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Post by violajack on Jun 24, 2020 9:25:59 GMT -6
My barred rock is currently the biggest of my older flock (currently 11 weeks), but I don't really know what the others are. My wyandottes are still only 4 weeks old, so not a good size comparison. All my chickens are chill, friendly birds, and have been pretty quiet so far.
Quail are also small and quiet and will give you eggs after just 6 weeks, but they're not really something you can hold and snuggle the same way you can a chicken. My chickens will come sit with me in the evenings while I enjoy a glass of wine on the patio before they go into the coop at night. But if you're going to have to keep them in a run, that might not matter.
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milano
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Post by milano on Jun 24, 2020 9:31:13 GMT -6
rugger we have an australorp and I would say she is our quietest chicken for sure. She makes almost zero sounds compared to the rhode island reds and speckled Sussex who "talk" all the day long. Bantams look adorable but I've never seen one in real life. But I would think that would be a good size for a backyard coop!
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rugger
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Post by rugger on Jun 24, 2020 9:34:33 GMT -6
rugger we have an australorp and I would say she is our quietest chicken for sure. She makes almost zero sounds compared to the rhode island reds and speckled Sussex who "talk" all the day long. Bantams look adorable but I've never seen one in real life. But I would think that would be a good size for a backyard coop! Thanks! I did read that RIR could be "lively" or talkative, so I figured those wouldn't be the best for our yard.
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Jun 24, 2020 11:16:46 GMT -6
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Post by niko8083 on Jun 24, 2020 11:16:46 GMT -6
rugger we have Australorps, buff orpingtons, light brahmas and Easter eggers. The Easter eggers are the smallest and although friendly, are the most skiddish of all of them so far. B picks up and carries our one australorp all over the run. Out of all of them, I’d say the brahmas talk the most, but for the majority they are all pretty quiet.
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Post by ovenrack on Jun 24, 2020 18:12:54 GMT -6
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rugger
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Post by rugger on Jun 24, 2020 18:29:49 GMT -6
Thanks for that link. The Bantams are pretty cute. It looks like introducing bantams to a flock of standard hens would be bad, but *if* we get chickens, we'd likely get them all together. So, that should be fine to have 2 and 2 raised together, right? S wants standard sized eggs. I would think 2 standard hens would lay plenty for the most part, with some little eggs in the mix, too.
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Post by ovenrack on Jun 24, 2020 18:30:52 GMT -6
Thanks for that link. The Bantams are pretty cute. It looks like introducing bantams to a flock of standard hens would be bad, but *if* we get chickens, we'd likely get them all together. So, that should be fine to have 2 and 2 raised together, right? S wants standard sized eggs. I would think 2 standard hens would lay plenty for the most part, with some little eggs in the mix, too. I think raised together mostly anything is okay!
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rugger
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Post by rugger on Jun 25, 2020 6:26:09 GMT -6
I dreamed last night that I was the delivery driver who brought rugger her new chicks.
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rugger
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Post by rugger on Jun 25, 2020 9:32:17 GMT -6
When I posted in our community FB Page asking what people's thoughts were on chickens, I got a lot of positive feedback. Until one brave soul commented saying she wasn't a fan of the idea. And now all the others are chiming in, in response to her comment. I'm fighting the urge to "argue" with them.
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milano
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Post by milano on Jun 25, 2020 9:56:55 GMT -6
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sarenu
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Post by sarenu on Jun 25, 2020 10:09:02 GMT -6
When I posted in our community FB Page asking what people's thoughts were on chickens, I got a lot of positive feedback. Until one brave soul commented saying she wasn't a fan of the idea. And now all the others are chiming in, in response to her comment. I'm fighting the urge to "argue" with them. You will always find people against certain animals. Take dogs for instance. Some people research breeds, train, work the animal properly, and clean up after them. Others leave poop everywhere, buy a dog for its look, and let them out without a leash or supervision....
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rugger
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Post by rugger on Jun 25, 2020 10:19:26 GMT -6
When I posted in our community FB Page asking what people's thoughts were on chickens, I got a lot of positive feedback. Until one brave soul commented saying she wasn't a fan of the idea. And now all the others are chiming in, in response to her comment. I'm fighting the urge to "argue" with them. You will always find people against certain animals. Take dogs for instance. Some people research breeds, train, work the animal properly, and clean up after them. Others leave poop everywhere, buy a dog for its look, and let them out without a leash or supervision.... TRUTH.
