Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[wingstone]

Is anyone within an hour of Lancaster still hatching quail... I can not meet demand... would be willing to buy about 50 a month if you are willing to hatch.

 

[stake]

Hope everyone is keeping warm. This cold and wind just gets to my bones!

Yesterday morning every State in the USA had somewhere in its boarders below freezing temperatures including Hawaii and Florida!

Yeppers....still chilly today, but nothing like yesterday, and what I got was nothing compared to the folks N and W of me got....

 

[hendricks115]

Where do you live! I would love to come and do a pick your own day---------at your orchard! if this was acceptable and mutually agreed upon arrangement could be made................sounds heavenly! I have currants ,gooseberry, blueberry, and strawberry , raspberries, plants that I am working on with very minimal yield............only 1-2 years so far and I dont have the best sun and places for them...........but I do think I can get get a good yield with careful planning and a bit of luck-------------then I also have a largely container veggie garden on my deck...........I have built one raised bed next to my chicken run for greens like spinach, leek, lettuce ............things that are more cool weather and can handle a little bit of shade.................. I wish I could get more yield on it all................but I do work at a regular job too and the chickens and garden can take time...................... anyway..............your yard sounds so healthy and wonderful!

I will keep you in mind next summer and fall! Some trees are just starting to hit maturity and we will start getting fruit. (my hubby picks all the blossoms off the first full year they are in the ground so the tree can get bigger/stronger instead of setting fruit) I will tell you, if I was still working full time outside away from home, it would be impossible to have and do all this. There are days that I spend 8 hours in the garden and then the next two days jarring/processing. I do it all with a 4 year old! We have a very large veggie garden in addition to all of the trees and berries. I still have a basket of quinces to figure out what to do with, beans drying and needing shucked and medlars bletting. If you get near the Ringtown area, drop a line and you are more than welcome to stop in.

 

[chiques chicks]

Is anyone within an hour of Lancaster still hatching quail... I can not meet demand... would be willing to buy about 50 a month if you are willing to hatch.

since I have quail rails and the upstairs of my barn is empty, I suppose I could start raising them. What is the age to maturity?. If I were to get my own breeders, at what rate do they lay eggs? Can breeders be kept in community pens? Inquiring minds want to know. The space requirement might not be an issue.

 

[fisherlady]

Fisher:

Mine get up before the sun and come off the roost, but don't leave the run(left open) until day break....I think they are pretty wary when they can't see what's out there....

Ours head out into their run as soon as the pop door is open.... that is the problem, it is ice cold and dark out but they still rush out as soon as we open it. I didn't expect chickens to be so willing to be out in the dark but it doesn't seem to bother (most of) ours at all in the morning! If we could set it on a timer they wouldn't be woke up/disturbed until after daylight.
They do often wake and roam around on the floor in the coop but it is a very quiet/mellow time until the door opens so they can get out into the run. We do have a handful with enough common sense to just hang out in the coop till after daylight, but our buckeyes, EEs and Rocks are horrible and the youngest of the chicks follow them out which is really the main thing I don't like. Our chicks (preteen and teen) are raised in the coop, so they do what they older birds do. They aren't given an option to free range outside of the run till later in the day when it is well after daylight and my dog can be outside with them.

 

[wingstone]

I worry way to my much, could those of you in the area, pop in and say all is OK.

http://6abc.com/traffic/2-dead-9-hurt-after-tractor-trailer-rams-cars-in-berks-co/401951/

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Speaking of free ranging, do you guys open the run up to let them out if they want, even when there's snow on the ground and it's so bitter cold? I've been keeping mine in. I just don't want them to get halfway across the yard and be freezing and not be able to just run into the coop. The 6 week Olds have been hunkered down in the coop all day today. Only a couple braved the chooks to come out and eat first thing this morning so I put a food dish inside with them so they wouldn't have to come out. They convinced me to do it though since they found that the crate Midnight is in with her babies has a bar missing and they wiggled their way in with her to steal their food lol. I blocked that opening off now lol.

 

[dheltzel]

since I have quail rails and the upstairs of my barn is empty, I suppose I could start raising them. What is the age to maturity?. If I were to get my own breeders, at what rate do they lay eggs? Can breeders be kept in community pens? Inquiring minds want to know. The space requirement might not be an issue.

The Coturnix are fast and easy. I think they start laying at about 6 weeks. You want to keep 6 - 10 females per male if possible and they can be housed in large groups or cages with just a single male and his harem. Generally they lay an egg a day, and hatch in 16 days, so it would be pretty easy to hatch and raise 50 a month, one male and a few females would achieve that easily.

I would recommend getting a good quality strain to start with, as some strains are bread to get much larger. The Texas A&M are probably the best for meat purposes.

 

[wingstone]

since I have quail rails and the upstairs of my barn is empty, I suppose I could start raising them. What is the age to maturity?. If I were to get my own breeders, at what rate do they lay eggs? Can breeders be kept in community pens? Inquiring minds want to know. The space requirement might not be an issue.

The Coturnix are fast and easy. I think they start laying at about 6 weeks. You want to keep 6 - 10 females per male if possible and they can be housed in large groups or cages with just a single male and his harem. Generally they lay an egg a day, and hatch in 16 days, so it would be pretty easy to hatch and raise 50 a month, one male and a few females would achieve that easily.

I would recommend getting a good quality strain to start with, as some strains are bread to get much larger. The Texas A&M are probably the best for meat purposes.

I generally start getting eggs at 8 weeks a few will start earlier,.. I try to always keep more than one male in a cage, I find that the girls can get real nasty to the boys,kind of spreads out the issue if more than one....they do need light but it can be as simple as the light coming from a window... biggest problem I have is they refuse to lay in a nest box, so you either need a roll out cage or a daily egg hunt... depending on the breed I process at 8 to 10 weeks.. I also stay away from the A&M. Most folks want darker meat on quail, A&M even though it is dark meat it is not as dark.... kind of like guinea, where as the darker feathered one's seemto be darker meat..
iI also need a few guinea a month, hubby does not want to raise them

 

[LadyBehir]

I guess I am leaning towards a heated water supply. There are days that I cannot get out there every 2 hours to change out their ice to water. So, what do you all use to keep the girls in fresh unfrozen water?