Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Quail!!

So, I finally found some quail on craigslist the other day. I got four hens and a rooster. I brought a rabbit pen up from the barn and put it beside our tool shed. What I'm feeding them is just what I have for the turkeys. It says 'for quail too' on the bag so I guess it's fine. When I went down to check on them a few hours later they had laid two eggs for me. I gave them to Zach and he was thrilled! I made an omelet for him this morning.

Alright y'all, here come the pics!




The hens have been heavily bred recently and don't have any feathers on the back on their head. I am going to research how many hens per male for quail and I might take him out for a while. I think they're fine though. And that they just were in with too many roosters before I got them. Ok, on to the pictures!


A Male (notice the rusty red chest)

A Hen (notice the speckled chest/neck)





For some reason these ten(about) chicks lick to sleep in the nest box. 
For the first few nights I put them back on the roost but they like it here.


This guy eventually decided that he didn't fit in the nest box with them.

So he found another roost.
 Every group seems to have their own corner of the coop. Just ones that get pushed off the roost though. Most of the big chickens go on the roost.
Two buff chicks, three white silkies, one buff silkie, and one partridge silkie.


One buff silkie hen and her two chicks.

A buff/black silkie.

And more pictures of the quail!



Seeya

14 comments:

  1. Wow! They are very pretty! I have two hens and one roo, and they are fine, so yours should be too. I find if I stick whatever cage they are in on the grass, they love it! Even if it is just every once in a while, they thoroughly enjoy finding bugs and dust bathing. Have fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks!
      I think that they are supposed to be laying around 4-6 weeks and read that if you have under four hens per male that they will not lay as good. 4-7 is the suggested ratio. So that may be why you haven't been getting eggs.
      IDK hope you figure it out. Or maybe there's no problem and I'm just talking way to much. XD
      Thanks I'll do that. Have you had any problems with them being near the chickens. (disease wise) The chickens can get below them but not in with them. I hope they're fine.

      Delete
    2. No problems with diseases! I think the quail were actually malnourished because the place I got them from was a bit, well, not nice. The people were great, but they did not take care of their animals, and no eggs had been collected, not fresh bedding, not even water for their penned ducks to play in. I am going to try and get some more females soon, but Ferris is pretty easy going, and they are not missing many feathers except maybe one total. I love quail eggs, and they are finally laying, so I am happy :)
      You should sell silkie chicks or htaching eggs someday! I would love some!

      Delete
    3. Oh, ok. I'm separating mine anyway. Just in case. :) Yeah, some people are like that. :(

      Oh, ok. Good.

      Oh, I'm gonna. I'll have a hatchery with quail, turkeys, chickens(yes and silkies), pheasants, etc... Haha, I could go on forever like this! :)

      Delete
    4. That's smart :) Although, your barn yard is so clean and your chickens seem healthy, so I don't think you would have any problems. That's kind of a dream of mine, too! I was hoping to rescue male chicks and raise them for meat in impoverished countries instead of them dying at day 1, but I haven't gotten to that yet. I might try and team up with my friends before they go back to Ethiopia for several years to be missionaries, though! That would be awesome :)
      If you get pheasants soon, I would love to meet them! Sorry for the lengthy comment!
      -Amelia

      Delete
    5. Ok, thanks.

      Have you incubated at all yet??
      That would be a very good idea!! Yeah, I never thought of that. Maybe getting a job at cackle or murraymcmurray would help. Just brainstorming XD.

      Oh, that's gonna be a long time away! I haven't even got a pen for them. I do think they would be cool though. Someday, someday...

      XD that's fine. I always end up doing that too. (see)

      MW

      Delete
    6. I have incubated, but never had good results unless I use a hen. Oh, and if you ever have another broody, you should try putting her in a towel-covered dog or rabbit crate, and you will not get eggs mixed up. Hens are SOOOOO much easier to raise and hatch chicks with!
      -Amelia

      Delete
    7. Ok, well I'm trying.

      Oh, ok. I'll do that. hopefully I'll have a few soon. Probably one of the silkies will sometime. Thanks

      Yeah, just lettin' her do all the work! XD

      MW

      Delete
    8. Just had a bantam and a bantam cross chick hatch under my hen! She is so good, I will probably have a video up soon about benifits of raising chicks with hens :)

      Delete
    9. Lovely, I misspelled benefits XD

      Delete
    10. XD That's ok. I won't tell anyone. ;) XD

      Delete
  2. Cool! Do the eggs taste different?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't eat one yet but Zach says they taste just a little bit different. Hopefully I'll still have them when you get back and you can taste them. (The quail not the eggs. I wouldn't make you eat them when they are THAT old! So, you can taste the eggs from the quail that I'll still have. :))

      Delete

I want to hear from you!