"Quaviary" Build

[calicocows]

pancake changed her mind, she laid one egg and she's done

 

[eddie_van_quailen]

pancake changed her mind, she laid one egg and she's done

We're still just getting 2/day! The other 3 girls have decided it's not spring yet (and in their defense, it hasn't been very spring-like in CA)

 

[scyllarus]

Mine never stopped laying, but we're in Florida so I assume it just never got dark enough :/ I don't even think they really let up much - a few stopped (mostly the dang celadons) but I still got 8-10 eggs a day.

Ironically I really wanted them to take a break. I've accepted that these are effectively 'production pets' in that they pay egg rent and we're willing to cull and eat birds that don't fit into the group, but I also don't want to shorten their lives from all the egg laying.

 

[TeresaW]

omg, it's been so long since I've updated!

All the ladies are still doing well. I've had some major life events over the past few months (illness in the family, then I got married!, etc.) and haven't been spending much time online... BUT all is well, and things are chugging along in the "quaviary"!

The aggression issues vanished after molting finished (shocking, I know) but it was a looong molt Maybe since it was their first one? I don't know much about molting but I didn't expect it to last 2+ months, so we will see how this next one goes!

I've iterated upon the feeding & watering stations a few times, transitioning from cup to nipple waterers and from Tupperware to PVC feeders, both for hygiene and maintenance reasons. The new stations work sooo much better, I will take some good photos when I get a chance!

We're planning to hatch some eggs next month, and I cannot wait! I think we've officially decided on some black and celadon eggs from Thieving Otter Farms this time. We're shooting for a flock size of ~10-15, as these 5 just did not lay enough eggs for my husband last summer They were pets first and foremost, but since then he (and our dog) have developed quite the appetite for quail eggs! And every time someone finds out we have quail they ask for eggs... they're so hard to give away when we only get 5 a day

Next time I have my phone out in the yard I will also take a photo of the vines growing up the sides of the walls, the passionfruit vine is HUGE but we are keeping it controlled. The grapes lost all their leaves, as expected over winter, which was perfect as it let more light in. The black-eyed Susan vine is still going strong and never died back completely over our mild California winter.

The roof held strong over the winter, even through a few big storms with 55mph+ wind gusts. And having a flat roof didn't seem to be too much of an issue, even with our heavier-than-usual rainfall for this area. I am definitely glad we had the siding and the vines for extra protection, though, a roof doesn't provide much shelter against sideways rain! We did end up attaching some plastic sheeting to the walls during some of the really stormy weeks, so things didn't get too soggy... I think we may design some detachable greenhouse paneling for the walls for especially stormy weather in the future.

Will take some good photos of the updated setups and matured plants when I have some free time. Hope everyone else is doing well, and I will for sure be updating when we get our eggs!

Congrats on the wedding!

 

[eddie_van_quailen]

Things in the quaviary have finally reached cruising altitude, I think! The only alteration we’ve made recently is increasing the capacity of their gravity feeders, as they were going through food much faster with the new additions. Plus I no longer have to stoop to fill them, which is kinder to my back!

We had 4 hens (3 red range celadon, 1 TOF black) and 2 roos (both black) of the eggs I hatched over summer, so we kept 1 roo and all 4 hens. Sold the healthy roo to a nearby friend who also raises quail, and kept the wry-neck one for ourselves. We call him Igor. His wry neck didn’t manifest until he was ~2 weeks old, so we’re unsure if it was an injury or genetic thing, so don’t worry, we don’t plan to hatch his eggs. I just couldn’t bear to cull him since he seemed otherwise fine.

The passionfruit vine has produced 1-2 fruits this year, hopefully it gets going more in year 3. The grapes and thunbergia are going gangbusters, as expected. It’s nice that the grapes are deciduous, allowing for more warm sunlight during the cooler months. I keep all the vines heavily trimmed so they don’t take over, and leave plenty of space for ventilation and sunlight to get through. Trimmed the thunbergia down to the ground this year and it’s already popping back in time for spring. The pollinators love it. Everyone seems happy as clams!