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

[satay]

 

[Colourful]

The Barred Rocks sure are nice to look at at that age satay. I have some that are about 3 weeks or so and they're still going through the fuglies.

I'd try to guess the sex, but it's hard with Rocks.

Okay, so I think my quails are done hatching and that's left me with the result of 33 out of the 37 that went into lock down (I candled them with a parrot egg candler and it worked a treat).

The ducklings still haven't worked their way out, but the two who have pipped have made big holes in the side of their shells but haven't started to zip yet.

Here are some quail pics;


They are tiny now, but they'll grow quite quickly. One of my four 5 week olds is now crowing.

Thank you Sam, the Sydney Quailman. I love them.

Instead of risking them with a water container, I've just given them 3 jar lids which I'll change every few hours for the first few days. I don't want to accidentally drown any...



And here are my new bronze girls

Aren't they pretty?

They're only quite young yet, but they should be laying come spring.

How is everyone else's day going?

 

[Redoliveberry]

Hi guys, more Quail Q's. What is a good breed of quail for a beginner that is planning on having 3 girls and one 1 male and selling the fertile egg to cover the cost of feed, bedding etc.
Also what is the best flooring for there pen and best bedding for them. Will they need a little sleeping hutch thing. Like perhaps small cardboard boxes!
Do they need nesting boxes?lol.

I spent 10 minutes typing an "essey" this morning, and it vanished! If this is a double up - appologies.

So, there it is again: I suggest Japanese (coturnix) quail, they are easy to keep. I know you mentioned buttons before Luke, they are cute too, much smaller. Good pet. Eggs are edible, but so tiny they are not commonly used for food. Button quails sit on their eggs, coturnix don't. Buttons will have to be separated when incubating eggs.
I strongly suggest getting the females from one breeder and the male from another. They need to be from different bloodlines to avoid inbreeding.
Bedding: mixed opinions here, a lot of breeders keep them on wire (easy to keep clean), but if on wire at least give them a tray of sand so they can get their feet off the wire sometimes. Mine are on mulch - just forest mulch from a local treeloper at $15 per m3. I also have a sandbox. Keeping them on sand is good too, just sieve the sand between bedding changes to keep clean. They poop a lot. If you think chickens poop a lot, wait till you have quails!
I use hay (I dry my grass clippings) for baby quails. Wood shavings are commonly used too (no cedar).

Don't bother with a hutch to sleep in. They will not use it. Nesting boxes are not necessary either. They drop the eggs wherever they happen to be at the time. I have picked eggs from a feeder and a water bowl before!
They like small cosy hiding places. Little "caves" made from old plant pots or little baskets. They also like vegetation to hide under. They will not destroy it like chickens.

I probably wouldn't keep them in aquarium, unless you have time to clean it twice a day. They smell stronger than chickens. Cage would be better (good ventilation). Guinea pig hutch works great.
I had my baby quails in a large plastic box with mesh top, and had to clean it twice a day. Granted, I had 15 of them!

Hope it helps

 

[Pinky Macgyver]

Satay, I'm afraid I can't quite see but if it helps my roo is light with thick bright legs and the hen is dark with slightly dark legs. If the color is related to sex, you have two girls I think color was obviously different with mine from one week
Glad to see their going so well :-D

 

[satay]

The Barred Rocks sure are nice to look at at that age satay. I have some that are about 3 weeks or so and they're still going through the fuglies. I'd try to guess the sex, but it's hard with Rocks. Okay, so I think my quails are done hatching and that's left me with the result of 33 out of the 37 that went into lock down (I candled them with a parrot egg candler and it worked a treat). The ducklings still haven't worked their way out, but the two who have pipped have made big holes in the side of their shells but haven't started to zip yet. Here are some quail pics; They are tiny now, but they'll grow quite quickly. One of my four 5 week olds is now crowing. Thank you Sam, the Sydney Quailman. I love them. Instead of risking them with a water container, I've just given them 3 jar lids which I'll change every few hours for the first few days. I don't want to accidentally drown any... And here are my new bronze girls Aren't they pretty? They're only quite young yet, but they should be laying come spring. How is everyone else's day going?

Love all the new additions

 

[satay]

Satay, I'm afraid I can't quite see but if it helps my roo is light with thick bright legs and the hen is dark with slightly dark legs. If the color is related to sex, you have two girls I think color was obviously different with mine from one week
Glad to see their going so well :-D

Thanks Pinky. I will keep my fingers crossed then.

 

[Pinky Macgyver]

Some parent pics for reference

Booker, the momma

Giraffe, the papa

Younger pics

 

[satay]

Thanks I think they look more like the girl in your photos so lets hope.

 

[sydney quailman]

The Barred Rocks sure are nice to look at at that age satay. I have some that are about 3 weeks or so and they're still going through the fuglies.

I'd try to guess the sex, but it's hard with Rocks.

Okay, so I think my quails are done hatching and that's left me with the result of 33 out of the 37 that went into lock down (I candled them with a parrot egg candler and it worked a treat).

The ducklings still haven't worked their way out, but the two who have pipped have made big holes in the side of their shells but haven't started to zip yet.

Here are some quail pics;


They are tiny now, but they'll grow quite quickly. One of my four 5 week olds is now crowing.

Thank you Sam, the Sydney Quailman. I love them.

Instead of risking them with a water container, I've just given them 3 jar lids which I'll change every few hours for the first few days. I don't want to accidentally drown any...



And here are my new bronze girls

Aren't they pretty?

They're only quite young yet, but they should be laying come spring.

How is everyone else's day going?

well done colouful, 33 out of 37. thats great.

 

[Pinky Macgyver]

So, I finally decided to start digging where my pallet coop is going as I was going to have a brick floor or at least bury some wire etc. Moved the bricks that I had laid out, got the shovel and clunk! Shovel hit something hard. Turns out there is a concrete slab just covered with grass, in the exact spot I was going to put my coop! Free concrete floor! I'm so excited!