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Post by ovenrack on Apr 30, 2020 19:48:06 GMT -6
Week 3 chickens are basically tiny dinosaurs. They stay dinosaurs forever now. It's clearest with the weird feathers at week 3, but they're really tiny boney terrors.
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tj
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Chickens!
Apr 30, 2020 21:06:34 GMT -6
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Post by tj on Apr 30, 2020 21:06:34 GMT -6
Velociraptors?
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Speedy
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Post by Speedy on May 1, 2020 4:04:45 GMT -6
I need to find some place that has chicks to bring F to visit lol
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Post by violajack on May 2, 2020 13:02:26 GMT -6
A super warm afternoon means the chickens get their first taste of outside.
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Chickens!
May 3, 2020 12:15:29 GMT -6
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Post by niko8083 on May 3, 2020 12:15:29 GMT -6
A super warm afternoon means the chickens get their first taste of outside. Iāve been wanting to do this. May try this afternoon, itās about 73 today.
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Post by violajack on May 3, 2020 13:38:43 GMT -6
It was 79 yesterday, but we're headed for the 50s again, so it'll be a while before they can come out again.
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milano
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Post by milano on May 3, 2020 13:55:16 GMT -6
These ladies played outside for a bit earlier too.
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Post by violajack on May 5, 2020 18:53:39 GMT -6
4 weeks old, is it a cock? Its comb is already looking bigger and redder than the others. But I also have a chick that still doesn't have tail feathers, which I've read may also be a sign for rooster. What am I going to do if I have two roos and only three hens? Also, I kind of want to get some quail too.
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Chickens!
May 6, 2020 6:07:46 GMT -6
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Post by niko8083 on May 6, 2020 6:07:46 GMT -6
My 2 brahmas are so behind the rest in their development, they are just now getting their tail feathers. Iāve read that they develop slower because they are a bigger breed of chicken. I was wondering if maybe they were Roos, but I got mine from a hatchery and I figure the likely hood of both (same breed) being males was slim. One of my australorps has me wondering if maybe she is a he, but, I havenāt decided yet. She is the most outgoing one and seems to be the leader at the moment.
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Post by niko8083 on May 6, 2020 6:12:33 GMT -6
The middle one is a Brahma. You can definitely tell she is behind with feathering out than the others. The one to the left if the one I was questioning if male or female. Iām pretty sure they are all female.
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Post by violajack on May 6, 2020 11:01:06 GMT -6
Okay, yeah my one with no tail feathers is behind in other feathering also, looking kind of like yours. But I have another one that looked the same as a chick, yellow with a grey back, that has way more feathers, so shruggyguy.
I'm going to pick up a quail hutch this afternoon.
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Post by violajack on May 7, 2020 15:13:49 GMT -6
So, I have 16 quail now.
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milano
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Post by milano on May 7, 2020 16:19:54 GMT -6
violajack I love it. What do quail do? I know they lay eggs. Do they sleep with the chickens?
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Post by violajack on May 7, 2020 16:48:06 GMT -6
milano, they run around like ridiculously tiny dinosaurs, cheep like mad, and jump about an inch up while shaking their tiny wings around. When they grow up, they will lay beautiful, tiny eggs that we will boil and potentially pickle; seems to be a thing to pickle quail eggs. My husband is looking forward to using them to upgrade his raman game. They start laying at 6 weeks. They cannot stay with the chickens. Full grown, they'll be about the size my 4 week chicks are now. They also cannot free range (or, you can free range them once, then no more quail) because they fly. We found a nice quail hutch on craigslist, so I went for it. They do best in either something like a rabbit hutch, raised off the ground (which is what we got) or in an aviary, eating the seed that the other birds drop. But they flush and fly straight up when startled, so they have to have either a very short cage where they can't get airborne, or a soft roof so they don't break their necks when they hit the top. Our hutch is taller than some sites recommended, so we're going to hang some netting below the roof so they hit that first. I'm ultimately planning to keep a breeding set, one male and about 6 females. Our hutch should comfortably hold 8 adults. The quail breeder we got them from recommended 15 to get the females I wanted. So, I'm going to have some extra males. They seem easier to process than chickens, so I may put my big girl panties on and process the extra males myself. They reach butcher size at 6-8 weeks. I found a bacon wrapped quail recipe that makes me feel a bit better about that situation. The place we got them from hatched out 300 this morning!
