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

[speckledhen]

Ah, geez. Someone on FB posted a picture of a dark brown, a brown and a white egg, then the eggs cracked open and cooked on a plate to illustrate racism. I said, yep, that's true, and it also goes to show that folks who think white eggs or brown eggs are superior are fooling themselves, that there is no difference inside. Of course, someone had to challenge me, saying he felt that colored eggs were richer tasting. So, I had to play the chicken breeder card, geez, going through it all, that the color of the shell is only due to the breed of the hen, but commercial farms generally use only Leghorns for white eggs or red sexlinks for brown eggs and feed them only commercial feeds. I said that blue or green egg layers are never on commercial production farms so those hens may have a better diet and produce better, healthier eggs. The richness of the egg is due solely to the diet of the hen, nothing else. I said that I breed chickens, raise rare variety Brahmas and heritage line Plymouth Rocks, and have a smattering of other breed older hens from former groups who lay brown and green and blue eggs. They free range and eat greens and lots of bugs and other animal protein, hence the better tasting egg. There is zero difference in the inside of an egg from breed to breed except for the diet of the hens. It has nothing at all to do with shell color or chicken breed. I'm sure he'll come back and tell me I'm full of poop, but he didn't know who he was talking to, that he ain't telling me anything about chickens. Yeah, I get a little bit of attitude when folks try to correct me about chickens!

And to my nephew who wants a few chickens "if they won't die on him", we said that's up to you if they die or not, if you take proper care of them or not. And he just got a dog, too. Nope, I'm going to have to tell him that I don't sell laying hens, I only sell breeding pairs, quads, etc, etc, never just layers. That should get me out of that situation and also, it's true. Me selling Lizzie and Tessa was extremely rare. I'd keep those two troublemakers here before I'd have let them go to some chicken newbie to learn on.

 

[getaclue]

speckled, I agree. When I first got chickens, they were thrust upon me. They were very healthy Red Sex Links, so fairly easy to raise. My grandparents raised hogs, and chickens when I was young, but I didn't know too much. I did know to buy feed, and what to buy. My daughter was a bit more experienced, but not overly so. She did know to calm me down, when I called her frantic that they were sick, or dying the first time I saw them dust bathe. I kept reading, and reading. I learned that is was more than keeping clean food, and water in front of them. Fortunately, they were young, and very healthy, so they were fine until I learned how to take care of them properly. Keeping the whole coop clean, and sprayed, dusting them for mites, worming them, etc. I later got a couple more pullets. I don't claim to know a lot, or to be able to tell someone else about their chickens, but all those Red Sex Links lived 4.5-5 years, which is long for them. At least I seem to know what I'm doing with my own birds, and that's what counts.

After a couple years, and mine were still doing good, I decided to get the breed I had originally suggested. I got my first trio of SOP Black Austrolorps. I agree with you about there being a learning curve, and not letting quality stock go to someone inexperienced. Let them start with something like sex-links, and get some experience first.

 

[speckledhen]

Yup, a definite learning curve. I also told my nephew to do research and also that he needs to check out his covenants and ordinances. He said someone who lives close has chickens and goats. I said that doesn't matter. One complaint and code enforcement shows up and you'd all have to get rid of your animals if the others were getting away with illegal animals all this time. I think his county won't allow chickens and he also is in a subdivision so that's another issue, another reason I'd not give or sell him birds, even if I had them. He can get some cheap hatchery hens if he just wants layers. I sell breeders.

 

[getaclue]

Many subdivisions allow a certain number of hens nowadays, but not all. Most subdivisions don't allow roosters. Some subdivisions, even though they should be allowed hens according to county laws, they can't because of HOA rules. He will have to check it out.

 

[speckledhen]

I found the ordinances. He has to have a certain size lot and then, he can have up to 8 hens, no roosters, has to follow guidelines about setbacks and such. It's obvious he never looked up the rules like I told him to. Lot has to be at least 20,000 sf, not sure how big his is or if he has subdivision covenants that say something more restrictive. I can have pigs per my rural county, but my subdivision rules say no pigs. Anything else is fine, just no pigs. So, if he doesn't check it out, he deserves what he gets. I'll see him on Sunday and try to get it through his head about that.

 

[getaclue]

I can have anything I want, including pigs, but I don't intend to get pigs, or goats. That's one of the first things I checked when looking at places to buy. I made sure there was no HOA, no deed restrictions, and it was zoned agriculture for livestock. Too many of these places zoned for agriculture now, are called Horse Communities, and deed restricted to horses only.

 

[speckledhen]

I can have anything I want, including pigs, but I don't intend to get pigs, or goats. That's one of the first things I checked when looking at places to buy. I made sure there was no HOA, no deed restrictions, and it was zoned agriculture for livestock. Too many of these places zoned for agriculture now, are called Horse Communities, and deed restricted to horses only.

Yeah, I'm surrounded by "upscale log cabin communities". I loathe that term, personally. When we moved here, I had only the intention to hide in the woods, wasn't even thinking about livestock or anything except seclusion. It just so happened that I did ask about covenants; being a realtor, I knew to ask that at least and I bet others have no clue that we have any rules here. I wanted to be sure I could put up as much fencing as I wanted and build whatever I wanted here. So, the only thing was no pigs or mobile homes, basically and some other minor trash things like don't build two houses on one lot. The entire county is 100% rural here, there was no zoning in 2002 that I could find. So, when I wanted guineas, I was good to go. But, my nephew Nick is in a subdivision in Cherokee County, GA which is way less rural than I am, and I'm not sure he has neighborhood covenants or not. That's up to him to find.

 

[1muttsfan]

My property deed actually says that this is a rural location and buyers should expect "noise, dust and odors" compatable with farming

I remember living downstate in another rural area, some people built a house on 1/2 acre and mowed every inch, then complained bitterly that their neighbor left a srtip along his adjacent drive unmowed. The neighbor told me about it, shaking his head at why someone would move to the country then cut everything down like a lawn.

 

[speckledhen]

The neighbor told me about it, shaking his head at why someone would move to the country then cut everything down like a lawn.

Exactly. They do it all the time, though. Thankfully, right now, my neighbors who are the originals or even second owners like us, are fine with it all, but as they die off (and they're pretty old and infirm, most of them), all that could change. But, no one can really see much on my property unless it's the dead of winter, and even then, they'd have to be cruising these little back roads for nefarious purposes to do that. I'm up on a high point and the land slopes down from my house on all sides except the driveway side, which is pretty level until you get out of the neighborhood and to the road, then you realize that the land has sloped continually upward all the way from our tiny town to us. Now, if the guy cuts down the trees across the power line easement, we'll be exposed to the road we live off of and look like a cherry on a sundae up here. My house, with its wraparound porch, sitting off the ground on a basement, looks much larger than it is from a distance and may draw curious people up here if they can see it from there. What they see, they want to complain about, or what they hear. Trees make a good sound buffer. I can barely see glimpses of my house up on the hill through the winter landscape from that road when I drive by and you'd have to know it's there to even do that.

I get very suspicious when someone is driving on the power line easement road because, except for Mark Kephart who now owns my bottom lot, no one has any reason to go down there. Unless someone's family is up for a holiday and they're running ATV's (geez, the noise), it's rarely ever traveled. If someone ever builds on that 4 acre tract across from the easement road, my place won't be nearly as private anymore and I can see neighbor issues cropping up if it's the type person you describe, Mary.

 

[1muttsfan]

Time to plant trees along that boundary