Illinois...

[chickendreams24]

Only 2 chicken eggs today.... but also got 2 quail eggs!  They are so cute & tiny.  I've been squeezing them in between the real eggs inside the egg holder in my fridge.  

Hope tomorrow's another big egg day like yesterday.

@chickendreams24
 My 3 brown quail are weird.  I've been watching the 2 females beat up on the one male.  The little guy is a "mama's boy."  He runs up to our DD & loves to snuggle. I've not yet seen him mate his females, but he loves to crow.  The whites are still separated.  Because I got 2 eggs from the white's cage, I'm pretty sure the little runt is a female.  (Very surprised b/c "she's" DD's 2nd fav.  DD's never picked a female fav - or even 2nd fav - before.  LOL)

We got another quail egg today. But just one. We have 4 confirmed males(based on bump by the vent) and are planning to check the other two tonight. Man it would suck if we ended up with 5 males and only one female. Of course the surplus boys have been planned to be processed but I never thought we could end up with only one or two females. We will definitely need to add more at some point I think. I also am having a hard time deciding who to choose to keep of the boys. We keep catching the boys trying to breed and ride each other. So far it's been pretty non-violent. Could this be what's happening in your quail flock? Odd that the pullets are attacking the boy. Strange strange strange.

It was a great surprise to find the little egg today.

I have also discovered as long as I upload the photos directly to BYC via WiFi and not try to save them to my phone they go through. Of course I have no internet outside in the coop but I'm still working on that I promise. You will have pics. Even if I need to bring the birds inside to do it. Lol.

The only boys we've seen crow are the two brown ones here. The all white one and the injured one(who seems to be doing well) we sexed by the bump by the vent and the white foam.

The chocolate legbar orp mix pullet I have(the other was rehomed and is very loved) is under the weather today. There is one black cockeral in the coop that won't give the girls any peace. He will drag and knock them off the roosts to try and breed them. He's very handsome but obviously rotten. He's also an incredible coward. When we put him in the back side with the spare cockerals he flipped out almost killed himself and ended up in the run with the chicks. On the other side of chicken wire(it isn't attached on the top BC we haven't built a door for that yet. Still he is the only boy that's gone in there. Thankfully he's gentle with the chicks.

I have checked her vent as she's been in and out if the nest boxes and has really reddened up in the face. Her vent seems fine. To my knowledge she hasn't layed yet but perhaps she just feels off because she is going to lay. We had a buff Orpington do that before she first layed. She was completely lethargic and everything and then plop out came our first egg. Lol

We'll be keeping a close eye on her. She is eating and drinking so that's a good sign but her lethargy does worry me.

This weekend the last of the rotten boys on the back side should be processed and then we will be moving that naughty orp boy. Funny that he's the worst one in there.

Okay guys more later. Hope all is well we have already gotten 9 chicken eggs and a quail egg today. Can't wait to see our final number.

 

[Faraday40]

Here are the eggs so far this week:


The quail eggs are so cute! Still don't have enough to make a sandwich, but we're getting closer.


I wanted 1 male(DD's fav) + 2 or 3 females. We have 4 females, so I could give a M/F pair of A&M quail for anyone who wants them. I was planning on processing the extra males, but never thought I'd have an extra female. The kids would be happier if I gave them away to someone who could use them.

 

[chickendreams24]

Here are the eggs so far this week: The quail eggs are so cute! Still don't have enough to make a sandwich, but we're getting closer. I wanted 1 male(DD's fav) + 2 or 3 females. We have 4 females, so I could give a M/F pair of A&M quail for anyone who wants them. I was planning on processing the extra males, but never thought I'd have an extra female. The kids would be happier if I gave them away to someone who could use them.

