher elevation land are up in northeast TN, not near us. Western TN is too low elevation, too hot, though quite affordable, depending on where you are. I love eastern TN area (away from Watts Bar Dam/nuclear plant) do not know a soul up there, though a friend moved up to Kingsport years ago and I lost touch with her. But, when I think of moving, I get so tired all of a sudden! Need a privacy fence here around a portion of the place, manicure inside it and let the outside go wild, plus a cargo lift, LOL.

I didn't want much of a garden this year, either, but had to have a few things to can to put up for bad times. Maybe next year, we can do fewer things, no beans, just tomatoes and peppers.

 

[speckledhen]

My project progress. Still need to add good compost/dirt to the first completed bed to plant my three creeping jenny plants I got (need lots more, but it's a start, may do more at a later date)

, but it's been raining on and off for days, not sure when I'll get the rest of the edgers to finish the other side-I'm going to change the curve of that side a little bit, too, because where the circles began, I came in too far and don't want the walkway to narrow there. But here you go.