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

[speckledhen]

@speckledhen




I did know someone that had a rooster decline suddenly like that. It turns out that the neighbor had an exterminator at their house and somehow he was exposed. Only one in their flock that had a problem with it. She thinks he may have gone over to their property and picked up something.

We don't use poisons except maybe to spray up on the deck around the base of the house for ants/roaches/bees, but he never goes up there. And he hasn't been off the property. This is not a manicured neighborhood where people put out poisonous lawn stuff anyway. So, if he got poison, I would have no idea where.

 

[speckledhen]

Bash spent the night in the hospital cage. He's barely fits, height-wise, but thankfully, we made it the size we did. He had a small fan blowing right on him. This a.m. he was facing the waterer and his chest feathers were wet, so he'd been drinking. I brought him scrambled eggs with PolyViSol on them and some plain yogurt mixed in and he was actually eating it, unlike yesterday when he showed zero interest in food. We put him down and he went outside and was guzzling water from a bowl, more than I've ever seen him drink. His crop seems perfectly fine, not bloated, nothing in it, really. His backside was full of dark green/bright green runny poop so we washed it off so flies wouldn't get started on something bad on his tush. He didn't even struggle with me holding him out in the air for Tom to use the hose on him. He is now back in his pen, surrounded by his hens, laying on the floor.
The girls are concerned about him, especially B.J., his head hen. It reminds me, ominously, of when Suede began the downhill slide and Meg would not leave his side when he'd fall asleep on the ground in the pen.

 

[getaclue]

Leah's Mom, They can stop protecting raptors, and ALLIGATORS. Yes, we have enough of both.

About 20 years ago, the kids and I were at my parents' lake home. We normally spent long weekends, and all summer there every year. Dad and I got up about daybreak every morning, and would drink our coffee on the back porch. This one morning, we are drinking our coffee, and at the fish camp across the lake, we're seeing a couple rubber boats, with trolling motors being launched. 3 young people got into each rubber boat, and they began circling the lake.

I asked my dad about it. Oh, they're from the University, and they're out spotting, and counting alligators. Ok. Um, did anyone tell them that's not how to hunt alligators? Yes, it was mentioned. They have research, and their research shows this is the best way to do it, so that's how they're doing it. You know, uncle --- would have never made any money selling illegal gator meat, and hides doing it that way? Yes, but they have research. Can't argue with research.

For 3 days, they launched their little rubber boats early every morning, circled the lake continuously, hunting alligators. This was being done at all the adjoining lakes, and cuts in the area. It was also being done on one of the main rivers.

Guess what? They counted something like 4 alligators in the entire lake system, and about that many in the river. Alligators had not made the comeback they were expecting. They began overpopulating. Nope, the University alligator hunters had research, and statistics which proved otherwise. Now, we're overrun with the stupid things to the point they've really become a nuisance. There have been more alligator attacks, more nuisance alligators killed, removed, or relocated than the University alligator experts say even exist. Go figure!

 

[speckledhen]

They were just talking about a gator attack on some woman and said, "Alligators are normally afraid of humans". What a crock! They wish they were, but I don't think gators have the capacity to actually fear anything. I've never seen evidence of them being afraid. Just because they may avoid human contact doesn't mean they are afraid.


Bash has been laying in the floor all day surrounded by his hens. I let that group out a little bit ago. He slowly got up and followed his girls outside, drank copiously from the bowl, walked back inside the door, then back out, then back in and didn't come out. When I went in to see where he'd gone, he was in a nest. While he was out, I saw him stagger when he changed directions once. His comb and face feel unusually hot, too. Still clueless about the cause.

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, adding that a nice woman who bought a Brahma trio from me awhile back PM'd me though Blue Roo Quilts on Facebook, said she saw my video about Bash being under the weather and offered to give me hatching eggs from his progeny (I mentioned I wasn't sure if he'd been successfully breeding the hens lately). She took a splash partridge male in her trio and named him Roman. Then, she said if I decide that I don't want to keep any chicks that hatch under Jill, she'll be happy to buy them all, no matter what sex they are. She lives on a 400 acre property and has unlimited space to put up pens and such. I thought that was really nice.

 

[1muttsfan]

I think his comb looks pale in that video. Not promising.

