South Carolina

[RedBugPoultry]

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Humm, better look at that picture again. It did not look lavender to me but it could be with that light??? Ok Chicky, with what I put above does it make any since? Can you tell if it have dots or triangles???

That is about as close to them as I can get. If they think I am going to get them, they fly off

I have always thought it was dots. It could be triangles

It was light with a grayish colored stripe after hatch. I guess is the best way to describe it.

I will try to get a better picture tomorrow

Maybe while they eat a treat!!!

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

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That is about as close to them as I can get. If they think I am going to get them, they fly off

I have always thought it was dots. It could be triangles

It was light with a grayish colored stripe after hatch. I guess is the best way to describe it.

I will try to get a better picture tomorrow

Maybe while they eat a treat!!!

They act like I am going to poison them!
The whole time in the house, and in the tractor they would run up and follow me around it. Now they act like I am a serial killer

 

[oneofseven]

I would like to do a Swap on Saturday, Nov 5th at Tractor Supply on Bobby Jones Expwy in Augusta. How is that date for everyone?

 

[Joycats]

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I don't let my guinea keets out until they're about half grown, probably between 4 and 5 months old. But that's just me, I tend to keep my babies up longer than some do. And I raise my guineas with chickens so when they do go out, they have chicks with them to show them what to do. The chicks also help get the guineas to coop up at night for awhile until they're grown.

I didn't feel the earthquake at all but the birds did. I heard them all squawking about something around that time.

 

[Joycats]

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Good luck! Coturnix are pretty hardy and they grow fast. I have them but I made the mistake of keeping mine on wire. What a mess. I highly recommend sand for the substrate. I plan on moving mine to the ground as soon as possible. And I'm considering adding some Bob White quail too.

 

[Joycats]

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Awww....those are beautiful keets! And I can't wait to hear what Heidi says about the colors. I will say a small word of warning on the newspaper, just be careful as guineas seem to be much more prone to spraddle leg. It is a sad thing when it happens and it cannot be fixed. I've seen a few chicks and a few guineas with spraddle leg - guineas are different.

Joy, you are right. I raise all of my keets now the first week on an old towel. You can tie the legs with a bread wrapper if they get spraddle legs or something similar. If I put them on a towel or even paper towels I do not have too many problem.

I use paper towels (not the cheap kind, it needs to be Viva or something not slick). It seems that their legs are really soft the first week but I have had it happen to older keets too. And instead of spraddle leg, my vet told me it's actually the hip twisting out of place and there is no fixing that. If left alone and allowed to grow up, the leg will actually turn all the way around backwards. It is very sad.

 

[Joycats]

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Difficult to get back up is an understatement! Guineas are so fast. And then they start flying away from you. I had a few get into the run next to theirs and trying to get them back where they belonged was a lengthy ordeal! But they are so cute.

Yes! I have read they are really hard to train to get back up once you let them out so I am afraid to let mine go yet. Even if I leave them out I am afraid they will wander over to the neighbors and get killed by their dogs. I may wait until they are laying before I ever let them out!

Kidding! They will be turned loose eventually. Guinea Boy is a pretty good influence ....I hope.

No joking Amy - the longer you keep them up the less likely they are to roam very far. AND if you always keep a few guineas penned up, the others won't leave them. They'll stay within hearing of the penned birds. That's what I did to start with. I penned a few and let a few out. The free rangers didn't go very far at all and they still sleep in the tree over the penned guineas. An old farmer told me that trick a long time ago and it seems to work.

 

[FarmerJohn3285]

Thanks Joy. Mine will be outdoors so the wire part shouldn't effect me cuz the poop will drop to the ground or be easily removed, at least I hope. Are u saying I should put sand on the plywood flooring of the enclosed section then clean like Kitty litter? If not is there anything I should put down on top of the wood flooring or leave it bare so to speak.? Also do you have a pic of ur quail nest box? And do they need a dust bathing area, I've seen some ppl have those but most do not.

Sorry for playing twenty questions but I'm excited and learning!

 

[Joycats]

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So you ARE keeping them on wire.....mine are outside too. But my floor is wired with 1/4 x 1/4 and the poop doesn't fall through. Recently they've had some spilled food that piled up because of the rain we've had. Everything was wet and yucky and the poop and food sticks to their feet and makes a terrible mess. I have shavings down for them in their nest box and they mostly lay eggs in there. Occasionally they will lay an egg outside on the wire but not much. The nest box is easy to keep clean with shavings but I hate the wire floor. I'm just thinking that I would like to move mine to the ground and have sand on the ground. I have sand in my duck yard and it drains fast and stays fairly clean and dry. I really hate cleaning that wire and it's really hard to clean with them in there as they will jump out.

And I meant to say feel free to ask questions. I'm glad to help if I can. I love keeping the quail, we eat the eggs when I can keep some. Their eggs are good sellers. And there is nothing cuter than baby quail! Tiny little things but full of personality. I've found that they overheat quickly so I always try to keep the heat lamp on one end of the brooder so they can move away from it. And you don't want to overcrowd them. One other thing, they are so small you have to watch what food you feed them. They can't eat some chick crumbles. If you can't find a mash (a finer ground chick food), then you may need to grind your chick starter for them. Hope this helps, just things I had to learn the hard way on my own so I always like to share.

 

[CarolinaChickenKeeper]

I have a silkie with the squirts!! Recon she is sick? What should I give her?