bought some more quails yesterday

[paolo223]

well i did some searching around my area and found a farm that breeds only coturnix quails. i figured id buy sime to keep for eggs and meat and training my pup to point on birds. so i figured hey that has got to be the best place to go as they sell them live, processed and their eggs and being government inspected regularly the bird gotta be healthy, RIGHT no totally WRONG.

so i pull up to the farm and get greeted by the owner we do the transaction and we go out to the barn there must have been a few thousand birds in there. Being a newbie to the quail world i didn't bother to check them out as he filled up the box he even putting 6 extra in for me. But when i got home and took a closer look at them i was shocked. Every single bird had clumps of poop on there toes that was so hard to take off it took us about an hour to clean them. out of the 30 only two had completely formed toes all the others where either missing toes or are badly disfigured. some where so thin they couldn't even hold up there head. i am shocked to say the least i will never get my birds from that place again. And the best part is they are the biggest supplier of processed quails to supermarkets here in Ontario.

im gonna start breeding my own from now on.

Rant over trying to get to my happy place now.

 

[Ironsun]

Hi,

If there is a next time, which I think is very unlikely, birds with dried on poo balls, you would be better off if you get a large platic storage box. Place some newspaper on the bottom and pour in some warm water.( about a inch)

Making sure it's not to hot, place a few birds in at a time and leave them for 10 minutes or so. Take one out at a time, and removed the softened poo ball. Being wet they come off very simply and there is no injuries to the claws.

Dry off the birds and place them back in their cages.

Ironsun.

 

[saddina]

Is there an animal control up there where you can call about the status of thier stock? Often the frequency of the inspections matters more than the checklist they give of what they want done (example when running a preschool a few years ago the FDA was in every 3 months to check the kitchens and the foods served, however the county was only in once a year, the kitchen was cleaned first, and somedays the bathroom didn't get scrubed at all).

 

[monarc23]

that's the thing a lot of people don't realize here in the US about getting NPIP tested (i dont know how you guys in canada test your birds but down here it's called NPIP testing)...ANYWHO... people automatically think that NPIP means the birds are healthy and won't get other birds sick and this is entirely false. Unless the NPIP tested bird breeder/owner pays extra for other tests, the only tests they do are tests that test for birds that are ILL with HUMAN contracting diseases. that's it. So unless they have proof of what was tested just hearing the word NPIP means nothing to me. I've talked to many breeders who NPIP and even those who are NPIP testers and this is how i got my info. I do plan to be NPIP tested probably next year, however, what im concerned with is my birds health so once the testing for the human transferring type illnesses I also want them tested for things like New Castle (if possible) and any others that can be tested that are for chicken/chicken/quail/duck etc transferring diseases.

So just a heads up, NPIP if only the minimum is tested only just hits the tip of the iceburg of what the person can pay to be tested for (extra). My first batch of coturnix ever were NPIP'ed and guess what they hatched and about a week later had swollen eyes and cataracts like that...I still to this day dont know what they had but i cured it with antibiotics and ointment and I never saw it again thankfully but it just goes to show ya.

Then theres some illnesses that birds can have that can't be prooven by tests because every bird already carries the illness they just do or don't show signs. Kinda frusterating but that's how illnesses are sometimes.

As for the deformed toes, that's sad. I wonder if it was genetic or just very poor lack of care on the breeders part that birds toes were torn or bitten off? I see a deformation every now and then from my birds but the low percentage I see I believe is just the fact that if you hatch THAT many eggs at a time you're bound to get some oddballs, just like women with multiple children sometimes have a kid or two with a learning disability or something like that that effects their life. I don't breed from the birds in my hatches that are like this, if they make it I allow them to grow up, but once they are old enough to be butchered for food I do so. It's just good breeding practices to avoid breeding to poor stock if you can help it.

Last night i had a chick that didnt hatch (i opened the egg up some to see why it wasnt pipped) and here it had a short upper beak anda longer lower beak) it didn't make it it's facinating to see the mistakes from time to time that happen and to think breeders of other animals take these deformities and make purebreds!

(like the bulldog etc). Not that im against bulldogs just saying..that's pretty much what I woulda called this coturnix had it survived lol! Then again dark tibetan (dark range) is where I see most of my deformities and If i remember correctly it is a fatal gene when bred black to black at times (not all the time because i have many gorgeous hatches) but it looks like sometimes one chick gets both fatal genes and either doesnt make it to hatching or does but doesnt make it much farther sad but it's life sometimes.

 

[paolo223]

thanks i will take all the tips into consideration next time. the feet where deformed after birth probably from walking around with all that stuff on their toes for 4 weeks. i understand deformities happen when breeding on a large scale but these birds had amputated toes either from being bitten off or worn off from the extra material cutting off circulation.

the funny thing is im an avid hunter and fisherman and when i hear people say that we make innocent animals suffer. at least they don't die a slow and painful death from starvation, or being trampled because they cant walk just so buddy can make a few extra bucks by squeezing in as many birds as possible. seeing the condition the birds where in really makes me happy im raising my own stock for consumption, and hunting wild birds at least i know they didn't spend their entire life in pain, i wont be giving those guys anymore money.

any way i just bought an incubator and will breed my own from my original flock of four hens, and a rooster.

 

[monarc23]

Quote:
you are right

My one friend who doesn't hunt but does have pets explained it to me this way "atleast wild animals have a chance, farm animals don't" she says this and she grew up on a farm hehe. She's not against either but she sees more honor in hunting and she doesnt even hunt like i said. I also hunt and fish...I love it though our PA game commission is taking more and more rights away from us every year.....

 

[Emilys3guppies]

Oh, I know the company you're talking about. I regularly buy their eggs for home consumption (until I get my own quail in a few weeks). I won't be buying from them anymore if that's how they treat their birds.

And to think, these are birds that they were willing to sell to the public! Makes you wonder if there are even worse conditions for the birds that don't see the public eye. Sad.

Thanks for the heads up!
Emily
Fellow Canuck and Ontarian.

 

[paolo223]

hey monarc same here our ministry of natural resources is more concerned about selling tags and licenses rather then invest in game wardens, management and restocking. they want you to buy all the things to go hunting nut not hunt.

as for the birds they are doing much better now walking around and eating. places like this just give ammunition to animal rights groups against good breeders and farmers who take care of their stock.

emily you are right just imagine what state the others are in if they sell these one to people live. the birds are otherwise healthy but its the impression you get from seeing them like that. i traveled about an hour from Toronto to vine land for the birds it was a let down but lesson learned i quess.