Sorry but I completely disagree about raptors. If you watch and learn about them, you would see what an incredibly valuable role they play in the natural world. It takes years to replace a breeding female, and killing one bird kills off any offspring they have as well, as it takes 2 parents to raise them. If you want your birds to be safe from them, then provide adequate hiding areas, or better yet a netted over area to confine them in the spring and fall when predation is highest. Raptors are federally protected for a reason, they are invaluable at reducing critters that while small are much more dangerous nuisances - rodents being high on that list. They are fearless, brave, beautiful, and loyal - even loving - to their mates and babies. Their lives are also tenuous with all the adversity we provide them, mostly in the way of poisons and habitat destruction.

Gators I have no take on, as they are a very infrequent nuisance here.

 

[speckledhen]

Appreciate your input, Mary. He is just so lethargic and dragging his feet when he walks. He did eat more eggs just a bit ago, but I had him back in the hospital cage with a fan on him and his wenches couldn't interfere.

As far as raptors, we have so many here, as you can imagine. I've never lost a hen to anything, even having open pens, but they have always been large pens other than the covered bantam pen, and we have lots of cover for them, purposefully planted so there are evergreens present in winter. The cover plus all the roosters are what I credit, plus a little bit of luck, for the lack of predation from sky and ground. I've seen hawks dive on groups of birds, saw one sailing after a flying guinea once, but no hits, all misses. I love seeing them and hearing them. I've seen Cooper's Hawks, Red-Tailed Hawks, Sharp-Shinned and even a Peregrine Falcon on rare occasion, probably have seen others I couldn't identify. Tom once saw a bald eagle close to the house-that can take my Brahmas or my cat, yikes. And of course, we have owls, but all the birds are in locked buildings before dusk and not out before sunrise.

 

[getaclue]

1mutts, you may not have that many raptors where you live. Here, there is an overabundance. It's not about my chickens, they're enclosed. More than once, Dh has walked to his car, and one or two dropped dead squirrels, or dead birds on him.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I think his comb looks pale in that video. Not promising.

Sorry but I completely disagree about raptors. If you watch and learn about them, you would see what an incredibly valuable role they play in the natural world. It takes years to replace a breeding female, and killing one bird kills off any offspring they have as well, as it takes 2 parents to raise them. If you want your birds to be safe from them, then provide adequate hiding areas, or better yet a netted over area to confine them in the spring and fall when predation is highest. Raptors are federally protected for a reason, they are invaluable at reducing critters that while small are much more dangerous nuisances - rodents being high on that list. They are fearless, brave, beautiful, and loyal - even loving - to their mates and babies. Their lives are also tenuous with all the adversity we provide them, mostly in the way of poisons and habitat destruction.

Gators I have no take on, as they are a very infrequent nuisance here.

We do not plan to do anything unless it really becomes a problem. Birds of prey need to eat too, especially with babies this time of year. I know the risks with free ranging, so we cannot get too upset. It is life. Now if I'm down 20 plus birds I may start looking to do something, but for now we will accept the loses, and try to minimize more. We have been lucky for many years. There are always hawks hunting our fields for mice and rats.

Sometimes my birds need reminding that there are predators out there to look out for. I am not seeing anything obviously sitting around in the trees. If it's an owl I can't do much more but provide cover and make sure birds go in at night.

 

[speckledhen]

More than once, Dh has walked to his car, and one or two dropped dead squirrels, or dead birds on him.

We do not plan to do anything unless it really becomes a problem. Birds of prey need to eat too, especially with babies this time of year. I know the risks with free ranging, so we cannot get too upset. It is life. Now if I'm down 20 plus birds I may start looking to do something, but for now we will accept the loses, and try to minimize more. We have been lucky for many years. There are always hawks hunting our fields for mice and rats.

Sometimes my birds need reminding that there are predators out there to look out for. I am not seeing anything obviously sitting around in the trees. If it's an owl I can't do much more but provide cover and make sure birds go in at night.

Agree with you. We do take risks free ranging. So far, I haven't lost any, though as you read, Alice hiding in the compost pile tells me she had a close call. I wish those old hens had a rooster or two to go with them. That makes me really miss our little Xander.