Well update on our little quail flock. After close examinations last night it appears that one of our jumbo Pharaoh (brown) quail that has been incognito for the last two weeks is now showing female characteristics aka coloring coming in I can't hardly believe it as her and the male brown have been virtually identical the last several weeks. Our male brown has never had as distinct a red chest as yours. We also have one female white. I'm nearly 100% positive on that. If you want to rehome the female and process the boy I'll take her or both. Whatever you decide. That is if no one else is interested. We will probably add another female or two at some point if we don't get her and may still add 1 even if we do. While I'm glad that we got two females a ratio of 2:4 isn't the best. Still it's better than 1:5. We had our little white female in the house last night. She was slightly prolapsed, we later discovered she was constipated and passed it all just fine. The minor prolapse went in easily and stayed in after she finished passing the stool. In the meantime she had quite a lot of fun wandering around our kitchen(we wanted to be sure she wouldn't prolapse again) so she got to hang out for about 15 minutes and be a house quail lol it was so funny to see. She also was making a call that we've never heard before. Idk how to explain it but it sure was cute and definitely not a crow. She was very at ease and even Luna the 1.5 year old kitty didn't phase her, although we promptly shooed Luna out of the kitchen. She thinks birdie looks tasty lol. Of course she can't help that her instincts kick in. Also the little quail was on a chair at that point so she was higher than Luna. I imagine that made her feel safer. I love the quail. It's so funny to DH2B and I, that everyone says they're so flighty. When we open the door to fill their waterer they run to us and sometimes try to escape. If we tap the floor of the run with our hand gently they walk over to us. They do develop the wiggles when we pick them up for a few seconds but not badly. They're pretty awesome. Lol you've got me hooked. Lol I told DH2B last night that I want house quail. He didn't seem impressed and told me they were only allowed in the house if they were injured or being eaten. I told him I want a pair of button quail. He seemed even less impressed lol. He looked at me when I said they had to be inside or they would die outside and said why would anyone breed something that can't be outside and take care of itself?(I know DH2B comes across in this post as a jerk but he's very much not, he's very kind, gentle and patient. Just less so when he's tired. Last night we were up late making sure the little female quail was okay. So he was grouchy.) I simply responded that the dogs and the chickens can't take care of themselves either. Nor could the cats BC they don't eat any mice they catch, of course they probably would if they were hungry enough. The chickens free range of course but there is not anything to eat right now. And the dogs well, they're the most helpless lol. He let the subject drop after that. Lol More later guys. Have a great day everyone.

 

[Faraday40]

Funny moment:
I heard a different quail noise coming from the living room area. When I went to check, I found Albert happily crowing in the dining room next to the cage & the 2 girls (Sadie & Penelope) rolling in the middle of the living room carpet !

How did they get out? They certainly looked too comfortable & relaxed being free-range, house quail. Even our big lazy dog didn't seem to mind as the birds were right next to where he was sleeping. I do NOT approve of tiny quail poop deposits throughout the house! Bad, naughty quail! At least Albert (my good boy) stayed near the cage & was probably trying to call the girls back home. And, how was I going to get them back into their cage?

Well at least the 2nd part was no trouble. I just put my hand down & Albert jumped onto it. Then I walked up to the girls, who took a pause from their dust bath to look up at me, and I scooped them up. No running or chaos. Most people say that quail frighten easy & to not pick them up from above (since predators attack from above). I expected a little jumpiness, but thankfully their retrieval was very uneventful. Pretty much the same as picking up one of our docile chickens. DD has done a good job training them so far. I like how they do not fear humans, but I don't care for the way they feel entitled to use my living room as a barn. LOL


edited to add:
@chickendreams24 -
I do not recommend house quail. Love them, but I'll love them more when they can live outside & only visit us inside.

 

[Faraday40]

Feeling lousy today (sinus infection). It looked so nice outside that I decided to visit the chickens. I brought out my camera & a piece of bread.

Godiva & Muppet were the 1st ones out to greet me on this very cold day. You can see how much smaller Godiva is. (She's not a bantam - just smaller than my giant orps.) Moose is behind them doing a fluff up. He didn't seem happy about coming out into the cold, but my roos are good protectors. Anytime a hen leaves the protection of the run, a roo will accompany her..


Here's a close up of Moose. I'm surprised how well his comb is doing in this cold


Can't take photos without at least one of Brick. His comb & wattles are smaller, but the poor guy got a touch of frostbite.
Here he is next to Sweetie. You can see how most of my lav orp hens are bigger than he is.


Trouble cutting in line to get her share of the treats. (She often flies onto my arm so she can stick her head right into the treat bucket.)


