Who is pipping and waiting right now??

[Ace_king_brahma]

I have 6 of 12 bobwhites pip this morning. The other eggs can be seen moving from time to time.

-Ace

 

[Ace_king_brahma]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

Thanks Sharon... yes, it is, especially since the only way I'm going to get stock is to hatch my own. There's really no one here that sells what I'm looking for. So I have to take my chances with shipped eggs. I will try again with the quail, though, now that I have the system down. We just had so many hiccups with power outages, burnt bulbs, malfunctions of all sorts... it's been frustrating, but such a joy to see the ones that made it. Hopefully I can breed these and hatch my own.

Congratulations on your babies... that's so sweet, singing happy birthday...

What kind of quail are you hatching?​

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
What kind of quail are you hatching?

Button quail right now... I have a few Bobwhite's that are due within the week.

I want some Coturnix eggs, though... if my two (which are NOT laying) are any indication of the temperament of the species, then I definitely want more of them. They don't mind being held as much, and they are just so sweet! I love their sounds. The Buttons and the BW don't like to be handled at all, or even anyone close to their cages. Although... the 5 buttons I have now seem to like being cuddled and held, so maybe getting them while they're young helps with the flightiness?

 

[MissPrissy]

Please tell me - do you raise the bobwhite quail for food? I grew up in a home where we did eat alot of birds int he fall, dove and quail. They are really good eating if you know how to cook them.

I know why we hatch and keep the birds we do but I am just curious about some of the quail that seem too tiny for eating.

What do you do with the little quail when they hatch? I know some people hatch 75 or 80 at a time.

 

[Mrs MIA]

I'm not sure, Miss Prissy. I'm just starting out. I have a breeding pair of each Bobwhite and Coturnix, and two male Buttons. The Buttons are so small, they're probably sold as pets more often than not. I can't imagine they'd be worth much to eat. Now the BW and Coturnix are larger - we're used to going out hunting for grouse (spruce chicken) here, and they're not much smaller than that. I've heard they are good eating, and pickled quail eggs are somewhat of a delicacy. Here in Alaska, most of the people that have expressed interest want them for either food, or for training dogs/falcons. They're not native to Alaska, so they cannot be released unless used for training - even then I'm not sure how you'd prove that you even tried to retrieve them...

The local feed store asked me to raise them, because people ask for them all the time, but they're so tiny they don't ship well. They were getting tired of buying dead birds.

One more is pipping as I type this...

Once they're dried off, (about an hour or two), I move them to an old aquarium that I have set up as a brooder. They're happy campers there...

**edited because I can't type this morning!

 

[Ace_king_brahma]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

Button quail right now... I have a few Bobwhite's that are due within the week.

I want some Coturnix eggs, though... if my two (which are NOT laying) are any indication of the temperament of the species, then I definitely want more of them. They don't mind being held as much, and they are just so sweet! I love their sounds. The Buttons and the BW don't like to be handled at all, or even anyone close to their cages. Although... the 5 buttons I have now seem to like being cuddled and held, so maybe getting them while they're young helps with the flightiness?

Nice! I've been wanting to get my hands on some button quail. I have golden Manchurian Coturnix eggs in the incubator which should hopefully hatch in another 2 weeks if all goes well. I had regular coturnix way back when I first started raising birds. They are a joy but tame a little too easily. Stray dog knocked over all my cages and what he didn't kill the cats finished off. Only one survived and was sitting on the cage in the morning. I gave her away I just didn't have the heart to try again since I lost all but the one and the bobwhites scattered and survived but I have no idea for how long and I swear once in awhile I'll see bobwhites nearby along the backroads.​

 

[Ace_king_brahma]

Quote:
My first batch was given to me by a family friend and then a bought some from a feed store. They were intended for resale and I didn't think of eating them at that time. Then I lost them all. This batch that I have hatching will be my breeding stock. I'm tempted after eating store bought bobwhite quail to hatch a big batch and keep the best ones for further breeding and cull everything else for a bbq. But in the end the batch I have hatching will eventually be used to breed meat birds.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
Oooh... very good! I hope you'll post photos..

Here's a couple more... they are soooo tiny...

This one is in my DH's hands...

The true Thumbelina...

I am learning from others that they are very hard to hatch/raise. Just their sheer size makes them a challenge. I wouldn't mind tame Coturnix... no cats, and the dogs know better! LOL!

 

[Ace_king_brahma]

I will post pics as soon as I can. Nothing exciting happening right now just holes with little beaks poking out.

These are some really great looking quail! My first ones were older maybe twice that size when I got them. I've never had hatchlings before but recall how tiny my quail were when I got them.

 

[MissPrissy]

I am in awe of how extremely tiny they are.