Hi from a newbie

[Quail_Cottage]

We are new to this forum and bird keeping. A family of pet lovers from SF peninsula ( me and DH our two girls 11 & 13 and 3 cats;dwarf mix rabbit;teddy bear hamster;pond full of Koi), we have almost finished building an outdoor walk-in aviary. We have wild Valley quail run through our yard and have decided to get some quail of our own. I think it'll be coturnix, for their eggs, but maybe Valley of our own too. (If they can go together.) Our Quail pen is 6' x 7' with dirt floor and some sand. DH is handy with DIY stuff so we had lots of fun researching and building it. I will try and post a pic when i have figured out how to post to here.

Now we are ready to get some eggs/birds.

I have an incubator and think I'll get a brooder ready made.

Questions if there is anyone who would indulge me....

Best number of eggs to get to start with (never hatched before) so I was thinking 12 -20 just in case we do everything wrong. Don't want to kill too many first time around.

What do people use to feed/water in outside pens (chick size from poultry suppliers looks like a good option)

Still need to find somewhere that sells feed nearby. Does it have to be specifically gamebird feed? Can you use other poultry feed?

We're trying to make it natural as possible in the pen but are there any plants I should NOT put in their cage for cover. I read the wild valley's like poison oak (which is all around here) which I would have though bad for them (just as it is for us people) and I'm planning on adding ferns and grasses. That's it for now.

Thanks for being here, so much wonderful information.

 

[Bil]

I'm not an expert, but I'll give my personal advice.

Best number of eggs to get to start with (never hatched before) so I was thinking 12 -20 just in case we do everything wrong. Don't want to kill too many first time around.
I started with 12, and was lucky with a hatch of 10. I would say if you started with 12-20, you would do great. With that you will get a few females and a few males so you can start hatching out your own eggs in the future.

What do people use to feed/water in outside pens (chick size from poultry suppliers looks like a good option)
I use regular feeders but I use hanging waterers so the water stays clean. I would like to get automatic waterers so I wouldn't have to worry about them emptying their water too quickly, but up until now, it hasn't been a problem.

Still need to find somewhere that sells feed nearby. Does it have to be specifically gamebird feed? Can you use other poultry feed?
I would look for a high protein feed. It would be best if it was formulated for gamebirds or poultry.

We're trying to make it natural as possible in the pen but are there any plants I should NOT put in their cage for cover. I read the wild valley's like poison oak (which is all around here) which I would have though bad for them (just as it is for us people) and I'm planning on adding ferns and grasses. That's it for now.
That's a great question, I just don't know. Good luck on that one, I'm sure others will chime in.

Bil

 

[gendwk]

Hi and welcome I'm new also, but been on the net, day and night , and think Bil is right on from what I read...
I am now in the process of making a great home made brooder ..if you google "poultry brooders home made" the first
listing is from poultryhelp.com and the brooder is so simple and clean uses a clear plastic storage ben..check it out...

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Sounds like Bil has you covered. I would plant mint. Smells good & a rodent repellant.

 

[citalk2much]

Quote:
oh I like that idea

 

[JJMR794]

GAMEBIRD STARTER IS BEST. (DANG IT FORGOT THE CAPS LOCK AGAIN--- SORRY!) I feed all quail speces pruina startrena gamebird starter their entire life and mine thrive on it! (coturnix, valleys, 2 speces of bob white)

mixing quail breeds = BAD MOJO. Ever hear the old adage "They don't play well togather in the sand box?" This is especially true of gamebirds.

Brooders are easily constructed in about 20 minutes cheaply--- go to your local dollar general store, big lots, or walmart and buy a couple of the large rubbermaid style tote bins with lids, and some hardware cloth or 1" chicken wire, a bag of medium sized zip ties, and your heat lamp---- cut out the middle 2/3-3/4's of the lid leaving an intact ring for a top---discard the middle. punch or drill holes around the new hole you have cut in the lid and stretch the hardware cloth or chicken wire over the opening fairly tight--- zip tie into place using the punched holes and you're done! once your lil fuzz ballz hatch insert them into your brooder, apply the lid and set you heat lamp directly on top of the wire in your lid=== 1 brooder now in service! make 2 or 3 and cleanup is easy! Just take a clean 1 set it up and transfer the fuzzballz and heat source. Now you can clean the used 1 at your leisure === just spray out all material you can with a garden hose forcefully, fill 1/2 full of water + 1-2 cups of bleach and allow to soak at least 30 minutes (good idea to place the food and water dishes in there and sanitize them while you're at it..) Once soaking is done drain, rinse, allow to air dry and its ready for use again.

number of eggs--- figure a good hatch on shipped eggs at 50% +/- , So if you want to end up with 12-20 birds start with 24-40 eggs. Local fresh eggs should yield a higher hatch rate, say 70-75% would be good.

Sorry but you're on your own with the botany

 

[Quail_Cottage]

Thanks everyone for the good advice.

You've convinced me no need to buy a brooder.

I love the idea of the mint, normally I don't plant mint in the ground because it spreads so voraciously, but n this case I want it to. And then I'll try the grass too, as I read someone elses post that their outdoor aviary has grass. Easy to maintain.

Getting ready to order some eggs now.