My first batch of quail eggs.

[dc3085]

Even though that chick water font won't let them down I still fill mine with the flattened marbles from the dollar store. That way they can't track water off their feet into the cage. They get poop feet quicker if they can walk in the water. Try to remove chicks with damaged yolk sacs ASAP so they don't spread infection also they survive pretty frequently if you isolate them and keep them warm (assuming they were still alive, the other chicks typically rupture the yolk sac causing them to bleed to death so you have a short window)

Lookin good though, there are quite a few meals running around in those pictures. Don't use baggies if you freeze them a vacuum sealer is a must or they get covered in freezer dust as soon as they freeze. If you have never processed them you can click on my profile and I have videos that show how to slaughter and process. Luck!

 

[Chook-Girl]

looks good. Mine are inside in a small plastic tub. I have 4 in at the moment and 5 in the incubator to go in tomorrow morning. I want to turn the white light off so they get some rest. If it were a red lamp I wouldn't hesitate to keep it on... might actually buy a red lamp after that self revelation! Hah.

Gonna switch it off now and see how the quailettes react.

If you have other chickens don't put them outside because my austerlorp ate them.

 

[dc3085]

If you have other chickens don't put them outside because my austerlorp ate them.

Chickens carry diseases that can be fatal to quail.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ldnt-put-quail-and-chickens-together-update-3

My quail never have the white light turned off for the first four weeks. There are no adverse effects.

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote: While I am a very firm believer in the powers and effects of the infra-red bulb, LOL, and refuse to use any other type of lighting, here is an interesting article about lighting, the different wavelengths and the effects on poultry....

http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~mdarre/poultrypages/light_inset.html

 

[James the Bald]

x2 on 2Crows link. Here is some more information pertaining to "lights".
James

 

[teradragon]

fascinating read. I'm keeping the white light on for 14 hours and the blue bulb stays on over night. So not in total darkness. think they should be ok with that setup then.

 

[dc3085]

While I am a very firm believer in the powers and effects of the infra-red bulb, LOL, and refuse to use any other type of lighting, here is an interesting article about lighting, the different wavelengths and the effects on poultry....

http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~mdarre/poultrypages/light_inset.html

It's a great article and I understand the added benefits of other types of lighting, but realistically I have experienced no adverse effects of the white light on chicks after 5 years of doing this and raising several generations of my own birds through their full lifecycles.

 

[ggschulz]

Even though that chick water font won't let them down I still fill mine with the flattened marbles from the dollar store. That way they can't track water off their feet into the cage. They get poop feet quicker if they can walk in the water. Try to remove chicks with damaged yolk sacs ASAP so they don't spread infection also they survive pretty frequently if you isolate them and keep them warm (assuming they were still alive, the other chicks typically rupture the yolk sac causing them to bleed to death so you have a short window)

Lookin good though, there are quite a few meals running around in those pictures. Don't use baggies if you freeze them a vacuum sealer is a must or they get covered in freezer dust as soon as they freeze. If you have never processed them you can click on my profile and I have videos that show how to slaughter and process. Luck!

Thanks for the freedback! I'm using the quail bases on those fonts, so even as chicks there isn't much room for them to "jump in" and I haven't noticed them trying, but I will consider the marbles if I have any issues.

I removed the yolk sac chicks as soon as I noticed them when I got home from work. The one was already dead, the other was pretty well gone, both in the incubator. There are just a few stragglers left hatching, so there were only a couple other chicks in there with them.

I do have a Food Saver, and that was my plan. Do you suggest brining them at all, or just freezing them fresh? I will likely have a "harvesting party" when it is time to process this first batch, so between the 8-12 I keep to breed and the 20 or so we will go through that day feeding the help, there may only be 20 or so to freeze, if all goes well.

Nice videos on processing! I have seen a couple different methods, but I think your shears and then cutting down and removing the backbone seems the cleanest and quickest.

It looks like you live in town, so nice work on being able to be a country boy in the city! Where are you located at? I may be interested in diversifying my blood lines with new birds or hatching eggs at some point. I think the group I got was a little on the inbred side...

Next project is Texas A&Ms. The person I gotten the Tibetan eggs from is probably going to send me a group of Eggs in a couple weeks.

 

[dc3085]

Thanks for the freedback! I'm using the quail bases on those fonts, so even as chicks there isn't much room for them to "jump in" and I haven't noticed them trying, but I will consider the marbles if I have any issues.

I removed the yolk sac chicks as soon as I noticed them when I got home from work. The one was already dead, the other was pretty well gone, both in the incubator. There are just a few stragglers left hatching, so there were only a couple other chicks in there with them.

I do have a Food Saver, and that was my plan. Do you suggest brining them at all, or just freezing them fresh? I will likely have a "harvesting party" when it is time to process this first batch, so between the 8-12 I keep to breed and the 20 or so we will go through that day feeding the help, there may only be 20 or so to freeze, if all goes well.

Nice videos on processing! I have seen a couple different methods, but I think your shears and then cutting down and removing the backbone seems the cleanest and quickest.

It looks like you live in town, so nice work on being able to be a country boy in the city! Where are you located at? I may be interested in diversifying my blood lines with new birds or hatching eggs at some point. I think the group I got was a little on the inbred side...

Next project is Texas A&Ms. The person I gotten the Tibetan eggs from is probably going to send me a group of Eggs in a couple weeks.

I don't brine mine but if your going to do definitely freeze them in the brine I marinade red meats before I freeze them and it always turns out great later.

When you get that method of processing down you can finish each bird in just 2-3 minutes. Its a big time saver for me when I'm doing 30 or 40.

I moved to the city (San Francisco area) about 8 years ago for work, and was going crazy being away from the farm. The city limits almost any poultry you would want to keep except coturnix so I got into raising quail about 5 years ago to help stay sane.

 

[Striker911]

Shoot, I am so behind on here. I had no notice of new content being posted.
So here is my update. The first go around was pretty much a flop. I only had the 5 out of 15 that hatched. 8 that went full term and just did not bust out : (. Out of the 5 one has pasted on so far. I wish I knew what went wrong cause I am not so sure it was only the absence of a fan but who am I to say for sure. I am going to be selling the little giant on ebay and putting the funds towards something else. Not sure if I want to take on building one, but I will keep that option open. One thing is for sure though. Will a fail of that magnitude I can no longer see this set up with hope in my eyes. More like disappointment lol. I put the bag on one side to block the light when watching TV.

If I just go with something off the shelf I have 3 in mind. I have yet to research them, though I think the cheaper one is more reasonable.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300888991339?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151028768330?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271175034696?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649