California - Northern

[threadgeek]

Thank you everyone for the information about how often you collect eggs!

I am loving all of these hatching pictures. I am tempted to hatch my own chicks instead of mail ordering them.

I personally collect my eggs in the morning and evening.

I was considering mail ordering chicks too until I saw the shipping costs. But then again, I had already purchased my incubator and egg turner last year so I already had that investment out of the way.

For me the main advantage of hatching my own eggs is I can get the eggs from a reputable breeder for the same price as hatchery chicks.

 

[threadgeek]

Quote: That is a HUGE plus for people in town! Its a good thing I didn't know this last year when I was living in suburbia with an HOA! I would have quail AND chickens now!

 

[gryeyes]

Yes, but .... <I><*sputter*></I>... can you have elderly quail? Something worth naming?

 

[OR4-hmom]

Just got back from a 3 hour 4-H cooking paperwork meeting 50 posts and my brain is in neutral.

Congratulations on the new babies and the new baby machines (incubators)

Great save with the bobcat, we have them also.

Do people buy guail eggs for eating? I was wondering ifrestaurants might be interested.

 

[ronott1]

Just got back from a 3 hour 4-H cooking paperwork meeting 50 posts and my brain is in neutral.

Congratulations on the new babies and the new baby machines (incubators)

Great save with the bobcat, we have them also.

Do people buy guail eggs for eating? I was wondering ifrestaurants might be interested.

Coturnix are the ones that develop quickly. Iron Chef often has someone cooking a quail egg. They are very fancy.

Chiqita is the Quail person. I think Debs_flock has them too. I used to hunt for wild Quail(Valley Quail). It is very tasty.

 

[Ali707]

That is a HUGE plus for people in town! Its a good thing I didn't know this last year when I was living in suburbia with an HOA! I would have quail AND chickens now!

I honestly can't recall why I even started reading about Quail because Chickens is what I really like. BUT like everything else on this forum one thing leads to another and hey I have to try that too! For example, I don't dare tell anyone that I have meal worms growing in a three drawer plastic bin. They would think I was nuts!!! I think I read somewhere that the eggs are actually healthier for you than chicken eggs. Not sure if that is true, but what the heck. It will be a fun experiment.

Yes, but .... ... can you have elderly quail? Something worth naming?

I think quail can live up to 5 years, with exceptions that live longer. I won't be eating mine (quail), just the eggs. And these eggs came free with the incubator I just bought so these are the tester eggs. If any actually hatch that's a plus but if not I won't be heartbroken for sure. I don't think I will be naming them either, but we will see. I tend to ask my questions here now because the quail threads can get kind of testy. I really don't remember so many complainy, argumentative people on this forum about 3 or 4 years ago. It seemed that everyone was much nicer in general and more polite. Oh well I will seek out the nice people and stick there. That is the reason you all got my quail questions.

 

[OR4-hmom]

Coturnix are the ones that develop quickly. Iron Chef often has someone cooking a quail egg. They are very fancy.

Chiqita is the Quail person. I think Debs_flock has them too. I used to hunt for wild Quail(Valley Quail). It is very tasty.

So darn small and I'm really good at finding shot. I find the pits in cherry pie and olives too.

I used to be Dad's bird dog before he got the Britney.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Congratulations! They're cutie's for sure! Thanks, I'll contact her. I really want to concentrate on the dark egg. I knew the only real way to get an Ameraucana was from a breeder, I just didn't realize that if both parents were Ameraucana but not a recognized color they were then EE's. Ah, that's where I was confused, where two Ameraucana's don't always create an Ameraucana. I've read the heated debate after debate but missed this specific detail. I assumed that if you purchased an Ameraucana from a breeder of Ameraucana's you had Ameraucanas. No wonder there's so much confusion.

Actually Ameraucanas from breeders that are poor examples of the breed or have disqualifying faults (such as lack of a beard) are sold as culls, and still called Ameraucanas. They will breed true to color (color mixes will not) but will pass on undesirable traits, therefore are not suitable for breeding. Those heated discussions about it on the Ameraucana thread are unpleasant.

Yes, that's why I didn't spend more time there. Honestly, it seems kind of screwy that one breed takes on a different language to describe their offspring. i make sure I explain to those who are new to chickens why they have EEs even when the hatchery or the feed store told them different. Most every rookie had encountered unexpected rudeness and were thankful for the kind explanation.

We had a big scare this morning, around 11am my DH just happened to look out the window and saw an adolescent bobcat slinking up the driveway. He was going straight for the chickies who were about 20 yards away. We ran him off and gathered the girls in the coop. No more free range time unless I'm sheparding them! We will build a run now but I really didn't want to NEED one!!! Gah. Who knew that living in the woods and having fat fluffy tasty treats running around all day would attract predators! I am just so thankful that we happened to catch the situation before any birdies got hurt.

Wow, that's so scary and bold of the bobcat. Odd time of day too. We have bobcats here (its even our high schools mascot) but in all my years of living here I have rarely seen one. In fact I have seen more mountain lions and bear then bobcats. Hopefully he moves on when he see's there's no snacking allowed.

I always wonder the same thing about quail lol

I'm embarrassed to ask!

But this thread is so friendly I don't feel too dumb asking it!

Oh thank goodness! I feel so much better now - I thought I was the only doofus who didn't know what seemed so obvious to everybody else. Whew!

I think they'd be good if you connect with a restaurant. For some odd reason I'm attracted to the egg for hard boiling or making little deviled eggs. I guess I get the gourmet food part but I too wondered what you "do" with them! This is such a great thread, everyone is so nice and helpful and I love the great sense of humors here too.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Great save on the bobcat. I have not been so lucky. A year or so ago I lost a few hens to a bobcat. It hiked my 6 foot fence during the day to get them. Thankfully, I spotted it one day in the brush and had my dog go after it. It decided to go get a meal elsewhere from that point on.



Posted by UrbanChickenSF
It's soooo much more fun, but addicting for sure!

 

[PetRock]

Do any of you with Genesis incubators have the thermometer hygrometer with the sensor probe that goes through the incubator vent hole? I am thinking about ordering a thermometer hygrometer to use with my new incubator and I am wondering if this is the way to go.