does anyone keep cortunix on the ground?

[Wifezilla]

Exactly!

It is counterintuitive, but raising ducks in a dry climate is easy too. If I had chickens, since their issue is dust, I would want a more humid climate. Since I only have 7 quail, they are easy peasy... And I don't worry too much about them. The roof overhead is a must though.

 

[TwoCrows]

Dry is everything!

 

[diggerduck]

I tried the ground thing when I first got quail, huge mistake, IMHO. I had to clean it almost every day just due to the birds walking around with poo balls on the tips of their toes. They would then try to scratch their head or something and then it was all over their eye. I got them off the ground after two weeks.... They look much better, cleaner, and healthier. I have one cage that is 6'x2' with 1/2" HWC for a floor and 1'x2' oak boxes on each end in the event they feel a need to hide. The boxes have a solid floor that I scrape out about once a week, and they spend more time in their sand box than anywhere. I personally will never have them on the ground again.

 

[rosco]

here is the modification i made to the old chicken coop. the bottom and two large windows (2'x2') and one smaller one (18"x14") are 1/2" wire mesh. they've been outside in 100F heat for a few days.

i collected the first egg today. would like to know if anyone has a link to read a quick guide to breeding them.

a few questions i have are
1) are they all loud or just the males?
2) i'd like to know the ratio of males to females so that i might cull as many males as possible.
3) how long should i wait before starting to incubate the eggs? two weeks from the start of them laying?
4) am i right to group the eggs? chicks that have hatched a few days after others usually get pecked to death in my experience.
5) is the storage temp of quail eggs the same as it is with chicken eggs? does anyone have a good recommendation where i can store the eggs before they go into the incubator? i can't think of any place that remains at ~55-60F.



our outside temps range from mid-hi 90's in day to 50-60's at night.

Thanks All!
rosco

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
MALES ARE THE ONLY LOUD BIRDS IN COTURNIX

1 ROO TO ABOUT 4 TO 6 HENS USUALLY WORKS OUT BEST... TOO FEW THW GIRLS GET TORN UP PRETTY GOOD... TOO MANY FERTILITY MAY SUFFER

EGG STORAGE IS ABOUT 7 DAYS... AFTER DAY 9 HATCHABILITY REALLY DROPS OFF SHARPLY AND YES THE SHOULD BE STORED IN A COOL AREA IF POSSIBLE. I KEEP MINE ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER IN TURNERS

 

[Chick Charm]

I made this set up for some quail and it is being used right now by one of my friends. It is fairly lightweight and easily movable. He moves it on a regular and daily basis. His coturnix seem to love the set up but do poop alot and he has been regimented about moving it DAILY. So I know the answer is yes you can but it is a lot of hassel moving something even though realitively easy. Even though I built this for him I use a raised 8 x 3, wire bottom set up that seems better in my humble opinion.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/65954_dsc_0149.jpg this is my friends set up.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/65954_dsc_0345.jpg this is my own personal set up

I would reccomend an elevated coop or pen.

 

[Wifezilla]

I have to disagree on the loudness. Sure the males are usually the big mouths, but I have a female English White that takes the usual cute little chirp and raises it to a nearly painful decibel level. At first I thought it was one of the boys, but nope. It was Lily. And yes, we are sure Lily is a she..having laid an egg in front of me and all. She is actually louder than the boys sometimes.

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
I turned the lights off gave the girls a break and harvested a few roos a while back and I had a hen that thought she was the roo she took that kina a cricket chirp she normally had and got fairly loud mostly when I would walk back there she would kina welcome me LOL

 

[rosco]

When do i start collecting eggs to put them in the incubator? after two weeks of them laying?

separating the males from females will be difficult. they are all mutts and the feather patterns are all mixed. what my plan is to collect the loud ones and put them in the old brooders. I'll do this in groups of four, two or one depending on how much they seem male. by process of egg to no egg i'll band the females. make sure i have a 1 to 4 ratio.

i've made a mistake with the pheasant eggs. we thought that by day 30 the eggs would not hatch. as i was throwing them away in a nearby dumpster, there was a chick in one. i've brought the remaining ten eggs back to the incubator. is there any way i can get them back into the position for hatching? or is the hatch messed up by moving/rolling them around when i was taking them out to the trash? would it help if i popped holes to make the usual crack around the egg (as if they were hatching w/o all this mess?).

the beginning of the hatch was messed up. we didn't have incubator space, squeezed them into a full incubator and two days later bought yet another incubator. we don't knows what day it is.

 

[JJMR794]

They'll Likely Be Fertile Right Off The Bat... Most Of Mine Are