First Jumbo Egg

[lauramacf]

Hi all,

I brought 8 young hens home a few weeks back and we got the first egg tonight! I wasn't expecting that would happen this time of year, but I guess since they are still inside with us they are getting more light than they would outdoors. I snapped a pic to show you, the girls are jumbos so I'm wondering if this first egg is normal sized for them:

On a sadder note, one of my boys was attacked and injured by a hawk today. Still scratching my head over how exactly the hawk managed to get at him. He's bloodied on one wing, I dabbed on some antibiotic, but still haven't gotten a good look at the wound. Same thing happened to my other boy a few months back, except it seemed like his wing was pulled away from his body by the unknown predator (probably the same darn hawk, since I've caught him investigating the birds several times now). Anyhow, I have high hopes that he will recover well, but will be looking more closely at the wound tomorrow (trying to let him rest away the trauma right now). The girls haven't been introduced to them yet, still in quarantine, it would be a real shame for him to die a virgin, so keep your fingers crossed.

 

[Emilys3guppies]

It looks a little small but it's a pullet's egg. They will get bigger over time.

That looks normal for a first egg.

What kind of predator-proofing do you have? I hope the little roo is OK for you.

 

[lauramacf]

Hi Emily,

Well I guess I don't have real predator proofing at all, since both of my boys have been attacked! We do not have a permanent outdoor home for the quail yet, though we have finally acquired an old hutch that we are going to renovate for them.

I take the boys out in their cages (they are separated), and have a system of portable runs that are hardware cloth (1/4 inch wire grid) that is bent over into a tunnel shape and staked into the ground. The cages go snug up against the hardware cloth runs while they are outside, and I have heavy rocks leaning against the cages to make them immovable. It's definitely not a perfect system, but I'm still wondering how the hawk did it, nothing had been moved out of place and I would have though the cage bars are too small for the hawk to do anything through them (the bars are close together, not even a quail can stick a head through the bars).

Well, 2 close calls, so now I really have to think long and hard about making their permanent home predator proof. I'm also thinking that once I get all the birds together I will make a little safe house to go in the middle of their bigger run, a place they can hopefully go hide in when that hawk comes back.