tj
Moderator
Posts: 9,912 Likes: 24,842
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Post by tj on May 18, 2020 14:47:07 GMT -6
violajack, We've been going back and forth over whether we want to try out quail if we get this house. Keep me posted on how it goes with these guys!
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Post by violajack on May 18, 2020 15:48:31 GMT -6
violajack, We've been going back and forth over whether we want to try out quail if we get this house. Keep me posted on how it goes with these guys! So far, MH says he likes them better than the chickens. They're not as interactive though. We can reach in and handle them, but they won't be able to just hang out like the chickens. I think it'll come down to how much of a pain the tiny eggs are vs chicken eggs and if I'm able to process the extra males for meat or if we just end up trying to sell them. But the quail hutch was like 1/10the the cost of the chicken coop. The startup costs and overall space requirement are much less. They're so much quieter too.
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Post by niko8083 on May 21, 2020 18:05:53 GMT -6
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milano
Emerald
Posts: 10,914 Likes: 36,993
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Post by milano on May 21, 2020 18:14:34 GMT -6
Ahh niko8083 look at those feathered ladies! Such pretty girls.
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Post by violajack on May 25, 2020 10:05:20 GMT -6
The lows are only in the mid 60s until Friday, so we moved the quail outside. Friday is supposed to go down to mid 50s, so we may throw a tarp over them overnight or bring them back into the garage, but they're already pretty well feathered out. I think they'll be fine by Friday, especially with some extra hay in the house part of the hutch.
Their dust bath stuff came yesterday just in time as they were all panting in the heat. We moved them under a tree for shade and they all tried to jump in the dust bath all at once. I also gave a plate with some ice cubes and they stood around in that.
I tried to give the chickens a plate with ice cubes too, but they just looked at it funny. They eventually went to peck at the ice floating in the water after some melted. Then one got a piece of ice in its mouth and started running around. That was pretty funny.
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Post by niko8083 on May 27, 2020 9:24:39 GMT -6
They are 6 weeks old now. I’m hoping to move them out next week. Cupcake is still behind the rest feathers wise, so she’s the one I’m waiting on. Cupcake on left
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milano
Emerald
Posts: 10,914 Likes: 36,993
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Post by milano on May 27, 2020 17:37:55 GMT -6
There are some baby ducks at our lake house, living under the dock and they are SO CUTE. They have been here all day. I'm dying. I want more duck babies!
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Post by niko8083 on May 27, 2020 18:18:02 GMT -6
New toy!
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Post by violajack on May 27, 2020 19:21:50 GMT -6
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Post by violajack on May 29, 2020 7:01:24 GMT -6
One of quail crowed at me this morning. It was adorable. Sorry buddy, you just secured your spot at freezer camp.
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milano
Emerald
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Post by milano on May 30, 2020 15:27:18 GMT -6
See also this adorable goose/Gosling group that keeps passing by. A duck leads the pack every morning and I love watching them float by.
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Post by violajack on May 31, 2020 12:27:56 GMT -6
One of quail crowed at me this morning. It was adorable. Sorry buddy, you just secured your spot at freezer camp. Well that got dark quickly. I know. But you can't get sexed quail chicks, and they hatch out a slightly higher ratio of males to females on average, so it was an inevitable end with the decision to start with chicks instead of waiting for adults to become available. We can only really keep one male.
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Post by violajack on May 31, 2020 12:34:46 GMT -6
On a happier note, the chickens have come out of coop lockdown into a small temporary run until they're big enough to free range. Or maybe we'll just expand the run. I'm still so nervous about letting them go.
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DGM
Sapphire
Posts: 2,659 Likes: 5,618
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Chickens!
May 31, 2020 16:11:30 GMT -6
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Post by DGM on May 31, 2020 16:11:30 GMT -6
See also this adorable goose/Gosling group that keeps passing by. A duck leads the pack every morning and I love watching them float by. I just discovered Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings book so I think of that every time I see baby ducks or goslings. Your lake view is obviously much more impressive than the duck and goose families I see at the Bass Pro Shops duck pond
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Post by violajack on May 31, 2020 17:16:23 GMT -6
Here we go again... I paid attention this time. I have two Rhode Island Reds, two Americanas (N is super excited for blue eggs), and two Silver Laced Wyandottes. They're exactly 7 weeks apart from the older set, so they won't be adults when we have to introduce them. The coop and small run are sized to accomodate up to 18, so we should be okay with 11.
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Chickens!
Jun 2, 2020 16:55:10 GMT -6
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Post by niko8083 on Jun 2, 2020 16:55:10 GMT -6
On a happier note, the chickens have come out of coop lockdown into a small temporary run until they're big enough to free range. Or maybe we'll just expand the run. I'm still so nervous about letting them go. How long did you have them locked in the coop?
