➡ Quail Hatch Along🥚

[CoturnixComplex]

Beautiful little bun Sara

I need to make a decision.. do I keep the biggest, or the friendliest quail ladies Texas white ones is still my favourite, even though they are smaller

I have 1 golden & 1 brown small girl, they are least friendly, and not yet laying. So I think they are off to freezer camp.
A bit torn on the other 2.. it's a big golden girl whom is a PITA to catch.. or my white girl from first hatch (full blood aunty to this weeks hatch), she refuses to be mated and can be skittish (better without her brother around). Hhhrrrrmmmm..

Possibly I just answered my own question.. because I was planning to keep only a boy from this weeks hatch.. so I cant keep my original white girl & brown girl (mumma & aunty), because.. inbreeding yo

Its getting crowded over here!!!

It's a good problem to have but I share it.

I have to make some tough decisions about my roos. They're all lovely and perfect and I wish I could keep them forever.

 

[Sara L]

OH MY GOODNESS. So cute. I bet they are master wrigglers.

Which ones do you *think* are boys or girls?

The brown one I'm almost definite is a girl. The dark and light gray ones definitely boys. The lightest one (the biggest and one I want to keep) is questionable. It looked like a girl to me, my boyfriend says boy, picture is confusing. I created a thread with pictures in the pets and other livestock forum.

 

[CoturnixComplex]

The brown one I'm almost definite is a girl. The dark and light gray ones definitely boys. The lightest one (the biggest and one I want to keep) is questionable. It looked like a girl to me, my boyfriend says boy, picture is confusing. I created a thread with pictures in the pets and other livestock forum.

Ooooh, I hope it is a girl! It's so cute! Three boys would be a bummer.

 

[CoturnixComplex]

This thing is getting CROWDED with both batches in there!

I have to stop complaining about my kind-of pearl. He is in the middle of both pics here surrounded by true golden siblings and he is actually pretty good I really wish I hadn't lost track of the parents but I'm 90% sure he is from my silver x italian pair. The roo is from a bloodline riddled with pearls; he must be masking something, and the female is from a local flock. @Sara L if you still want eggs next week too those would be the parents of half of them, and one of the little juvenile males is from each of those bloodlines, basically, so there's a *chance* you might get some too!

A few of the biggest juveniles are already past the jumpy learning to fly stage and were picking on the newest little ones in the group so they got pulled back into the regular breeding cages. Most of the older ones in this batch or keepers so it was a better chance to show them off, too Plus, I try to give the ones destined for the freezer the most time in the big nice space....(Sorry for the poop, this thing's due for a scrubbing post quail-baby-horde). There's two falb fee (one curly), a roux dilute, lavender (I think) and two of my charcoal babies (one the big sandy dusky dilute one).

 

[CoturnixComplex]

I have to go dig more dirt for them tomorrow. At least we are down to only a couple feet of snow. I think I can get my preferred harvesting patch cleared.

Did you know no one around here carries grit because we live on a granite mountain? Learned that the hard way when the snow was 5+ feet deep

 

[Crazydoglady99]

Gorgeous Coturnix

 

[CoturnixComplex]

I went down into the valley to the feed stores and they were like "Um, just go outside...?". Yes. Thank you. Very helpful. Can I dig it in your parking lot then? >.>

 

[Crazydoglady99]

Probably happens to people living near the seaside too.. collect your own shells

 

[CoturnixComplex]

I wish I could say I understood more about the genetics of my birds after this hatch, but if anything it is the opposite.

I got four "normal" charcoals, two I would call charcoal rosettas that look like his siblings, and that sandy thing from my avatar bird. Beats me.

His sister, my charcoal rosetta female, threw a dilute pharoah thing I've never seen before.

The roux male I'm about to cull threw a roux pullet with my blue italian hen, which theoretically means she must ALSO carry it somehow.

The males do all seem to be silver and females blue, but there's also at least two distinct shades of silver in my young males, one much sandier and one much more of a steel blue.

That silver and italian somehow threw a pearl. If he is actually a pearl, why didn't he just dilute to become a snowie?

I have had a hunch for a while there are at least two different genes behind the black patterning on pearls - one genetically the same as the italians and one different. Does that confirm it?

One of my older hens that I thought was a falb fee I think is actually a lavender. There are so few photos to compare to and I'd never seen the color in person before! That or a homozygous falb fee? It's an incomplete dominant theoretically. Who knows. I got another one in the newer hatch.

 

[muddy75]

I wish I could say I understood more about the genetics of my birds after this hatch, but if anything it is the opposite.

I got four "normal" charcoals, two I would call charcoal rosettas that look like his siblings, and that sandy thing from my avatar bird. Beats me.

His sister, my charcoal rosetta female, threw a dilute pharoah thing I've never seen before.

The roux male I'm about to cull threw a roux pullet with my blue italian hen, which theoretically means she must ALSO carry it somehow.

The males do all seem to be silver and females blue, but there's also at least two distinct shades of silver in my young males, one much sandier and one much more of a steel blue.

That silver and italian somehow threw a pearl. If he is actually a pearl, why didn't he just dilute to become a snowie?

I have had a hunch for a while there are at least two different genes behind the black patterning on pearls - one genetically the same as the italians and one different. Does that confirm it?

One of my older hens that I thought was a falb fee I think is actually a lavender. There are so few photos to compare to and I'd never seen the color in person before! That or a homozygous falb fee? It's an incomplete dominant theoretically. Who knows. I got another one in the newer hatch.

I think your pearl is beautiful! I love the looks of the “dirty pearls” as well! I am basically in awe of all of the variations! my avatar pearl looks similar to yours but my pearl from this batch has way more black! i’m getting soooo excited for current batches to see the variety! I also kept out my silkie egg from yesterday to possible put in for an experimental hatch. I’ve been seeing some “activity” between my BO and WS cockerels with all of my girls and getting some fertile eggs, so who knows?? ssc eggs go into lockdown tonight, buttons lockdown Sunday. Hatches should be complete for pearls to lockdown next Friday!! I pulled 1 pearl a couple days ago due to cracked shell (not sure what caused the crack as I don’t recall dropping it) cracked it open and showed partial development. hopefully can determine clears and pull when I lockdown the buttons as it will be day 9/10. This is not only my largest but first “staggered” hatch.