With my roosters Peach and Rocky finally maturing, I made the decision to get some more hens. My house is now full of quail (help!). It took me 2 days of intense observation but I finally can tell the new ladies apart, so I want to introduce them.
Meet Sweetpea (the most lax of the group, doesn’t like hands but will sit still if you pick her up without restraining her):
Honey (has the lightest face pattern, very feisty though):
Big Bertha (the biggest lady of the bunch):
Damsel (has slanted eyes - also a diva):
Nora (has a beard!):
And finally, Robyn (appears to have a broken wing):
I’m not really sure what I expected from farm bred quail, but I really saddens me just how different their behaviours are to my home reared ones. I don’t believe they were battery hens since I’ve heard good things about Moonridge farm, but they seem to have a lacklustre for life that makes me want them to thrive. I expected untamedness and skittishness but they go limp when you hold them, and sit in the corner of the cage most of the day with their heads low. Only a couple have any sort of interest for morios, but even that is with caution and not excitement. I really hope to see them improve soon.
Meet Sweetpea (the most lax of the group, doesn’t like hands but will sit still if you pick her up without restraining her):
Honey (has the lightest face pattern, very feisty though):
Big Bertha (the biggest lady of the bunch):
Damsel (has slanted eyes - also a diva):
Nora (has a beard!):
And finally, Robyn (appears to have a broken wing):
I’m not really sure what I expected from farm bred quail, but I really saddens me just how different their behaviours are to my home reared ones. I don’t believe they were battery hens since I’ve heard good things about Moonridge farm, but they seem to have a lacklustre for life that makes me want them to thrive. I expected untamedness and skittishness but they go limp when you hold them, and sit in the corner of the cage most of the day with their heads low. Only a couple have any sort of interest for morios, but even that is with caution and not excitement. I really hope to see them improve soon.