My elusive RIR. She's a hard-working hen that keeps herself busy doing her own "chicken stuff." She rarely comes up to pose for me.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

It has been busy this last week before the DD wedding and with the grandsons. Since my oldest grandson is on break from school, took them to open gym and was running around on Thursday afternoon. I got home about a half hour before lockup, and found McDreamy with blood on his chest feathers and on the side of his neck. At first, thought it was his no crow collar,( which I have to say is working nicely,) but it wasn't that. He had no cuts or abrasions at all. Checked Mr. Wonderful, thought perhaps they had a fight, but he was fine. All the girls were good, so was clueless. By this time it was almost dark and all the bantams were in the coop so locked them up for the night. But when I let them out the next morning, Maximus came out and was bloodied. I felt horrible that I never thought to check them. When I think back, the gate to the LF run was open when I went out that evening, so apparently they had at it while I was gone for the couple of hours. Brought Max in and he got a warm bath, has some cuts on the back of his neck, comb and wattles. Missing some feathers in spots also, but looks much better after the bath. He did end up with some frostbite on his comb probably because of the blood, but that shouldn't be too bad. Wedding next weekend and can't wait! Hoping my DH back and legs can make it through the day. His back has him laid up at the moment, fingers crossed.

 

[Faraday40]

It has been busy this last week before the DD wedding and with the grandsons. Since my oldest grandson is on break from school, took them to open gym and was running around on Thursday afternoon. I got home about a half hour before lockup, and found McDreamy with blood on his chest feathers and on the side of his neck. At first, thought it was his no crow collar,( which I have to say is working nicely,) but it wasn't that. He had no cuts or abrasions at all. Checked Mr. Wonderful, thought perhaps they had a fight, but he was fine. All the girls were good, so was clueless. By this time it was almost dark and all the bantams were in the coop so locked them up for the night. But when I let them out the next morning, Maximus came out and was bloodied. I felt horrible that I never thought to check them. When I think back, the gate to the LF run was open when I went out that evening, so apparently they had at it while I was gone for the couple of hours. Brought Max in and he got a warm bath, has some cuts on the back of his neck, comb and wattles. Missing some feathers in spots also, but looks much better after the bath. He did end up with some frostbite on his comb probably because of the blood, but that shouldn't be too bad. Wedding next weekend and can't wait! Hoping my DH back and legs can make it through the day. His back has him laid up at the moment, fingers crossed.

Don't feel too bad. Chickens will be chickens & it seems mine always find a way to injure themselves at the most inconvenient times. I'd say a week before the big wedding is pretty inconvenient. I hope all goes well with your DD's big day - and that you don't have to worry about a house chicken while enjoying the celebration. We'll also pray that your aches may pass so you can enjoy the dance floor. Have a wonderful time!

The idea of mixing chickens & weddings came up with some very unusual images.....
Hope you get a good laugh.

I even read a thread about someone coloring their silkie to attend a friend's wedding. LOL

 

[Faraday40]

@MeepBeep

Got my 1st little blue-green egg from your CCL! (Real color is much darker.)

She missed the nest box.... and even the coop, but she's learning. I found the egg out in the run. She'll be 6 months next weekend.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Don't feel too bad. Chickens will be chickens & it seems mine always find a way to injure themselves at the most inconvenient times. I'd say a week before the big wedding is pretty inconvenient. I hope all goes well with your DD's big day - and that you don't have to worry about a house chicken while enjoying the celebration. We'll also pray that your aches may pass so you can enjoy the dance floor. Have a wonderful time!

The idea of mixing chickens & weddings came up with some very unusual images.....
Hope you get a good laugh.

I even read a thread about someone coloring their silkie to attend a friend's wedding. LOL

These are my top 3 picks why I don't know, but love the cake topper and the hot pink silkie in pearls, but that bride in the middle pic looks too young to be a bride, and wonder if the chicken she is holding pooped on her dress. LOL

 

[ChicagoClucker]

I just want to let all of the wild animals know that I live in the city not the country! Now I have a FOX, trolling my yard! Come on now, coyotes, foxes, possums, raccoons and my son saw a skunk one nite. They are making me nervous. I am sitting at the kitchen table with my coat on and keep going out to check on my babies. DH is laughing at me.

Also, there is someone from Sterling, Il. looking for a Salmon Faverolle Rooster, anyone have any?