Gamble Quails WHAT AM I DOING WRONG???

[Lacrystol]

Quail usually start to bed down at dusk. So about a half hour before dark, they usually find a spot to hunker down in.

As for the 4 week olds....what breed are these? Gambels? You could probably put them in a dog crate inside your aviary so they all get used to each other. Maybe at 5 weeks you could release the young ones. Just watch everybody closely to make sure the babies are ok. You could put your Coturnix back in with her kind at that point. And actually, if she is that frightened, I would go ahead and remover her now. No sense in scaring her to death for the male that is not even concerned that she is even there. So I would put her back with her kind.

Your male will get over it. And once you mix in the new birds, eventually he will consider them good enough and should relax a bit.

Yes the 4 week olders are Gambels, I wouldn't want anything else. LOL these guys are too much as is..

 

[TwoCrows]

Good that they are Gambels. That will make it a lot easier for mixing. Once these babies grow up a bit, possibly by this fall, he will have bonded with another female for his mate and will have forgotten all about his lost kin.

And at least by getting more Gambels, this will help you heal as well over your babies.

 

[Lacrystol]

OK, I think my outside running around quails are gone, I have not seen them in a few days but now I have another problem. The trap as attracted some predators, yes, I'm now dealing with a Coyote, he came took one of my game bird bantam, one of my call ducks and two of my Paint silkies roosters. So I'm giving up the trap..

I will however be making the trip to PA to pick up those babies my question is how many should I pick up? I was thinking 6 but then I thought no I want an odd number because of my one boy so Perhaps I should get 5 or maybe 7? This way each of them can pair up, but then I remember all the troubles I had raising these buggers lost 14 of them, so maybe I should go for a little more then that?


GRRRR the stress these things have caused me, do I really want to go threw this again!!!


So how many do you think? They are only $5.00 a piece which I thought was a good price?

 

[TwoCrows]

$5.00 a piece for Gambels is a good price. As for how many, yes, I would try to get an even amount of birds. Make SURE that you are buying healthy chicks. PA is a long drive from Ohio, but you don't want to bring home sick babies. So give them a good looking over. Check them for mites on the bodies and legs. The breast bones should not protrude. The eyes should be bright and dry. No crusts. Look for signs of respiratory ailments...runny noses, listen to breathing by putting a bird up to your ear. Try to make a good judge that you are getting healthy stock.

I would try to keep them in pairs, although you will probably be getting a straight run, unless this breeder has done some sexing on them. And remember to think about the room you have to offer them. Better to have a small amount of birds in a big space, then a large amount of birds in a small space. Come next year, the pairs may need to be kept separate during breeding. So include the male you have now and at least 5 maybe 7. It is completely up to you. If you are getting healthy birds, you shouldn't have the trouble you had previously with illness.

Please keep me posted! I am very interested in how things go.

Good luck!

 

[Lacrystol]

Yeh it's a drive about 2 hours but what else can I do, I did find someone who wanted $95 for two females, OUCH. So i'll take the $5.00 ones. LOL

Yeh I have enough room now that they have a New place, it's about 4 feet tall by 6 feet long, so right now he's in a nice comfy home but all a lone.

Can you tell the sex at the age of 4 weeks? Maybe there's something I could specifically look for that they don't know??

 

[TwoCrows]

Not really. You can't feather sex them til about 11 or 12 weeks old. So it will be a grab bag. LOL Just use your best judgement. I will be anxiously awaiting pics of the new babies. Gambel babies are so cute when they are feathering in.

 

[Lacrystol]

It's over!!! Came home the door was Unlatched again, I think the neighbor kids are doing it. I give up, I don't think I'm gonna make the trip to PA to get more, the purpose was to get my last boy a mate and now he is GONE. We tried to catch him but he flew FAR FAR FAR into the woods.

So I think I'm done with the Gambel Quail Life..

Thank you....

 

[TwoCrows]

OMG!!! I am SO SO SO sorry. You need to put locks on your pens and possibly get some guard dogs. Wow, that is awful. I am really sorry. :-(

 

[Lacrystol]

Thank you, unless you can convince me to start again, I think I'm done no more stressing... I'm so disappointed, the time, effort, MONEY, OMG, the stress!! I guess I wasn't ment to raise Gambels..

 

[TwoCrows]

I don't think it has anything to do with you raising Gambels. I could have said that about my first attempt at chickens. MY GOD did I have the health troubles and near deaths the first year. One thing after another and at one point I was SO sorry I even got involved in them. But I hung in there and continued on and things did iron themselves out. And now I am glad I stuck with it.

I am not trying to convince you to continue with Gambels. But do what you feel in your heart. It knows where you want to go with this. You might take a break from this for a spell and then decide later.

BUT....you DO need to put locks on your pens, call the cops if you have to, but keep the neighbors off your property. They do not belong around any of your birds.

What ever you do, good luck with your poultry ventures. I really do hope you can heal from all this.