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Post by violajack on Jun 2, 2020 17:05:59 GMT -6
On a happier note, the chickens have come out of coop lockdown into a small temporary run until they're big enough to free range. Or maybe we'll just expand the run. I'm still so nervous about letting them go. How long did you have them locked in the coop? They went in the coop wednesday night. Most places I've read say at least a week, but we got the stuff to fence in a small bit sunday and let them out a little on sunday. I've left their door open most of the day yesterday and today, but food and water are only inside, so they have to go back in often. I also do not have the patience to wait for them to go back in at sundown, so I shoo them back in in the evening. They go back in easily. The first night, they huddled up in a corner by the door. They found the roost bars the next day and have been roosting just fine. I also got my fancy big feeder and new water cups for the bucket waterer so I'm feeling pretty happy with the whole set up. Now I just have to wait for the next 6 to grow up, then deal with the introduction process. I think 11 chickens will be enough chickens. For now.
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Post by ovenrack on Jun 2, 2020 17:15:24 GMT -6
I have always had between 8-11 chickens. It’s a good amount of eggs for our family of 5, with some to give away.
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Post by Dramaphile on Jun 3, 2020 6:30:29 GMT -6
See also this adorable goose/Gosling group that keeps passing by. A duck leads the pack every morning and I love watching them float by. They look like a herd of tiny Loch Mess monsters
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Post by Dramaphile on Jun 3, 2020 6:34:29 GMT -6
My neighbors have two white ducks, they got them as ducklings back in March, and I'm not really sure why or if they're even allowed by our zoning laws, but they've built out a pretty nice pond and enclosure with house thing for them, and I like hearing them randomly quack if I have my kitchen window open.
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Post by violajack on Jun 7, 2020 9:03:52 GMT -6
The chickens are fully free ranging now. As is one of our cats apparently. We've had these three cats for a long time through many moves, all in places we could never let them out. We've started letting then explore the backyard with us here, and my old man cat gets to hang out on the balcony with me in the evenings. Right now, the chickens are just as likely to chase Mr Fluff as he is to chase them (pretty close to zero interest) and they're only going to get bigger so I hope this doesn't backfire on me.
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Post by niko8083 on Jun 7, 2020 16:41:23 GMT -6
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milano
Emerald
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Post by milano on Jun 7, 2020 18:32:06 GMT -6
We put a little pool in with the "baby" ducks yesterday. They looooved it and were in and out all day. However, at the end of the day the littlest one is having trouble walking- I think she injured herself somehow hoping in and out of the pool. She was totally fine most of the day. So now I'm all nervous and keeping a close eye on her. And of course I feel terrible. I think I needed to make them a better step system into and out of the pool. Hopefully just a strain of some kind? She is still quacking and eating and drinking and hobbles around but mostly just sits. Nothing is swollen or scratched. She can move both legs. I want to bring her inside but everything I have read says to keep her with her feathered friends so as not to stress her out. Also. One of these ducks is definitely a drake. For sure. So that's annoying, because we bought them sexed to avoid that but 1 drake to 8 hens is a good ratio so hopefully it will be fine. Woody will get a chance (M named him 😂).
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Chickens!
Jun 8, 2020 13:41:51 GMT -6
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Post by niko8083 on Jun 8, 2020 13:41:51 GMT -6
We put vinyl flooring down in the coop to help protect the wood and then payed the pine shavings down on top. Do we have to worry about it being slippery? Some of the chicken seem to slip a little when scurrying around when they’ve kicked out the shavings.
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Post by ovenrack on Jun 8, 2020 16:09:21 GMT -6
We put vinyl flooring down in the coop to help protect the wood and then payed the pine shavings down on top. Do we have to worry about it being slippery? Some of the chicken seem to slip a little when scurrying around when they’ve kicked out the shavings. Put more shavings.
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Post by niko8083 on Jun 11, 2020 13:29:24 GMT -6
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Post by niko8083 on Jun 12, 2020 18:37:07 GMT -6
Melt my heart! I’m so glad my kids get to grow up this way.
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Post by violajack on Jun 14, 2020 17:56:17 GMT -6
You guys! One of my chickens grew a beard!
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Post by Dramaphile on Jun 15, 2020 7:34:20 GMT -6
I took a picture of next door’s ducks for you guys.
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milano
Emerald
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Post by milano on Jun 15, 2020 8:43:57 GMT -6
Dramaphile they look identical to the pair of baby ducks we got last year! Right down to the beak colors and everything. So cute.
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