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

[speckledhen]

Feels nice to be able to walk on the lot again. He said if we wanted more, he'll be glad to come back and do more. He lives pretty close.

 

[1muttsfan]

Lots of good grazing there for a goat or two

 

[speckledhen]

....maybe a calf to grow out for the freezer, after we get a fence up.


Our Trane heatpump from 1993, which has probably only had about 5 years' worth of actual use quit working. Not a fuse, maybe the thermostat blown out by the last power outage (we have weekly brown-outs, surge protectors barely work). We don't use it except when Tom can't get the fire going good enough in the wood stove or it's just so cold, we need to warm up the whole house for awhile. Generally, we'd turn it on for a couple of hours once in the cold season or once in the hot season just to be sure it was still working. Tom ordered a new thermostat, hoping it is just that, not the actual unit.

 

[h2oratt]

We police ourselves on this thread. Easy peasy! Other places, it's not as friendly, definitely not as much as it used to be.

Thea blew all her feathers and at the same time, her crop became doughy and she looks awful. MaryJo looks like a dying bird. Her molt is over, her crop seems fine, but she doesn't show interest in food much and is bone thin. I have no idea what the heck happens when some of these birds molt. And it was 15* last night here, suddenly made a huge drop. Both of those hens have purplish combs and seem miserable. I try to give them soft, high protein food with probiotics and we're massaging Thea's crop to move it along, but not much else I can do.

You could knit them little sweaters.

 

[getaclue]

The most common thing to go out on one, is the capacitor.

 

[speckledhen]

Wasn't the thermostat. No idea where to look for a fuse or whatever on the outside unit or the part in the basement. Darn it.

 

[1muttsfan]

Good that you found out now before the winter really hits down there. I always check my furnace in September, it's a total bummer to have it not working when the weather really gets cold - seems like that always happens at night, on a weekend, or over a holiday.

 

[speckledhen]

Generally, we don't even use that heatpump, but when we want a little extra boost of heat, it needs to be functional. It's like spring out there today! Crazy.

We cleaned the front of the barn and stacked the dog cages, the smaller one on top of the larger one and put Alice up there in the small one. We moved Thea into the hospital cage because her crop is just not working well and I don't want her eating unless it's something I give her.

June is not feeling well today. I knew something was off with her because I know my June. When she walked out the barn door, she stopped and pooped some urates and they were egg-yolky yellow. I checked to be sure she was not prolapsed and she isn't, but she is almost 12 years old and has had multiple prolapses since she became very elderly. Her body cannot seem to produce a good shell anymore. Tonight, she is allowing Jane to sleep in the coke crate with her, not the usual thing. At least she will be toasty warm tonight and so will Jane.

Cora's feathers are coming in quickly. That's the good thing about a fast molter who blows them all at once. Suede's hen, Meg, used to molt exactly like that.

 

[getaclue]

 

[speckledhen]

Alice's injury, tried to take a pic, but unless someone else holds her, she won't stay still.