My first Quail. A mini blog.

[pac]

And I just found a dead one. Not a mark on it. Not one I moved into the brooder today either.

 

[pac]

It's a start

Yesterday I saw one of the roos paying a lot of attention to my older female.

 

[pac]

One thing that was bothering me, especially as quickly as the chicks go through food, but not wanting to take up more floor space with another small feeder or one larger one, was the inefficiency of filling those typical round base feeders.
There really isn't a way to have a full jar of food and the base also full. Not with having to screw the two pieces together. You know what I'm talking about.

I posted the question in the chicken forum and someone mentioned not having a top in his feeder. It came that way. Today I modified mine and cut the top out.

Now it's a simple matter to pour food in the jar until both the base and the jar are full.
And hopefully with the base always being full that little yellow one will stop climbing inside But at least I'll notice her by looking in through the open top.

That's her right here. One of the late hatchers that had the curled toes.

 

[pac]

No eggs yesterday, but today was a two egg day.
I think my other hen might have started laying. It was a slightly smaller egg out in the middle of the enclosed area. Not the usual size or location I've been finding them.

I've yet to feel a warm one though.

I also ordered some quail egg size cartons. It seems like a tidier way to store them.

 

[pac]

So egg production seems sporadic. Some days no eggs, then two the following morning. Maybe I'm too used to when I had chickens.

I candled the last batch this morning, with lockdown this afternoon.
Started with 48; lost 8 or 9 due to the 8 day shipping; found a couple more showing cracks and no shadow during candling; ended up with 19 back in the 'bator. Some very suspect. As in no air sac, just one big shadow.

 

[pac]

Shoot.
I just opened up the bag of gamebird feed and they gave me pellets, not crumbles.

I read some say it's fine and others say they grind them... of course, lol.
I'm going to see what the store says. If that is all they have or if they will take it back. I need to get more starter anyway.

 

[FatherFalcon]

Shoot.
I just opened up the bag of gamebird feed and they gave me pellets, not crumbles.

I read some say it's fine and others say they grind them... of course, lol.
I'm going to see what the store says. If that is all they have or if they will take it back. I need to get more starter anyway.

I’ve been in that situation… I ended up using it in a ninja blender as mash form for my special needs birds. I’d say half I ground down to a crumble with a brick for the chicks. (Kinda felt like grinding corn )

I know it’s supposed to be already proportionally mixed for consistency in consumption of nutrients and minerals in the pellets. But if they eat all the crumble or if ground down to powder, they still have the same amount of food… I’m speculating…

The feeling of wasting feed is terrible. I hope you find a way to use those pellets.

 

[pac]

The thought of grinding down a lg bag of pellets into crumbles is pretty terrible, too.

I think I'm going to see if they eat it. I'll put some in the hens' oyster shell cup and see if it disappears or gets tossed out.

 

[pac]

Oh, almost forgot.

I saw blood in the boys' hutch when I got back from the store.

They were pretty antsy when I left. As were the girls.

I looked and looked and finally saw blood on one of the roo's feet. Actually both, but one looked like collateral damage. The one with fresh blood seemed to be bothering him. He would hold it up now and then, but would walk on it, too. Nothing looks out of place.

No idea what happened, but they've been chasing each other and walking over each other without the ladies.
Everyone's beaks looked clean.

 

[pac]

No more blood on any of the quail. But I'm not sure how his feet got cleaned...

I think I know which one it was though. There is one with the thinnest, almost like a razor cut, on top of the joints on one foot.
Best guess is they were stumbling around and crawling over each other, like they've done since chicks, and he got upended and dragged it's feet across the top of the hardware cloth. Granted, it's vinyl coated, but that's my best guess. Somebody did not want to be on the bottom.