Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Duck Drover]

I was able to get outside yesterday and do some yard work while sitting down but after two days in a row of unbearable swelling in my ankle I am back on the couch elevating it today. The pain from the swelling is enough to override the pain killer I take every 12 hours so it keeps me from sleeping very well at night. With meds that cause drowsiness on top of a lack of sleep, I end up feeling tired from sitting around doing nothing but finding ways to amuse myself!

I apologize for posting excessively while everyone else is out enjoying this beautiful weather. I have such a long list of things that need to be done outside but I can't put it all on my husband and daughter so it has to wait. Everytime I try to set my one good foot outside they shoo me back to the couch.

 

[Leigti]

I am really bummed, I got three Easter Eggars and I thought two of them were laying green eggs. But today I got six eggs from six chickens and only one was green. I guess the other two are laying light brown/pink ones.

 

[Scram85]

@Lady M Where in Central Wa is a Tractor Supply store? I want to check one out. We live in Moses and there is only a North 40 and one other feed store.

 

[CGilbert]

So many of my posts are long monologues and I just figured out why I get so long winded. I try to cover all my bases in a conversation, especially when it is something I have spent long hours contemplating, in order to hone in on the discussion topic. With all I have learned about quail in my research efforts I finally approached the subject with my husband. His reply was basically "I don't want quail" and apparently that was supposed to be the end of the conversation. When I struck up a dialogue he responded with "you are going to do what you want to do so why are you talking to me about it?" and then he walked away. It seems like if I don't have all my arguments in favor of something and the entire pros and cons thoroughly researched first, all it takes is his refusal to hear me out to end the discussion. I actually like to put alot of thought into something before I do it but I can't share my thoughts with him because he makes an impulsive decision in the moment and that is all the effort he will put into considering trying something new.

I don't know if I should keep looking into raising quail and see if we can discuss it another time or if I should just give up the idea because he has no interest in considering another bird project. Apparently he has decided to use what was supposed to be my brooder room in his shop (in order to movevit out of the hatchery room in the house) for storage so I think that is the issue for him now. I had started by saying that I want to use the brooders he built for chicks to raise quail instead and he informed me that he is using my brooder room for storage since we did not hatch winter chicks this year (due to a changeover in roosters).

Let me see if we can have a discussion about quail so we can make a decision together. His concern about butchering has to do with the fact that he will not kill anything himself so it would be up to me to do myself and that it can't be done outside where the neighbors might see but quail are so small that it should not take much to bleed them and pluck or skin them indoors. I even read that people feed the innards to their chickens but the mess should be disposable in our compost disposal, which is picked up twice a month. We have to pay for compost removal instead of composting our own chicken manure to keep the smell off our property after he put litter straight into some planter boxes instead of in the compost bin and the neighbors complained about the smell.

I read that quail poop is good fertilizer but I don't know if it needs to be aged first. If we can't use it, it can just go out with all of our chicken poop we can't use. The only fertilizer we are using now is from the rabbits and ducks because it can be used without aging it first.

Anyway, I won't be starting quail until after my surgery so there is no rush. I am actually interested in knowing how raising quail is working out for others so I have a good idea what I am getting myself into. I don't mind learning new things even if I will not have a direct use for the knowledge.

This is my first time thinking about raising production birds indoors because we are stuck living in the suburbs until we have enough equity to buy acreage and have enough land to live a rural lifestyle again. We had such a battle to get our birds grandfathered in with the code change that I fear the battle has not ended, considering we won and the city lost in court. Raising quail could easily provide nutrition for my family without involving our nasty neighbors because no one would even know they are there.

You definitely don't want to keep them in the house. The smell of the loop is far worse than chickens. My setup includes a hardware mesh floor with pull out tray to catch poop. Very easily cleaned.
It takes 4-5 quail eggs to equal a chicken egg, but they have more protein. Also, for instance, my father in law is allergic to chicken eggs, but can eat quail eggs.
Good luck! Keep researching. And I'll be around if you get a yes out of hubby

 

[Scram85]

You definitely don't want to keep them in the house. The smell of the loop is far worse than chickens. My setup includes a hardware mesh floor with pull out tray to catch poop. Very easily cleaned.
It takes 4-5 quail eggs to equal a chicken egg, but they have more protein. Also, for instance, my father in law is allergic to chicken eggs, but can eat quail eggs.
Good luck! Keep researching. And I'll be around if you get a yes out of hubby

How big are the birds compared to a standard chicken? Are they closer in size to a bantam or even a serama? Also got any pictures of the eggs next to a regular egg? I have a nephew who is allergic to everything. I have been thinking of getting some quail for him.

 

[Strader]

We LOVE our friends in Washington State and we know y'all love to chat!   The original Washingtonians thread has over 80,000 replies which is AMAZING! 

It's great to see peeps who love raising backyard chickens come together, but all that discussion in a 5 year old thread is bogging down the server when we do updates.   For this reason we're starting this new Washingtonians thread.

Rest assured that the entire original Washingtonians thread will remain closed from new replies, but completely intact.  You'll be able to reference, search, and read it any time!

Please continue all of your great discussions here.

Thanks to all our Washington friends for being (chatty) members of our wonderful community!!!!

Im in Yakima and chicks are due to hatch on tuesday. I have 164 eggs in cabinet incubator and will post pics

 

[Lady M]

Thought I would share today. I have, in the past, had issues with dogs and chicks. Today as I was cleaning the chicks pen out, I must have left the gate untied. I poked my head out there was my Lucy dog, laying next to their outside section... Bathing a chick through the wire

Lucy, and the chick in question (Black sexlink) after I shoo'd the dog away, she was upset with me for making her new friend leave. Haha!

 

[pennyJo1960]

curious new thread for Washington? where will it reside?

 

[Leigti]

I don't think they're making a new one now. But maybe. I might have missed something. The above post is just a copy of the very beginning of this thread.

 

[Duck Drover]

You definitely don't want to keep them in the house. The smell of the loop is far worse than chickens. My setup includes a hardware mesh floor with pull out tray to catch poop. Very easily cleaned.
It takes 4-5 quail eggs to equal a chicken egg, but they have more protein. Also, for instance, my father in law is allergic to chicken eggs, but can eat quail eggs.
Good luck! Keep researching. And I'll be around if you get a yes out of hubby

The indoors space is a room in our shop that was built as a brooder room. The birds are on wire so the poop falls through for easy cleaning. We still need a gravity feeder and watering system to make the set-up more effortless.

I think my timing is bad. I have been off my feet waiting for surgery to repair my ankle and foot so my husband and daughter are taking over the majority of my work load until I am back on my feet again. What my husband is hearing is more work for him while my goal is more meat for him. He eats alot so it is his need for meat that has me looking into quail. It is not something I have looked into before but then I never thought I would be raising Silkies either.