Paneubert's Quail Aviary Adventure

[DK newbie]

No separate calcium at the moment. I have a bag of "chick" oyster shell, but it still look really large for the quail. I also have a couple dozen chicken egg shells that I have ground up, so I will most likely use those when they start laying, then feed their own shells back to them. Still undecided about if I will offer it separate, or if I will mix a little in with their feed each day.

I'd suggest going separate. Then you won't need to worry about getting the amount right, just make sure it's always available, and you won't be straining the organs of your roos as they try to get the overdosed calcium out of their system. I use chicken oyster shell and grind it up in a small blender. It's not very efficient, it's quite noisy and I suspect the blender won't survive doing it forever - but it doesn't really take that much to keep my buttons supplied with calcium, so for now it works for me.

 

[jennifleur]

Carpet grooming rakes or artifical turf rakes work well also. Many closely spaced tines that really comb though the sand and pdz. I got mine on amazon. Rake poop and debris into pile than...


Than I scoop up the poopy pile with a heavy duty metal mesh food cover I got at a kitchen supply. I wear gloves and can sift large amounts of sand in a go. Tones the arms also. The PDZ looks brand new after. A small plastic stool is a good add to a pen like that. Encourage visitors to sit, less chance of stepping on a quail during the visit.

 

[paneubert]

I sprouted some chia for the birds. Some seemed interested...



Some seemed a little more suspicious....

 

[paneubert]

A little hard to see, but this is all the ladies crowding into the one block of sun hitting their aviary at the moment. They seem to do this throughout the day. As the sun moves around, they tend to stay in it. Usually they lay down and stretch their legs out to the side. Weirdos..... Yesterday was a record day for temperature, and today is supposed to be equally hot. I was going to take the opportunity to worm them via their water, but I got lazy..... I think I will shoot for the next patch of hot weather to ensure they drink up the meds.

 

[paneubert]

VICTORY!!!!!!
Got my first egg!

 

[paneubert]

Second day with one egg. My wife was betting on 3, and I bet it would be 0-2 eggs. I suspect it is the same quail who is laying and the others have not caught on yet. This time the egg was 11 grams even.

 

[paneubert]

Another single egg day. 10.8 grams. Was laid in the doghouse in a little straw nest. Someone is ahead of the rest of the ladies......

 

[paneubert]

Doubled egg production today. How many people can say that? These were laid right next to each other in a small depression in the ground.

9.7 and 10.3

 

[DK newbie]

Lol I might be able to say it in a few weeks.. I have two buttons not laying due to being broody, two not laying due to having been moved recently and only two that do lay. But congratulations!

 

[jennifleur]

You will start to recognize the different eggs from different hens. Size, shape and spot pattern will be surprisingly consistent. One of my big girls always lays a small, pointy egg with small evenly scattered spots. Another always lays a large one with a more oval shape, large irregular splotches that cover 80% of the cream background. One person here even put food coloring in the vents of the hens so they could tell who was laying, and which eggs came from each hen.