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milano
Emerald
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Post by milano on May 7, 2020 17:26:41 GMT -6
milano, they run around like ridiculously tiny dinosaurs, cheep like mad, and jump about an inch up while shaking their tiny wings around. When they grow up, they will lay beautiful, tiny eggs that we will boil and potentially pickle; seems to be a thing to pickle quail eggs. My husband is looking forward to using them to upgrade his raman game. They start laying at 6 weeks. They cannot stay with the chickens. Full grown, they'll be about the size my 4 week chicks are now. They also cannot free range (or, you can free range them once, then no more quail) because they fly. We found a nice quail hutch on craigslist, so I went for it. They do best in either something like a rabbit hutch, raised off the ground (which is what we got) or in an aviary, eating the seed that the other birds drop. But they flush and fly straight up when startled, so they have to have either a very short cage where they can't get airborne, or a soft roof so they don't break their necks when they hit the top. Our hutch is taller than some sites recommended, so we're going to hang some netting below the roof so they hit that first. I'm ultimately planning to keep a breeding set, one male and about 6 females. Our hutch should comfortably hold 8 adults. The quail breeder we got them from recommended 15 to get the females I wanted. So, I'm going to have some extra males. They seem easier to process than chickens, so I may put my big girl panties on and process the extra males myself. They reach butcher size at 6-8 weeks. I found a bacon wrapped quail recipe that makes me feel a bit better about that situation. The place we got them from hatched out 300 this morning! Oh I didn't realize they were so small! I knew their eggs were small, but huh. Today I learned. Well that sounds like a fun adventure, I can't wait to see more pictures as they grow.
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Post by violajack on May 7, 2020 18:00:15 GMT -6
Yeah, tiny. I had already watched like a million videos while considering quail, so it's not like I hadn't seen one. But the place we bought the hutch from had some in a coop and that was the first time I saw them in person and held a quail egg. They say it takes 5 quail eggs to equal one chicken egg.
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milano
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Post by milano on May 7, 2020 18:38:51 GMT -6
These messy little darlings are getting moved into a bigger pen in the garage this weekend. 3 weeks old! They poop a ridiculous amount.
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Post by ovenrack on May 7, 2020 19:04:25 GMT -6
They start laying at six weeks! That's bananas!
I'm thinking of getting meat chickens. Talk me out of it! I'll have to set up a separate, temporary coop/run. Tractor? Maybe? Anyway.
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Post by violajack on May 8, 2020 5:29:47 GMT -6
Every morning I sit and drink my coffee and they come out and explore. Then they take a nap. This one doesn't like me
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Post by niko8083 on May 8, 2020 6:04:07 GMT -6
Elsa and B are bonding. They all come out and run around as soon as we open the cage door. And poop, so much poop, when they are out playing.
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Post by violajack on May 9, 2020 6:27:03 GMT -6
As it turns out, quail are actually mostly silent. I just had one loud one that was mad at the world that first night. My husband has named him Turbo Cheeps.
They do running long jumps of about 3 inches while flapping their tiny wings. We do not currently have a lid on their brooder and I'm wondering how long I'll be able to get away with that. They may move outside with the heat plate as soon as the chickens are done with it (2 more weeks or so).
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DGM
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Chickens!
May 11, 2020 22:36:22 GMT -6
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Post by DGM on May 11, 2020 22:36:22 GMT -6
niko8083, I just did a double take. Your B is the spitting image of one of our nieces who is now 15! ETA right tag
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milano
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Post by milano on May 13, 2020 16:56:27 GMT -6
Look at those green feathers coming in š. I sat outside today and just watched them play for awhile and it was hilarious. Better than tv.
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tj
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Chickens!
May 13, 2020 18:42:13 GMT -6
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Post by tj on May 13, 2020 18:42:13 GMT -6
milano I wondered what the ducks were going to look like! They actually look like ducks now!
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Post by violajack on May 14, 2020 16:39:13 GMT -6
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Post by violajack on May 15, 2020 18:52:03 GMT -6
One of quail jumped out of their tub today (into the bathtub the tub was sitting in, gotta have double containment), so out to the garage they go. The chickens don't need the brooder plate anymore, so it's in the enclosed side of the quail hutch.
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Post by ovenrack on May 15, 2020 19:03:18 GMT -6
Adorbs.
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Post by ovenrack on May 15, 2020 19:04:49 GMT -6
Stringy reminded me a tornado warning was happening, so I remembered to close the chickens early. Thanks, Strings! We don't get many tornadoes around here, so they would be surprised by anything getting close to that kind of wind.
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Post by violajack on May 18, 2020 14:38:43 GMT -6
So, today, the quail were flying enough to bump into the ceiling, so we added a soft fabric for them to hit first. One flew up into it as soon as we had it in. These quail are keeping us on our toes. Less than 5 weeks to eggs.
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Post by violajack on May 18, 2020 14:44:43 GMT -6
Fun fact! Quail sometimes lay on their side and stretch their legs out behind them. So cute!
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