online Crazy Egg Chain Chat thread

[shelleyd2008]

I rearranged chicks today. Had to clean the big brooder out on the porch so I could move some out that should have been outside a few weeks ago. Then I put the 2 and 3 week old quail together, the 1-3 week old chicks together, and put the 2 week old guineas out on the porch with the older chicks. That leaves me with a brooder full of 1-3 week old chicks, a brooder with 12 or so 2 and 3 week old coturnix, another brooder with 7 3-week old pheasants, another with 2 3-day-old ducklings (one rouen, one muscovy

), and another brooder for the coturnix who just started hatching today....all in the house

If people would buy the coturnix eggs I might be able to stop hatching....yeah right, who am I kidding??

 

[shellyga]

Quote:
you sound like me.. although right now not quite as many brooders in the house.. I have one brooder with only seven 1 week old chicks, another set up for the newly hatched (so far just ONE- so I had to put one of the smaller week olds in there for company), one for bobwhite quail.

Outside I have the "wooden brooder" as we call it.. 8 feet long/2 feet wide.. has 30+ chicks from 3-5 weeks old. It is located in our chick grow out pen with probably 20+ on the floor.. ages 6 weeks and up.

I tried to keep up with just what chick was where and for the most part that works well.. until they move outside.. then I seem to lose track...

I sell a few chicks from the outside area so that is my excuse.. plus..most of my chick deaths seem to come when they move outside in our heat.. last week with a terrible rain.. I lost 6 that refused to move away from the wire to the center of the coop..so they got wet.. and never recovered.

I have a list.. with hatch dates.. so once they go out in the yard with the "big chickens" I know that this one is 15 weeks old.. and that one SHOULD be laying at 25 weeks old.. etc.

long story short.. I have a lot of chicks/chickens...

Shelly

 

[CapricornFarm]

My chicks are all outside, thank goodness. Some in the garage, some under the overhang of the garage. I am having a hard time imagining what these baby quail are going to look like. The eggs are so tiny.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Probably like this:

They hatched yesterday

ETA: They are pretty small when they hatch but they grow very fast...doubling in size every week for the first 3-4 weeks.

 

[CapricornFarm]

aww , cute! So when I come back after vacation they will be twice as big ! Cool! When are they big enough to keep them on wire? Somebody said Bob whites will kill coturnix, so when do I have to separate them? Or do I need to separate right away. Sorry, I am new at quail so I have lots of questions. At least I know they need to be separate from the chickens.;-)

 

[emvickrey]

I came home today and went to check on the chickens and gather what few eggs thats being laid and there was something running around in the sizzle pen. First I thought it was a mouse but after chasing it down it was a chick. I didn't expect them to hatch till next week. I got some pheasant eggs I put under a broody. There was the 1 I call the wanderer that refuses to stay in the nest with it's foster momma and then there where 2 more under her. She still has eggs I hope will hatch.

I moved her, her nest with the eggs and the 3 chicks to the side of the grow pen that was empty so the chicks don't get trampled by the others. I have another broody that has guinea eggs under her. I got some bantam belgin duncles in another swap and 1 hatched this morning but I had to cull it. It had too many issues. The rest of the eggs don't look like they are alive inside. I guess the x ray got to them.
I'll be putting quail eggs in the bator soon to see if they're fertile yet. I'm still getting silkie and sizzle eggs but not many. Most are broody.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
The one time I had bobs I kept them with coturnix until I sold them (bobs), which was about 6 weeks old or so. But everyone says you need to keep them separate. The bobs are very aggressive, coturnix can be but usually aren't.

ETA: This time of year I usually move any 'keepers' outside around 3 weeks old and they are put in cages with 1/2" x 1" wire on the floor.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Okay, someone tell me...are hens psychic?? I have 2 silkie/cochin mix hens, aka 'cochilkies', one is black and one is white. I was planning on taking at least 1 pair (they have matching boyfriends) to the auction tomorrow, probably would have taken both. So of course the black is now sitting on eggs again

I swear, every time I've decided to take them off they go broody! This will be the 3rd or 4th time this year...I've lost count.

This is the black one, I'm sure her sister (the white) will be following suit very soon since they usually sit together. I'm taking their 15 chicks to auction tomorrow, this is the last batch they hatched. At least this time I'll give them some eggs I want them to hatch instead of having a bunch of ugly birds running around

 

[missred871]

Em are those my pheasants? Oh and you will want to take those babies from her and put them in a brooder, pheasants can catch something from chickens, but most importantly they can drive a chicken hen mad... literally. I never leave them with the hens, ever.

Trust me.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Why is it illegal to beat our kids to death?? Little booger got up this morning and let all the youngsters I was planning to take to auction out of their cages