LGBTQ+ Poultry Keepers

[Teneniel]

Anyone in here do quail?

I do!

 

[jolenesdad]

I do!

I’m thinking of adding a few celadon quail... I’m sick of chasing blue eggs in chickens.

if I have a 5x4 ft space inside my coop/run that I usually use for raising chicks or broodies, could I convert that for quail? Is it too close to the chickens?

can they be remotely tame? Like am I going to have a huge disaster of flying screaming quail trying to open the 3 foot wide door to that space to get in and tend to them? I like the idea of them being on the ground where I can create a natural environment s opposed to in a separate pen off the ground....

 

[Teneniel]

I’m thinking of adding a few celadon quail... I’m sick of chasing blue eggs in chickens.

if I have a 5x4 ft space inside my coop/run that I usually use for raising chicks or broodies, could I convert that for quail? Is it too close to the chickens?

can they be remotely tame? Like am I going to have a huge disaster of flying screaming quail trying to open the 3 foot wide door to that space to get in and tend to them? I like the idea of them being on the ground where I can create a natural environment s opposed to in a separate pen off the ground....

View attachment 2331775

How cool!! So, yes to all, with some caveats haha!

The pen is amazing, and would be fun for up to a dozen or so depending on how many roosters you want. I wouldn’t do more than 2. I don’t know how high the ceiling is, but you want either 11-18” or more than 6’, so when they flush straight up they don’t get head bonk. You can just add bird netting a foot or so below the ceiling if it’s between there so they bump into something soft and springy.

Quail can become tame but it takes a LOT of daily handling from hatch, in my experience. You may get the occasional bird who likes to charge the entrance, but I’ve found that making the same noise or phrase before opening my cages will cause them all to learn what’s about to happen, and they just move away from me. I do always keep a net nearby and they’re easy to catch when they escape. I say “when” because it’s just kind of a quail fact of life for most.

Only one of my escapees went straight over the fence and never came back at a time that I was able to find her. She did leave us a few eggs before disappearing for good though. They’re very social so they’ll typically call out to the lost ones and you’ll find them the next day puttering around. With yours being like coop-ception though, I doubt that will be an issue!

I’m mentally putting together a ground pen too, so I totally understand. They love looking through their fresh soil boxes when I do my weekly clean.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[jolenesdad]

How cool!! So, yes to all, with some caveats haha!

The pen is amazing, and would be fun for up to a dozen or so depending on how many roosters you want. I wouldn’t do more than 2. I don’t know how high the ceiling is, but you want either 11-18” or more than 6’, so when they flush straight up they don’t get head bonk. You can just add bird netting a foot or so below the ceiling if it’s between there so they bump into something soft and springy.

Quail can become tame but it takes a LOT of daily handling from hatch, in my experience. You may get the occasional bird who likes to charge the entrance, but I’ve found that making the same noise or phrase before opening my cages will cause them all to learn what’s about to happen, and they just move away from me. I do always keep a net nearby and they’re easy to catch when they escape. I say “when” because it’s just kind of a quail fact of life for most.

Only one of my escapees went straight over the fence and never came back at a time that I was able to find her. She did leave us a few eggs before disappearing for good though. They’re very social so they’ll typically call out to the lost ones and you’ll find them the next day puttering around. With yours being like coop-ception though, I doubt that will be an issue!

I’m mentally putting together a ground pen too, so I totally understand. They love looking through their fresh soil boxes when I do my weekly clean.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

It is like exactly 6 feet tall. Will they get on any sort of level like a stump or anything do they really stay just on the ground? I can add some netting in some way for sure.

 

[Teneniel]

It is like exactly 6 feet tall. Will they get on any sort of level like a stump or anything do they really stay just on the ground? I can add some netting in some way for sure.

Hmmmm I’m not too sure. I have hutches and they don’t seem to enjoy going over any edges bigger than the catboxes I use for their dirt, sand, and hay. I bet Kiki or Nabiki would know. (I don’t wanna tag anyone into a thread this fragile).

The one who hopped my 4’ perimeter fence barely cleared it, fwiw.

 

[Kusanar]

Does anyone do a fall garden?

I'm not this year. I am still building soil in my beds, so I need time to be able to get everything OUT and till good stuff in before I plant again. I do everything by hand, so I don't want a lot that has to be done in 1-2 days.

Well, I MAY do garlic, a guy my husband works with may be giving me some garlic as it sounds like he got too much for his garden, but if so, I will try it in a hay bale garden rather than putting it in my actual garden bed so it isn't in the way.

The garden next year will have some cool season crops (beets, carrots, and leaf lettuce) growing in the partial shade below my other plants so I will have those seeds left over at the end of the year and may try them in fall 2021 depending on if i still need to baby the garden or not (depends on how much I get done with it this winter)

 

[ChocolateMouse]

We actually planted a fall crop of zucchini about a month ago that are starting to really flower now and we have radishes and peas in too. It's our first time trying for a fall crop of anything so we have high hopes and low expectations. XD

 

[aart]

Does anyone do a fall garden?

All my gardens fell long ago, don't even plant garlic anymore.

 

[Teneniel]

I can't garden for the life of me in a good year, and this year has been SO bad. I did have a nice crop of radishes in a container, and nasturtium in my full sun bed, but that's everything that made it to harvest. I'm going to sow a cover crop and hope for better weather next year.

 

[jolenesdad]

All my gardens fell long ago, don't even plant garlic anymore.

This is my foreshadowing I can see it. I’m thinking of starting so super small and like adding a plant or two a year so you’re only adding something once you get a handle on everything g else.