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

[speckledhen]

Good Morning!

How is that little chick with the injured leg doing this morning? Any improvement?

Good morning! Haven't been out this a.m. yet. Gave her more eggs with aspirin and vitamins last night. I don't think she's going to the waterer, but I could be wrong since I'm not out there all the time. She hops around so if she's thirsty, I guess she would make it over there.

 

[getaclue]

Did you get your fiber optics hooked up? How do you like it?

 

[speckledhen]

Did you get your fiber optics hooked up? How do you like it?

Yes, we did! The net is much faster, of course. Uploading is lightning speed. A 4 minute video used to take about 3 hours to upload, IF we weren't doing anything else online. Now, less than 2 minutes. And Tom is over the moon not having to mess with the satellite system anymore. It was free and it was great, but maintaining it and losing channels all the time was hard. Plus, we have so many trees that the roof antenna was only getting one local channel on a good day, Channel 9 out of Chattanooga. Now, we get both Atlanta and Chattanooga. Great signal, no weather interruptions, etc. That is his part that he loves. Me, I could watch stuff online and run it through the TV and be fine. The first bill will be a doozy, a month's worth, plus a few days plus the installation, but you always expect that. We're the only ones in here with ETC so far, I think.

The former bantam/old hens'/workshop/office coop is ready for occupancy again. Have to scavenge some fencing and posts from the original pen to make a small outside pen attached to it for Bonnie and chicks to have outside time.

Found the mouse in the barn.....dead in the bottom of the garbage can containing the last few cups of a bag of scratch. He got in when the lid was not on good, got trapped and suffocated. Blech!! All that food, but no oxygen. And he had just died in the last day or so. Finn is no help there because he won't go in the barn, crazy cat.

 

[getaclue]

Glad you like it. Not fun finding a mouse, or rat, but it happens.

 

[speckledhen]

Glad you like it. Not fun finding a mouse, or rat, but it happens.

That's a first for us, especially keeping all feed in cans, but I guess the lid was askew and mice are colossal opportunists. Plus, so tiny they can get in most anywhere. That's why I am not so fond of that basic corrugated metal rollup door. It's great to have a big door, but a normal flat panel garage door would be so much better. That was my late father's business. If he was alive, I'd have him replace that with a real one.

 

[robhuncor]

Just a thought on the lame chick. There is a condition in very young foals (my field of expertise, but also other animals) called "joint-ill". It is an infection that enters the body through the umbilical and settles in a joint. Antibiotics can cure it if caught in time. To prevent this from happening, the umbilicus is dipped in iodine after birth. I was just thinking that it probably could also happen to any creature with an umbilical cord. Most chicken cords are barely visible, much less a problem but it probably could happen that infection could enter there. Not much you can do about preventing it though! Sorry - just thinking out loud.

 

[aquila]

I missed a few updates. How's the chick with the injured leg doing today?

And your garden layout looks really nice! (And free of grass and weeds!) What kind of things are you going to grow this year, and how soon can you start planting things outside?

We're getting rolling with our garden for the season. I even planted some tomato starts out, although the others are still too small and delicate.

 

[speckledhen]

I missed a few updates. How's the chick with the injured leg doing today?

And your garden layout looks really nice! (And free of grass and weeds!) What kind of things are you going to grow this year, and how soon can you start planting things outside?

We're getting rolling with our garden for the season. I even planted some tomato starts out, although the others are still too small and delicate.

I have a video showing her today, linked below. The garden will be smaller, also in the video. We have crowder peas, a few types of sandwich tomatoes, some paste tomatoes, bell peppers, lettuce, crookneck squash, okra, honeydew and cantaloupe.

 

[1muttsfan]

I woke to 4 peeps and a bunch of pips this am

 

[speckledhen]

I woke to 4 peeps and a bunch of pips this am

Cool! I moved Bonnie to the newly cleaned coop with freshly constructed mini-pen yesterday. And today, when I moved her bowl of food in front of her, she bit the fire out of my hand. Bonnie, unlike Brandy, becomes very, very testy about four days before the hatch and that continues until a day or so afterward. She's a fierce mama!

My husband went to a flea market along the way to a feed store to buy some new plants for the garden and bought me a tripod for my video camera! It was only $5, a great price and works beautifully. Maybe now I can do more quilting videos and have less shaky ones, too. He's always thinking about me.

Hey, where is Lisa? Calling @oldhenlikesdogs ! How are things on the farm? I see that your temps are finally spring-like over there.