Protecting quail from wind

[SuseyQ]

jwalk2515,
Please let me know the quail groups you frequent on Facebook. it sounds like you are located in an areas that gets a lot of sun and wind as well. So no matter how well the hatchery packages the eggs there is typically a lot of loss? Is there a hatchery that you like best?

I'd love to see pictures of your setup. It would help me a lot. I have to be cautious about southern exposure too. There is one room in our house that faces the south and it is 10 degrees hotter than the other rooms as are the western facing rooms that don't have a patio in front of them.

It sounds like the odor they produce can't be too bad if you have yours against your house. I've heard the brooder aroma can be really bad.

Glad to learn that they can't really peck at the plastic or shade cloth. I'd hate to have to continually replace because of holes they make.

Thank You,
SuseyQ

 

[jwalk2515]

Im in North Texas, Dallas area so lots of sun for sure. Eggs can be tricky, they show up looking good, but the handling of the package can be tough on them. Most of mine are from James Marie Farms and from Julie Douglas (she'll be on groups in FB). Both ship with eggs pretty secure, but post office can still play football with them.

I actually have my brooders in my office, I work from home, and have had 60+ birds at a time in here. Have to clean daily and I have used both doggie pee pads, towels and wood shavings in the brooders. pee pads are the easiest to deal with. I keep in plastic tubs for brooders until they feather out, 3-4 weeks, before moving outside. Never an issue except when I have too many boys and they start to crow in my office while I am on the phone.

I built all my cages out of a variety of designs and materials. I keep mine in colony style cages versus small breeder pens. Its a personal choice and I like to see them move around and interact plus they are still just a hobby for me. If I was breeding for colors or wanted more egg production I could make intelligent choices to use less space, less feed etc but some of mine have names from my wife and daughter and are treated accordingly.

FB groups
United Coturnix Breeders - Robbie from JMF is the admin
Quail Breeders United - Alexandra Douglas, author of book, Coturnix Revolution, is admin
Backyard quail - fairly active.
There are others but these are my favorites and have lots of pictures of cages and birds. very friendly people that want to help

 

[SuseyQ]

jwalk2515,
I guess we have similar weather in ways. I know you have colder longer winters and more humidity, we have more heat and dryness. But similar. I lived in Mineral Wells for a year so I've been in that area.

I like the idea of using pee pads. Though I'm sure they are a bit more costly. What is a colony style? In fact what is a tractor pen? Since your quail are a hobby, what do you do with them? Are they mostly for laying eggs? Do you ever eat the meat?

I don't believe naming birds isn't such a good idea if you are planning to cull them. Do you cull the males or just put up with their noise?

I'm enjoying continuing to learn, thank you,
SuseyQ

 

[jwalk2515]

breeder pens are typically smaller, designed for a couple pairs with limited room to move around, my colony pens range from 3x3, 2x5 to 4x8 and free to move about inside. converted rabbit hutch or whatever else works. for tractor, google chicken tractor.

Mine are primarily for egg, both eating and hatching. fully intend to have a culling soon, my last hatch had an excess number of boys and they should be tasty. They really arent that loud at all. nothing like a chicken. peeled boiled eggs for hours last weekend. They pile up fast.

My named ones are all in one cage and off limits for anything other than looking at and gathering eggs. If I tried to eat them there would be a mutiny.

This weekend I am setting my first set of eggs that are all from my own birds. Shouldnt need outside birds for a few years to freshen up bloodlines. I am hoping to hatch some silvers this time and will breed them for color once they are old enough.

 

[SuseyQ]

jwalk2515,
Okay, I see. Breeder pens are probably used more at larger hatcheries. My hutches, when they get built will either be 2 X 3' or 2' X 6'. The more I read the more I like the idea of the smaller pens, but again I haven't decided.

How frequently do you hatch eggs and how many birds do you keep in your pens. I'm trying to figure out what happens after the first hatching and culling.

Good to hear the special ones are kept separately. I know my kids would be the same way if they opted to name one or two.

Breeding for color is mostly to see if you can do it, right? Plus the beauty of the different colors.

Thank you again,
SuseyQ

 

[jwalk2515]

On colors, yes basically because you can. Being the first to have a new color combination can be lucrative, silvers were introduced into the US last year and the demand for them is huge, But they are still all the same bird, just in different appearances.

The general rule seems to be one bird for every sqft of space, some say less, some say more. I think more is ok with the larger pens as long as you remove any aggressive ones. The problem is, its addictive. At first my wife thought I was crazy when I kept hatching, now she says, when are we getting more babies. We have some cages that rush to the doors to be pet like cats because she would hold them every day when they were young.

Some people hatch weekly and thousands at a time. I did several last year till I had more birds than cages and then had to sell some. now I will do smaller hatches of eggs from certain cages and only certain size eggs and use those to replace birds that get too old to lay regularly. If I had more land I would build more cages and have birds and eggs for sale all the time.

 

[Em Ty]

EmTy,
You are probably right about the light, that's why I'm thinking the patio would work best, but I am concerned that they could be too smelly so I'm not 100% this will work. This is not enclosed, but it does have a roof and we do put up shade cloth in the summer because we get the western sun which is terribly hot. During the windy season we have had far success with the shade cloth on the patio. Sometimes it's too windy and must be raised. This cuts down on our cooling bills tremendously. Do the quail peck at the plastic or anything else keeping out the wind/sun?

I'm thinking eventually I'll get meat birds, but I'll start with the layers first. One step at a time.

Thank You,
SuseyQ

If you stay on top of cleaning you can keep the smell to a minimum, but it can get messy sometimes. You don't need to baby them as much as you think. I haven't used any plastic film that they can get to, so I don't know if they'll peck it, but thicker (6mil and up) plastic might be fine.

 

[SuseyQ]

jwalk2515,
I hear you about the addiction. Right now I'm so excited about this and I don't even have birds yet. Soon though. I'll have to figure out the volume by learning what the area will handle. I have a co-op market so I can sell eggs there. I might be able to sell some chicks at the feed store and I might be able to sell some meat at the co-op market as well. Other than that we don't have much of a market except farmers markets here and there. So we shall see. First and foremost they will be for my personal use. I have more land, but I don't know if I'd want to put them in our outer yard. We have lots and lots of rates, coyotes, owls, hawks and the like. Plus I'm not sure I'm up to doing this full time, all day long. The other thing is I'm planning to start raising rabbits after the quail get established so I think I have plenty on my plate. The cages aren't a problem to me, it's finding good locations for them that seems to be my greatest concern and I definitely want to keep them on the porches d/t the heat and very bright sun we have here.

Nice visiting again,
SuseyQ

 

[SuseyQ]

EmTy,
Do you remove your birds when you clean your cages to temporary housing? If so how many temporary houses do you have (ratio) to the number of cages you have?

Thank you again for your support,
SuseyQ

 

[swbradley]

I usually just put mine in a Sterilite container when I am cleaning the cages. Also, if you build a 2x6 cage you can add dividers as you need them. I also use a clear polycarbonate panel from Home Depot. I drill a few small holes at the top and just hook it on my cages when the weather is bad or wind is high.