Quail Aviary 2.0

[Fishkeeper]

Oh, that's a beautiful red!

 

[le_bwah]

Oh, that's a beautiful red!

You mean the bird, right? That's Not-Curly, my lone rooster. He's a good boy who tidbits for the ladies and spreads his "love" around evenly. Very tame.

 

[Fishkeeper]

He looks like a perfect rooster. Do you know what color he is? I don't think I've ever seen a coturnix that's quite that intensely red, and I want some.

 

[007Sean]

Looks more like a partridge than a quail!

 

[le_bwah]

He looks like a perfect rooster. Do you know what color he is? I don't think I've ever seen a coturnix that's quite that intensely red, and I want some.

I've been calling him Tibetan . He looks almost black from above—the red only comes out when viewed from the side.

Can't recall the name of the egg seller on eBay, but he was part of a mixed lot—no telling if his mutation is true to "breed."

 

[le_bwah]

Anyone have experience with Coturnix making/sitting nests? Two of my hens have this behavior where they throw grass/bedding over their shoulders after laying. All the girls lay in the same spot, but only these two take turns sitting on the eggs—I'd think they were going broody except they're so easily shooed away.

The behavior I'm talking about. I thought I took a longer video, but turns out I wasn't recording .

What she was sitting on.

What do I have here? Are these girls "mama hen" material?

 

[Fishkeeper]

Chickens will do that when nesting and laying eggs, but it doesn't necessarily indicate broodiness. I'd take it to mean that your two girls might have more of the nest-related instincts than the others, which could mean they'd be more likely to go broody, but I don't think it means they're broody now.

 

[el dorado quail]

Those are beautiful eggs!

 

[DK newbie]

My buttons do that when going broody. If you want to improve your chances of them actually going broody and staying so, I'd try to close off the opening of the log some more with branches, hay, grass or similar so they feel more sheltered and comfortable in there - and don't feel the need to run off whenever you get near.
I don't know about cots, but my buttons are nothing like chickens in how tight they sit - they'll often run if I get within 2 ft of them. And sometimes that's enough to break the broodiness. Even if they return to the nest after they were scared away (they almost always do) they don't feel comfortable there anymore and are likely to abandon it in the next few days.

 

[igorsMistress]

@le_bwah looking great there!! I love the mushrooms too. I would paint them with glow in the dark paint lol. Great idea.

I added a few bags of hay to our aviary the other day, using it as deep bedding. The quail really seem to enjoy it and it keeps the poo smell down and flies too. I also added a large clay saucer for wading as our temps are creeping up, almost 100* already by Friday.

I have noticed that if I leave an egg or two in a nesting area the girls will keep going back to it. One of my hens lays low quality eggs so I sacrifice those and it has helped reduce egg hunts every day.

Can't wait to see your yard when you get it planted.