Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Fizzybelle]

I know quite a few people in the Brisbane area that keep quails. My Japanese quails are easy to care for but the males can be very loud. Up there with the Belgians.

Oh boy, that is loud then lol. It's something for down the track a little, they seem like very sweet little birds that would be nice to have around. Actually, a Belgian raising quail would be interesting, right sort of sized mother too.

Teila, your chore routine sounds like mine. My chookie chores themselves don't take too long, bout 15 to 20 mins of removing poo, replacing bedding checking food and water, then raking the pens and the poo in the yard. I put out plates of feed during the day too, and also check the girls for injuries. I usually do this in the afternoon not morning though, mornings are for sitting back and chatting with them, and watching them go about their business while I wake up. The hardest part is getting the five of them sorted for bed that takes the most time. Five very different but strong personalities all wanting my attention - either to sit on my lap or shoulder, or acknowledgement for walking up the ramp into bed.

The extra daylight is still messing with my Annabelle a little, she laid a very nice egg today, then right before bed a second soft shelled egg. Caught Ada eating the white when I came downstairs, if there was a yolk, she'd have been on that first thing. I'm mixing more calcium into their food as well as putting dishes of shell grit next to their food and water. Also, I think my araucana Mabel might have been broody for a few minutes today. It was really weird, she was in and out of the nest boxes for half an hour or so (I chased her out of the shed as well), so I assumed she wanted to lay. She still hadn't settled so I fetched an egg from the fridge to see if the sight of an egg would make her feel more secure about laying in her favorite box. She then proceeded to sit on the egg and fluff herself up. I let her be, then came back to check 15 mins or so later. She was in the yard with the others eating grass, completely calm. I've still no real idea what was going through her mind, she's normally a bit silly anyway, but yes, today was odd even for her. She's never been broody before, and she only started laying a few months ago so it might be because of that. All ended well though.

 

[Anniebee]

Hey everybody .....

Dear sweet old Mandy, who loves lotsa cuddles, and sits a lot ....... ( you've all heard more than enough about her )

TODAY - - - LAID - - - AN - - - EGG !!!

Her first proper, able to be eaten egg, since April. During her having anti-biotics a few months back, I thought she may have laid a few which we did not eat - but seriously did not think she would ever lay again since recent months of inactivity in the egg laying department and her 'arthritis'.

Did she read my mind and thoughts ? .. .." up yours for the rent, Mum - I'll show ya " ???

.

Am soooo tickled pink about it. Heard her doing her little 'chirrups, purrs and tweetie things ' that she has always done when in laying mode. ... couldn't believe it, so watched and waited.

Molly RIR left her alone to do her thing ( thank heavens ) .. with some encouragement from me. ( "behave ya-self, Madam" ) ...

I promise not to get too over enthusiastic about it all, but it adds to my belief that she is a very healthy chookie, with an occasional muscular / skeletal problem, which is solved by sitting a fair amount of time.

Wowweeee ......

 

[Fizzybelle]

Yay! Well done Mandy!

 

[Anniebee]

Oh boy, that is loud then lol. It's something for down the track a little, they seem like very sweet little birds that would be nice to have around. Actually, a Belgian raising quail would be interesting, right sort of sized mother too.

Teila, your chore routine sounds like mine. My chookie chores themselves don't take too long, bout 15 to 20 mins of removing poo, replacing bedding checking food and water, then raking the pens and the poo in the yard. I put out plates of feed during the day too, and also check the girls for injuries. I usually do this in the afternoon not morning though, mornings are for sitting back and chatting with them, and watching them go about their business while I wake up. The hardest part is getting the five of them sorted for bed that takes the most time. Five very different but strong personalities all wanting my attention - either to sit on my lap or shoulder, or acknowledgement for walking up the ramp into bed.

The extra daylight is still messing with my Annabelle a little, she laid a very nice egg today, then right before bed a second soft shelled egg. Caught Ada eating the white when I came downstairs, if there was a yolk, she'd have been on that first thing. I'm mixing more calcium into their food as well as putting dishes of shell grit next to their food and water. Also, I think my araucana Mabel might have been broody for a few minutes today. It was really weird, she was in and out of the nest boxes for half an hour or so (I chased her out of the shed as well), so I assumed she wanted to lay. She still hadn't settled so I fetched an egg from the fridge to see if the sight of an egg would make her feel more secure about laying in her favorite box. She then proceeded to sit on the egg and fluff herself up. I let her be, then came back to check 15 mins or so later. She was in the yard with the others eating grass, completely calm. I've still no real idea what was going through her mind, she's normally a bit silly anyway, but yes, today was odd even for her. She's never been broody before, and she only started laying a few months ago so it might be because of that. All ended well though.

