PaigeWells
Chirping
I’m a new chicken keeper in the western NC mountains, growing a mixed flock of 13 ladies between 2 and 4 months so far and doing great. About a month ago a quail showed up outside my coop. Clearly farm raised, very tame, zero natural skills- we caught it by hand after 2 days of it hanging around. We are rural, it may have been part of a flock released to “naturalize” an area for bird hunting? Or an escapee, but my cat was getting tired of being locked inside and it was either catch it or bury it soon… I know- bird flu, but none of that here yet and it was so close I figured it was going to share germs with my girls anyway and it was so cute! I put it in my grow up area with my 4 and 6 week old little girls so it wouldn’t get picked on, it slept in the huddle puddle with the 5 chicks that were all bigger than it, they still hang together as best buddies during the day even though the little girls now roost up near the big girls. The big girls do chase it occasionally, but they calmed down and it sort of hangs around the edge when they come near. It flies very well and if the big girls make it nervous it scoots to a safe place or (rarely) flies up onto my poop board or into the rafters. I modified the door to my grow up pen/ chicken jail to be about 6” off the floor and made it a “quail and young chick safe house” that they go in and out of but the big girls can’t get in. (Pic) Have it on chick feed now but will get it quail food soon in there where nobody else can get to it and get fat. I brought in a bunch of tree branches, logs, and cut up Christmas tree branches for hiding spots and cover. I also made a 4’ long tiki hut roof with open walls, (pic), it has a 6” clearance and a sloped roof to minimize roof pooping chickens, (s)he goes under if the big girls make it nervous but generally doesn’t stay under there. (It’s not huddling in fear). My coop is huge, a converted shed 16’x16’ with 23’ of roost over a poop board (they use about 5’ of that of course). The run is only 8’x16’ but roofed and dry. The roof is a minimum of 10’ tall and inside peaks up to about 15’ with a cupola and lots of natural light (4 windows and a 2” gap all the way around the roof, all VERY predator proof). They all use both the inside and outside space well. I don’t plan on adding to my flock but, you know, chicken math… Now I’m trying to figure out if the quail is a boy or girl, I’m leaning boy as it’s clearly fully grown and I’ve seen no eggs (although stress of the relocation, lower protein food, etc?). I think I should get an adult female friend for it from somewhere so it’s not alone and sad. I’m not planning to go into quail egg raising but would eat them if they appeared, but the plan was chickens not quail and while these guys are all doing great together, I would need to set up differently for a flock and that’s not my intention. So. What is this? Coturnix? Boy or girl? Any idea on the age? It’s not quite tame enough to grab and look at the vent, but if I calmly walk around in my coop it circles around within 3 feet of me without being very scared. I’ve been calling it Han (Solo) atm but that can change if you expert quail people pronounce it a her. Also I’m a sucker who will happily support one (or 2) Non contributing quail into retirement, I don’t plan to cull hens after they stop laying, they all have names, eat from my hand, and a few are lap chickens…everyone will just be adorable pets and contribute to the ambiance and my serinity. Also why I have no rooster, babies= boys that need culling and I’m not going there…Any quail advice welcome and needed! (I’m asking all my stupid beginner chicken questions elsewhere, and have learned a ton from this site!). Thanks in advance!
PaigeView attachment 3107333
PaigeView attachment 3107333
