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

[oldhenlikesdogs]

 

[speckledhen]

I saw that crazy spider right there! That would have stopped me!
View attachment 1167170

Now, that was just one of those longleg spiders. The really creepy funnel web spider was on the other side. This one had to get in the picture for some reason.

 

[getaclue]

There was an old oak tree at my parents lake property. It had been hit by lightening, so it died, and over time decayed. Eventually, it got to the point, that for safety reasons it had to be removed. Dad got the neighbor's backhoe, and when he started digging it out, dozens of rattle snakes began pouring out from the base of it. I have never again trusted old decaying trees.

 

[speckledhen]

There was an old oak tree at my parents lake property. It had been hit by lightening, so it died, and over time decayed. Eventually, it got to the point, that for safety reasons it had to be removed. Dad got the neighbor's backhoe, and when he started digging it out, dozens of rattle snakes began pouring out from the base of it. I have never again trusted old decaying trees.

YIKES!

 

[speckledhen]

I'm off to bed to read then crash, friends. Leah's Mom, thanks again for great conversation via PM. And Cheryl and Lisa, always fun! You guys are the best. Tomorrow, we're expecting a lot of rain, then temps will be falling through the week. I'm thinking about doing another small quilt now that it will be cooler, but we'll see. Sometimes, it's hard to get back into the groove when I've been away from it for awhile. G'nite, all.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I want to clean out the barn pen before winter. Can you send a link again to the orange spray you use in your barn?

I better hurry up! Winter's coming.

Hey...do any of your birds go out on the snow of their own free will?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I want to clean out the barn pen before winter. Can you send a link again to the orange spray you use in your barn?

I better hurry up! Winter's coming.

View attachment 1167309

Hey...do any of your birds go out on the snow of their own free will?

Mine will only go out if there's hay to stand on.

 

[Pyxis]

I want to clean out the barn pen before winter. Can you send a link again to the orange spray you use in your barn?

I better hurry up! Winter's coming.

View attachment 1167309

Hey...do any of your birds go out on the snow of their own free will?

Mine do, but since I'm in VT they better, lol. There can be snow on the ground five months out of the year.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I'm in the cold, snowy area too. So far my experience has been that they just look from afar and don't go out unless, like ohld said, there is something to walk on.

When I was using the hen shed with the attached kennel pen, I would go out in the morning and sweep the snow from the deep litter in the pen so they could at least see some of the wood chips through the snow. The shed was just too small for them not to get out. I tried all kinds of things over there like putting up clear plastic (heavy shower curtain material works great for this) as wind breaks but the snow can still get in as the top didn't have a roof.

But since moving them to the barn, the indoor pen is quite large for the small number of birds I currently have and it's not so bad if they never go out.

 

[speckledhen]

I want to clean out the barn pen before winter. Can you send a link again to the orange spray you use in your barn?

I better hurry up! Winter's coming.

View attachment 1167309

Hey...do any of your birds go out on the snow of their own free will?

We just keep them inside. When we'd offer to let them out in the snow in the past, they'd just stare, LOL. I have so many with terrible arthritis, we don't want to just let the winds whistle through because of those old ladies. But, generally, if it's raining like today or snowing heavily, they stay inside. They have plenty of room in there and the windows are all cracked for ventilation, plus that 2"x 6' opening at the top of the roll-up door in the back helps in that regard as well.