Fizzybelle .... From what I have learned, [ the laying of two eggs in one day ], while not impossible at all, is also not a common occurrence. .... so your hen used up her calcium on the first egg ??? and had little left for the second. Result - a soft shelled egg. ( Them's my thoughts anyway ).

I am no expert, but my Mindy Araucana ( who lays 'fragile' whole shelled eggs a couple of times a week, which fracture on hitting the hard surface she lays on by preference !!! ) eats only the yolk of her own, broken eggs. Never touches the white albumen part. Her eggs have huge yolks, and I have often wondered if this has something to do with the fragility of some of her egg shells ?

I give her Anitone every other day, and a pinch of calcium every other day in between ( all on a little crumbled multi-grain bread . Most-times it works, occasionally not. At least she is laying whole eggs - ...

I soooo wish she would take a day off here and there, though. Perhaps I should lock her out of her coop ( if the weather ever clears up properly again ) ..... anyone with any other ideas on that ?

...............

Speaking of weather ... while Tassie missed out on heat, bad storms etc. ( good to know Fancy ) ... it played havoc here in Victoria. Two people sadly died from what the TV news called "thunderstorm asthma" ... during the drenching and nasties, parts of this State received which was after the very high temps we had for two days ... high upper 30's. Apparently had to do with the bursting of pollen clusters, by the rain - which then fell down on us, and resulted in severe asthma - 1900 calls to ambulance for asthma related horrors. Some to people who had never had asthma before. Frightening. .... a couple of hospitals here, ran out of Ventolin for the asthma, that's how severe it all was !!! And response time by ambulances ( overwhelmed by the demand ) ... was less than desirable. Not their fault.

I suffer from it, but did not have any problems, probably because of where I live. The dense forestry here, might have cut down the incidence of busted up pollen. Major problems happened in flat, often tree-free areas of some west Melbourne suburbs.

Fell from 38° C to about 17°C in a couple of hours, as the storm front came through. ........ but that's Victoria for you.

Cheers all ........

 

[satay]

Hey everybody ..... 

Dear sweet old Mandy, who loves lotsa cuddles,  and sits a lot .......  ( you've all heard more than enough about her ) 

TODAY - - - LAID - - - AN  - - - EGG !!! 

        

Her first proper, able to be eaten egg, since April.  During her having anti-biotics a few months back, I thought she may have laid a few which we did not eat - but seriously did not think she would ever lay again since recent months of inactivity in the egg laying department and her 'arthritis'.

Did she read my mind and thoughts ?  .. .." up yours for the rent, Mum  - I'll show ya " ???   .  

Am soooo tickled pink about it.  Heard her doing her little 'chirrups, purrs and tweetie things ' that she has always done when in laying mode.   ... couldn't believe it, so watched and waited.

Molly RIR left her alone to do her thing ( thank heavens ) .. with some encouragement from me.   ( "behave ya-self, Madam" ) ...

I promise not to get too over enthusiastic about it all, but it  adds to my belief  that she is a very healthy chookie, with an occasional muscular / skeletal problem, which is solved by sitting a fair amount of time.

Wowweeee ......  

e

 

[emelie]

how sweet

good to see, here are the same crazy people like me ... not everyone can understand the love and care

Anniebee

 

[sjturner79]

Found an nicely dried empty egg shell just outside the best boxes when doing feeding this morning.
You know what that means ?!

 

[sjturner79]

This is some of them. One intact egg left. Will see if it open tomorrow.

 

[Anniebee]

Found an nicely dried empty egg shell just outside the best boxes when doing feeding this morning.
You know what that means ?!

Ooops ... I think I misread your post. ... and added an ovation that might have been off the mark.

Gather you are looking for a newly hatched chick ? ...... and here's me, hooked on soft-shells, the remains of them, and why !!!.

Sorry about that.

Gorgeous wee bubs in the photo you have shown ......

 

[sjturner79]

 Ooops ... I think I misread your post.  ... and added an ovation that might have been off the mark. 

Gather you are looking for a newly hatched chick ?  ...... and here's me, hooked on soft-shells, the remains of them, and why !!!.

Sorry about that.   

Gorgeous wee bubs in the photo you have shown ......  

Yeah I would not have put all the emoticons in a post about a soft shell, and that would be a bit of a miracle here considering our water is 7% soluble calcium.
Yes clean dry bits of egg shells means that the chick has safely hatched and the shell has been moved out the nest.
If they were eaten eggs the shells would be sticky.
Hopefully your soft shell problem eases.