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  1. Susan Skylark

    Is it safe to let a hen with suspected Mareks raise chicks?

    Assuming mareks is in your birds and their environment is a good idea, to paraphrase the Merck vet manual, “if you have poultry you have mareks.” To assume that unilateral blindness and or some neurological issues is from mareks is premature, as those symptoms can be the result of hundreds of...
  2. Susan Skylark

    Hatch along with me 4 dozen coturnix

    I tried jury rigging the nr360, didn’t work! Good idea to get a quail tray! Do you know how long it took me to figure out to write on the plastic with dry erase marker? You are already a pro!
  3. Susan Skylark

    Blue veins, call ducks

    As long as they continue to fill and darken just keep an eye on it, I was going to say those don’t look good for day 18 eggs but they have a 28 day incubation, my quail are two days out of the shell by then and chickens are in lockdown! I’d say it looks fine for a day 10 quail egg, probably...
  4. Susan Skylark

    Chick movement inside egg

    Going into lockdown a day or two early won’t hurt anything.
  5. Susan Skylark

    Egg with a hole?

    It has obviously been dropped/bumped/pecked/whacked. The shell may be extra brittle or maybe not, but those ragged, cracked edges with broken shell inside the egg say force was applied from the outside in.
  6. Susan Skylark

    Quail bachelor flocks?

    Ok, update on my quail bachelor flock theory, my cull pen currently has 3 five week old male chicks, one infertile and lame 3 month old male (shipped egg mutant), and our two year old neutered male who has been bossing our golden pheasant. The infertile male is pretty chill, the chicks are...
  7. Susan Skylark

    Bleeding out on hatching

    Occasionally calves are born with their guts hanging out the navel/umbilicus or even a water belly, chicks can also have an umbilical hernia/unabsorbed yolk sac, just part of new life to have an occasional mutant or defect.
  8. Susan Skylark

    McDonalds Law, alive and well!

    27 quail chicks, happily 12 found a quick home, I can manage 15!
  9. Susan Skylark

    First time hatcher - day 23 survival?

    Are you using an external thermometer? A cold incubator can add a couple days to a hatch. I was hatching quail on day 20 my first hatch, now I average day 16, all because the incubator was a degree cold!
  10. Susan Skylark

    Best aviary no waste feeder?

    I hadn’t changed bedding in my quail pen for six months, we’d occasionally throw in some or remove wet spots but I just did a thorough cleaning and hauled out 75 gallons of stuff (originally put in 1 40# beg horse bedding pellets). I think half of it was spilled feed! I jury rigged some ice...
  11. Susan Skylark

    Possibly Mushy Chick? Or something else?

    Mushy chick disease is a completely different animal, you’ve got an umbilical hernia plus or minus some other developmental issues. Prognosis is poor no matter what you do. I had a completely healthy one I fixed surgically, he did great for 3 days but then just died, probably internal gut...
  12. Susan Skylark

    McDonalds Law, alive and well!

    We’re in the middle of MacDonalds hatch! They are mostly ginger and female and one Tibetan! I pulled several select hens for a month, replaced a couple that weren’t laying for whatever reason. I put in my ginger pansy male (10 weeks at the time) and got 6 fertile eggs (out of 13). I hatched...
  13. Susan Skylark

    Quail bachelor flocks?

    In theory if you can keep the light to 8 hours a day he won’t sexually mature and won’t be as aggressive. I keep a neutered male with my pair of red golden pheasants, the quail intimidates the much larger male pheasant when the treats come out, the hen ignores him and he her but he’ll boss the...
  14. Susan Skylark

    Wire floor or bedding?

    I hated a half inch of bedding in a shallow pan with water bottles in small breeding pens, the cages got messy fast. I switched to a large group pen on deep litter and nipple waterers, birds are much happier and efficient with bedding and maintenance. Getting eggs is still a hunt though. At...
  15. Susan Skylark

    Worried about chicks not going under heat plate

    They aren’t bright but they can thermoregulate better than my teenager at that age (it is thirty below, you need a coat!). I actually pull the heat entirely by 2 weeks (70 degree basement), they sulk for a day but do just fine!
  16. Susan Skylark

    Need help figuring out how to house quail

    If by indoor you mean in your house, just be aware that they are very dusty! Quail are much happier on solid floors and I like deep litter for ease of maintenance and litter efficiency. Quail can handle MN cold but water and Gregg’s will freeze quickly.
  17. Susan Skylark

    What kind of quail do I have?

    3 coturnix, the front is an American pansy/cardoon, the middle one is a Rosetta tuxedo, the back one is probably English/dotted white.
  18. Susan Skylark

    Incubation

    I’d definitely lean towards the thermometer but it would be better to have a couple and compare them or at least make sure the thermometer is accurate (stick a meat thermometer in the vent hole or set it in the room that you know the temp of etc.).
  19. Susan Skylark

    Egg washing myth

    Hydrogen peroxide oxidizes organic material, in small doses it is beneficial in removing organic debris and has some antibacterial activity, too long of an exposure causes damage to fabric, shells, and living tissue (like wounds). Decreasing the organic debris on eggs going into the incubator...
  20. Susan Skylark

    Greetings from the Quail.

    Congrats on your new quail addiction…they are also a gateway drug. Two years ago we hatched five quail, this spring we’re hoping for fertile eggs from our red golden pheasants…I’m really hoping emus aren’t next! Enjoy!
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