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Quail Poetry
I wrote another one! Hatch She takes a feather from her breast, weaves it, weft, through walls of dry grass. Puffed up like a winter vest, she settles Over her clutch, nestled in for the long haul. No one had to tell her how to build her nest, nor how to turn the eggs beneath her beak. It... -
Quail Poetry
Oh this is fun! Have a poem: Eggs They arrive mottled, blues and browns, So like Easter candies, so like and unlike the Stones you find at river’s edge in Autumn. They come out warm, smooth with bloom, Heavy with potential. Liquid seeds, they Could germinate in the heat of your hand. If you... -
‘Old’ quail
When I have a puffy or shaky quail in an aviary setting, and they aren't ancient yet, I treat the whole flock with liquid CORID—at least for my ground-based flock, it's almost always an early sign of coccidiosis, which is common and treatable. My oldest bird was about 5 and a half. In the week... -
My quail chick is running backwards?
I have had a handful of chicks do that, across many different sources of hatching eggs. Most stopped the behavior when they hit sexual maturity, but one of my living birds still does it as an adult (2.5 years). Because she only does it after eating, drinking, or foraging, it makes me wonder if... -
‘Old’ quail
Like pretty much any older vertebrate, they slow down. Sleep more, eat and drink way less, cease grooming and social behaviors. My 4+ year-old hens are always a little quivery in the wings in the days before they go, too. What has you worried your quail is close to dying? -
Coloring quail eggs?
If the color isn't strong enough, just add more dye! Lots of uses for these little eggs! -
Having a hard time finding this...
Hi! I also live in a Zone 7 climate, but high desert—we get relatively mild winters (weeks in single-digit lows, Farenheit) and hot summers (highs in the 110s F). My young hens do fine with a good windbreak (I made tarp panels I can screw into the aviary) and deep straw to burrow in at night... -
Your Quail's Names
I keep quail for fun and eggs, and I've never had more than 20 birds at a time. I keep only the hens. All the females get names, but I stopped naming the males pretty early on (makes it much harder for me to kill them 😅). Mostly nature names, older names, book characters, foods and such. Right... -
Harmless / Safe plants that quails don't like
Grasses! I use muhly grass because it doesn't have a "bias" so it's less likely to get stuck if they happen to swallow a bit of leaf. My birds (Japanese quail) also use the grass to line their hides and nests. I've had mine planted for 4-5 years and they just keep growing! I do cut the seed... -
Prolapse- how to treat or humanely cull
So glad she got some relief! How is she doing? -
Prolapse- how to treat or humanely cull
Of course, hope it goes well (and sorry she's so injured 😔). They're tiny critters, and they get hurt easy and can also die easy. You're doing the right thing by shortening her suffering. -
Prolapse- how to treat or humanely cull
Cervical dislocation is essentially internal decapitation, but if you botch it then the bird suffers (e.g. paralyzing them instead of killing them). I'd advocate for decapitation with kitchen scissors (think the dismantling-a-cooked-chicken kind, not craft or sewing scissors) because it's harder... -
Prolapse- how to treat or humanely cull
That's the worst I've ever seen—poor hen! I'd cull for sure. There are surefire methods you can do with just your hands (cervical dislocation) but a sharp pair of kitchen shears are a good bet. You can do it one-handed, but it helps a ton to have someone else to hold their body. Do you need... -
Winter bedding?
I used straw, cut longer than chopped straw—they sold it by the bale at my local D&B, but not sure where else to get it or what it's called. Worked wonders! They moved little hollows and tunnels during the day and settled down into their own little craters of straw at night. At its thickest... -
Natural Hatch—Butter Brickle Does it Again!
Partitioned the aviary and popped mom and babies into their own section to avoid violence from mature birds. It's hot enough here that the chicks can spend a lot of time out from under Brickle. Just a few minutes ago she was teaching them how to eat and drink. The secluded side: Babies went... -
Natural Hatch—Butter Brickle Does it Again!
Thank you! Re: males, I've tried roosters three times (over three years), always as a 1M:5F or greater sex ratio, and every time they go monogamous, with the roo pairing off with his favored hen and the pair beating up on all the single ladies. It seems to always lead to a bald and bleeding (but... -
Natural Hatch—Butter Brickle Does it Again!
It's important to me that folks know Coturnix quail are actually quite given to brooding under the right conditions. I only have six quail in my little flock this year, being six hens all naturally hatched, all from eggs originating from different breeders. Butter Brickle went broody again in... -
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Coturnix Quail coop. Do quails get bored?
That's very little space, to be honest. I don't know that quail get bored like frankly more intelligent animals, but they start to display certain behaviors when they feel trapped or anxious to get away, e.g. pacing against the walls of their cage, staring at the outside. Comfy quail in most... -
I have a broody hen!
Yay! That's exactly what's going on. Best of luck to you and the little mama!