...I wish cortunix WEREN'T so sweet!!

[becky3086]

Oh my, I don't think I could ever use shears, lol. I just use a knife and a little cone made from 2 litre soda bottle. Still the cutting bothers me every time but thinking about how good they taste does help.

 

[monarc23]

Quote:
you mustive. what color did you have? That may sound silly but it sorta makes a difference...atleast in my experience. Jumbo brown and jumbo goldens are really sweet, but when you get into the pharaohs, tibetans, tuxedos, A & ms (sometimes these are sweet) you get some real cookies! LOL!

However, i have some tibetans (rosettas and soem darks) and tuxedos that are as sweet as pie! THey ofcourse dont want held but they come right up to me at the pen wondering what i've got for them and what not. NO suicidal tendences, and no bonking off the walls

I think the reason my strains are sweeter than others is because I've already incorporated jumbos into their line.

 

[laputa]

Quote:
The following is what I learned from a local quail person about how to prevent quail from jump and bump their head, and I can't agree more. I use a rabbit hutch with solid roof, and they never try to jump.

Quote:
You have to understand that coturnix quail are ground dwellers
that prefer to run and hide to trying to fly away. They try
to fly away if they feel they are caught in the open. If they
feel they are in brush, they don't fly. Having a solid roof
close to their heads makes them feel safe enough to not have
to fly away. A wire roof won't work because quail (and
chickens) have not dealt with wire long enough to evolve a
response. They mistake cage wire for branches and grass
stalks, which they can push their way or jump through.

 

[monarc23]

Quote:
The following is what I learned from a local quail person about how to prevent quail from jump and bump their head, and I can't agree more. I use a rabbit hutch with solid roof, and they never try to jump.

Quote:
You have to understand that coturnix quail are ground dwellers
that prefer to run and hide to trying to fly away. They try
to fly away if they feel they are caught in the open. If they
feel they are in brush, they don't fly. Having a solid roof
close to their heads makes them feel safe enough to not have
to fly away. A wire roof won't work because quail (and
chickens) have not dealt with wire long enough to evolve a
response. They mistake cage wire for branches and grass
stalks, which they can push their way or jump through.

That does make a lot of sense, however atleast my quails, the main pen only is wire on the roof (and a wooden frame) no bonking still

Now their wire individual pens I have have tarp on the top so that theory does make sense there

 

[peewee]

I was in your shoes. Bought some pharaohs but they were a little small so I put them in with my pheasants to grow some. My pheasants eat out of my hands and the quail have learned this practice from them. One day I was putting their crumbles in the bowl and one little girl came over and stood next to me. I decided to try and pet her and low-and-behold she let me sit there and stroke down her back for almost 5 minutes while she ate. I was a goner. My pheasants don't even let me pet them. So now I have "pet" quail.

 

[Akane]

I had a wide range of colors but I believe all from similar lines. Far more died from feeder and waterer suicide, smashing each other, or just failing to move to a comfortable spot than hitting their heads. I had to control the temp in the entire brooder until they were pretty much feathered because if I heated only part of it they'd go to the other part, get cold, and pile on each other instead of going back under the lamp. 2 lamps helped but then they would get too hot because they'd sit under a lamp and not be smart enough to move toward the edge of the light. I haven't come anywhere near that many deaths with button quail or chickens and I've raised more of those than coturnix now. I used to think nothing rivaled the lack of intelligence of my sister's dwarf hamsters or my friend's sheep but now I think quail win that prize. They are cute and sometimes quite friendly but they are very stupid.

Oddly enough my buttons do just fine with mesh tops on their cages. I've rarely had one repeatedly boink unless it was a lonely male trying to get out to some females on the other side of the room. Majority have learned real quick just how high the top of the cage was. I've seen them spook up and sort of hover inches under the lid for a few seconds before dropping back down. I've also watched some in shorter cages stand there staring up looking for a gap they could fit through or a place to shove before attempting to hit the top of the cage. The more times it didn't give the longer before they tried again. I have seen buttons learn. I can't say the same about the coturnix I had even if they were calmer and easier to handle.

 

[calgal98]

Yea, I would have to agree that they might not be the brightest lightbulb in the strand, but they are entertaining. My birds are really quite docile. Other than an occasional escapee that likes to see *oh, door open gotta go*!! They always seem to hang around or come back. I enjoy them as much as my chickens and seem to have almost as many goats, chickens and quail. Really, animals are interesting to raise and understand.

 

[jetto]

had to control the temp in the entire brooder until they were pretty much feathered because if I heated only part of it they'd go to the other part, get cold, and pile on each other instead of going back under the lamp.

>>now this is funny! My bobwhite chicks that are 2 weeks old are like this! At 2 weeks old we moved the coturnix out to the barn and only needed to put the lamp on them one night out there - they've been fine since. But I can't seem to get my bob chicks to acclimate to lower temps. I've been shutting off the brooder lamp in the afternoon and by the time I go up to check on them around 6 pm they are all piled on top of each other and it's like 80 degrees in the room! At this rate i won't be able to move them to the barn til they are 4 or 5 weeks old at least. I have nothing else to go in the brooder at this point in time but cleaning a stinky brooder everyday gets old!

The coturnix have proven to be much easier to raise than the bobs. The bobs act like we are ready to fry them everytime we walk near the brooder. The coturnix would flutter away at first and be skittish but settle down quickly. The bobs NEVER settle down!

Kristi

 

[macnugget]

Quote:
No that just means you collect eggs for a fw more days and put them in the incubator before you know you have 70 in no time. I just processed a bunch so I'm down to 30 but got more hatching today. I was selling alot of eggs but the last few weeks it has slacked off so I cut back on the birds now people are buying the meat I'm selling them 3.50 processed(MALES)

 

[kingpincray]

yes...I have given up breeding them for meat as I was as traumatised as the quail when I had to put down one that was injured. I decided then I won't try to breed them for meat, in fact I have gone of cold chicken sandwiches as well from that.

I am quite happy just getting the eggs and selling them and selling the chicks that I hatch. More profitable that way. They now pay for their own food which is quite good.