Minnesota!

[Minniechickmama]

Hey!!! the quail are coming this morning, right before I go fishing. Expect pictures soon. I have to go see about living quarters, they are coming with a cage that they live in but I would like to see them have contact with the ground and probably can make the small coop work for them.

I hope you have read about the males and how they will fight to the death once they reach that glorious age of sexual maturity?

 

[Minniechickmama]

If you had just a dozen or so Guineas, you would have no bugs in you garden. Now if we only could think of someone willing to part with some guineas, or maybe trade something for them...Hmmmmm

I have told you the reasons why I don't have the crazy birds here already. I have a friend who's brother raises some, and I know where I can get good breeders, but I see no point in getting them when they will just get killed by my dogs or yotes or stupidly go in the road, etc. I would love to have them if I could contain them to the areas I know the dogs won't get them and they can still get out and roam. Until then, or until I stop caring about those things, I won't be getting any. But nice try!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Ralphie.

I'm so glad that she felt the need to school book ya on cream legbar terminology.
Rofl. Everybody else on there seems normal.

 

[lalaland]

yup it is fall rush to get the chores done time.....

canning, mowing, fencing, winterizing coops (that means cleaning out and resetting up for more interior space for me, and cleaning the blackberry canes out of the run so they will have more room once I am confining them a bit more for hawk protection). and then there is winterizing the stuff that has motors, and moving the stuff that can't freeze out of the shed and coop, and finding the winter shovels and getting firewood, and....and....I'm working up a sweat just making a list!


I love these bobwhite quail. They got hauled up in a cage on a trailer behind a truck, out in the open. You would think they would be terrified, but got them into the run and they ran straight for the dustbaths and started dust flying for about 10 minutes. Small! like softball size. Really wanted water - the water in their cage was slimy brown. they make a tiny whistling coo noise, but the people who gave them to me said they can make quite a racket. I ended up with 8 as there were some apparent escapees in their yard. I think there must be males and females in this group but haven't figured that out yet. I will try with pictures again, but they blend in so well with the weeds and dirt in the run that you can hardly see them in person, let alone on a camera.

I've read they need really high protein, but they will make do for a day or two on chicken feed. I have some finely ground stuff with oats that they seem to appreciate. Oh do I have a lot to learn!

Off to go fishing! ok, I'm planning on just vegging, but....nothing nice than a group of good friends on a pontoon on a river and lake, and a beautiful day like today!

Enjoy the day everyone

And Ralphie,.....don't get tossed off the turkey thread!

 

[NikonD2xer]

Thanks for the name suggestions, be her name is now MAIZY. I just can't say no to the nieces.

Maizy is a really laid back puppy. She barks when she needs out if her kennel to go outside. She played with my brothers dog today with no problem at all, even ran over a licked two cats and turned around and came running back. She visited my parents today and promptly laid down and just watched everyone after she got treats of small pieces of beef jerky.

She got a lil too close to a rooster this morning. He puffed up and was going to lay into her, she barked just once and gave a quick lunge and backed the rooster down. I am glad i didn't have to get into the middle of that one.

I think i lucked out with my lil mixed breed mutt

 

[Cebarmlds]

Thanks for the name suggestions, be her name is now MAIZY. I just can't say no to the nieces.

Maizy is a really laid back puppy. She barks when she needs out if her kennel to go outside. She played with my brothers dog today with no problem at all, even ran over a licked two cats and turned around and came running back. She visited my parents today and promptly laid down and just watched everyone after she got treats of small pieces of beef jerky.

She got a lil too close to a rooster this morning. He puffed up and was going to lay into her, she barked just once and gave a quick lunge and backed the rooster down. I am glad i didn't have to get into the middle of that one.

I think i lucked out with my lil mixed breed mutt

Maizy is a cute name! I like it. Sounds like she's gonna be a good dog

 

[duluthralphie]

I have told you the reasons why I don't have the crazy birds here already. I have a friend who's brother raises some, and I know where I can get good breeders, but I see no point in getting them when they will just get killed by my dogs or yotes or stupidly go in the road, etc. I would love to have them if I could contain them to the areas I know the dogs won't get them and they can still get out and roam. Until then, or until I stop caring about those things, I won't be getting any. But nice try!

A guy has to try. The main reason I want to get rid of them is because of the road I live on and people insisting driving 75 on it. I ill never give up trying!

 

[lalaland]

I hope you have read about the males and how they will fight to the death once they reach that glorious age of sexual maturity?

uh....no....am still reading up. I think I might have 3 males and 5 females, or 4 and 4, not really sure yet. I did read somewhere that if they have big enough space that the aggression is less likely to be a problem. Apparently lots of people keep the quail in rabbit type hutches! on wire cages off the ground. Seems kind of strange.

The quail spent a ton of time dust bathing, and nibbling on weeds the chickens wouldn't eat. Tonight, I had to crawl into the pen (its about 4' tall) and slowly shoo them into the coop. Not sure whether quail go inside on their own, the reading I'm doing again is about raising them in cages. I will work on fortifying the pen this week, it just needs wire laid on the ground on the perimeter of the run so nothing can dig under.

I took home minnows that didn't get used up fishing. Poured them in a pie plate and the chickens went fishing. They are hilarious to watch with the minnows and of course there was plenty of chasing to try to steal the minnow from each other.

 

[Minniechickmama]

uh....no....am still reading up. I think I might have 3 males and 5 females, or 4 and 4, not really sure yet. I did read somewhere that if they have big enough space that the aggression is less likely to be a problem. Apparently lots of people keep the quail in rabbit type hutches! on wire cages off the ground. Seems kind of strange.

The quail spent a ton of time dust bathing, and nibbling on weeds the chickens wouldn't eat. Tonight, I had to crawl into the pen (its about 4' tall) and slowly shoo them into the coop. Not sure whether quail go inside on their own, the reading I'm doing again is about raising them in cages. I will work on fortifying the pen this week, it just needs wire laid on the ground on the perimeter of the run so nothing can dig under.

I took home minnows that didn't get used up fishing. Poured them in a pie plate and the chickens went fishing. They are hilarious to watch with the minnows and of course there was plenty of chasing to try to steal the minnow from each other.

From reading and hearing from quail breeders, it isn't just in a hutch set-up. It sounds like they are as territorial and pheasant cocks.

 

[Cluckies]

Well, it is Coop Knox!

It is all done but the stain and drain tile/landscaping. My husband said we should wait to stain it until the dang wet Menards wood is dry, it is terrible. Water comes out of it when you screw them together, hopefully as it dries it don't bend and twist the heck out of my run. Anywhoo, you can tell where the original henhouse and run were, then the add on run. so excited! alot more room for them to roam, especially in the winter!

Front


Side that faces the road


Side that faces the back, added another door to the run.


Got a big branch up front there


Hardware cloth betwen the lower and upper roofs. (screwed and nailed down)

I'll eat my sock if anything can get in this run to kill my girls.

So, at one time today while out working, with the girls out free ranging, there were 4 eagles, 1 parent and 3 babies, and 2 hawks right on top of each other! This is why they can't free range without me out there. I'd have no girls left to build a coop for!