Recent content by FeatherSmith

Our flocks are almost the same age. Though I've hatched a few here and there the majority of my quail hatched out April 17, 2022 (and the day after). I do give artificial light but they have slowed down anyway. I have 14 chicks in the brooder right now and I mean to replace hopefully 6-7 of...

Do your older quail lay eggs? I have a favorite roo and a favorite hen, but my 21 main flock lay eggs for me and breed more quail! I under the impression that after a year to a year and a half of laying they slow down egg production and males can't reliably fertilize.

Well if there's no benefit I might end up stopping. I wasn't aware that lacto-fermentation could create botulism, I realize now I was thinking of vegetables pickled in brine. I know what properly fermented feed looks like and smells like, so anything else. However botulism isn't the kind of rot...

I've been feeding my bird fermented feed and I think I've found the easiest way to handle it especially if you just have a household flock. I saw a video on youtube about sourdough bakeries that gave me the idea. Basically every morning they take part of the culture they have for the daily...

Does anyone else ferment quail feed? After a few experiments I started two weeks ago to ferment consistently and the birds look like they prefer it over other feed. I've heard that because of superior nutrition chickens end up consuming 1/3 to 1/2 the amount of feed fermented as opposed to...

Tonight I found a smallest all-brown egg, never seen one of these before! Anyone have pictures of weird quail eggs? Here it is among the more normal ones. These are jumbo quail. Youngest bird in this hutch is 9 weeks old, rest are 8 months!

This post describes my attempt to determine the cause of a death of a quail, so it has lots of gross details! Please do not read if it will bother you. I went outside this morning to take care of my girls (three month old quail) and found a dying quail. She made no reaction as I reached for...

I wanted to post my hutch I finished building. It is 8'x3' with a sloped roof. The 8' is divided into two sections, one inside and one enclosed against bad weather. The inner section I'm going to put plywood on the bottom during cold months along with trays for easy cleaning. In the summer I...

Thank you very much for your help everyone. I actually cried a bit after doing this work the first time. I am not squeamish and have taken care of cysts, bites, and cuts on myself and my dogs. However unlike a dog or a person, these little birds really don't seem to know I'm trying to help and...

I have one half the hutch on two trays filled with shavings, but I did just get some sand. They seem to really enjoy being off the wire sometimes, and that's where I find all the eggs!

In one of my hutches I have 25 birds: six males and nineteen females just about seven weeks old. My hutch had galvanized wire but i noticed some scabbed feet and switched to coated PVC. Three days ago i had a look and four of the females had scabs. I marked them with red bands and soaked...

Thanks. I think I'm going to change the shavings daily, though I was going a day in between. I'll monitor for a week to make sure things are improving and not going back. I'd like to provide a picture or two for future browsers. But.. zzz it is bedtime for now.

Just to let you know... these birds are wondrous to me when it comes to the cold, but they seem to really hate the heat. I have found them panting when it is as low as 85 degrees. I fight it by misting them down and providing frozen water bottles for them to lean on.

Today when checking my quail I turned one over and noticed scabs on her feet. They seemed healed over. I ran some water over them and felt her feet to be sure they were scabs and not just debris. I then tested birds at random and found several females with similar marks, though the lighter...

I put my quail out two weeks ago. They were feathered but 3 weeks old. I'm in 5b and their first night it went to 38 degrees. For the first four days I kept the outside hutch close enough to the house to run an extension cord for a brooder plate if they got cold. Pretty much no one used it, and...