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Post by violajack on Jun 25, 2020 20:01:49 GMT -6
Oh the ups and the downs. I read some forum threads that basically make me feel like a monster for keeping the quail on wire up off the ground. But the hutches are secure now and we haven't had any more incidents despite seeing the racoons every night.
I couldn't dispatch the remaining two males after all they've been through, but I felt bad with just the two of them together, they crowed so much. But 5 hens can only keep one male happy. So I cheated and bought adult hens. The same guy we got our chicks from 7 weeks ago had adults available now, around the same age. The new hens we got are in such sad shape, they're so much smaller than the hens we raised, missing feathers, not very active, not very strong. But they came from the same place and are the same age. That guy said the hens do just fine on chicken layer feed, which is way lower protein than quail need, and I can clearly see the effects of that choice. I feel a little better about how I'm doing now. I'm hoping the new hens will fill out and be healthier on the proper diet. The males were so happy to have some ladies come join them. Two of them even laid eggs today. From now on, we'll raise our own.
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Post by niko8083 on Jun 26, 2020 13:53:18 GMT -6
Oh the ups and the downs. I read some forum threads that basically make me feel like a monster for keeping the quail on wire up off the ground. But the hutches are secure now and we haven't had any more incidents despite seeing the racoons every night. I couldn't dispatch the remaining two males after all they've been through, but I felt bad with just the two of them together, they crowed so much. But 5 hens can only keep one male happy. So I cheated and bought adult hens. The same guy we got our chicks from 7 weeks ago had adults available now, around the same age. The new hens we got are in such sad shape, they're so much smaller than the hens we raised, missing feathers, not very active, not very strong. But they came from the same place and are the same age. That guy said the hens do just fine on chicken layer feed, which is way lower protein than quail need, and I can clearly see the effects of that choice. I feel a little better about how I'm doing now. I'm hoping the new hens will fill out and be healthier on the proper diet. The males were so happy to have some ladies come join them. Two of them even laid eggs today. From now on, we'll raise our own. What is your purpose for the quail? You may have said and I just missed it.
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Post by violajack on Jun 26, 2020 14:39:15 GMT -6
Oh the ups and the downs. I read some forum threads that basically make me feel like a monster for keeping the quail on wire up off the ground. But the hutches are secure now and we haven't had any more incidents despite seeing the racoons every night. I couldn't dispatch the remaining two males after all they've been through, but I felt bad with just the two of them together, they crowed so much. But 5 hens can only keep one male happy. So I cheated and bought adult hens. The same guy we got our chicks from 7 weeks ago had adults available now, around the same age. The new hens we got are in such sad shape, they're so much smaller than the hens we raised, missing feathers, not very active, not very strong. But they came from the same place and are the same age. That guy said the hens do just fine on chicken layer feed, which is way lower protein than quail need, and I can clearly see the effects of that choice. I feel a little better about how I'm doing now. I'm hoping the new hens will fill out and be healthier on the proper diet. The males were so happy to have some ladies come join them. Two of them even laid eggs today. From now on, we'll raise our own. What is your purpose for the quail? You may have said and I just missed it. Eggs primarily. We've already started eating them and they're delicious. But when we first started, there were no adults available, so I took in double the amount of chicks in order to get the hens I wanted, meaning I'd eventually have to dispatch the extra males for meat. We were starting to look forward to the meat, as much as I was dreading the preparation. Also, they're adorable. The fast grow and maturation cycle means they'll make a good lesson for the kids too, much faster than chickens would. I'm researching incubators, and I think we'll try to hatch some of our own soon. If that works, we can start selectively breeding for fat, calm, happy quail in pretty colors. If I'm okay with the processing, we'll have meat too.
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Post by ovenrack on Jun 26, 2020 19:57:17 GMT -6
Ugh. One of my hens is having trouble with her leg/foot. It isn't anything obvious... I separated her with food and water and a very low roost. Poor friend. I hope she improves with a little rest/isolation.
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Jun 27, 2020 6:29:57 GMT -6
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Post by niko8083 on Jun 27, 2020 6:29:57 GMT -6
Ugh. One of my hens is having trouble with her leg/foot. It isn't anything obvious... I separated her with food and water and a very low roost. Poor friend. I hope she improves with a little rest/isolation. Aww poor thing. Hope she recovers quickly and it doesn’t turn into anything serious.
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Post by violajack on Jun 27, 2020 10:16:08 GMT -6
We hardboiled another 15 quail eggs this morning. So much peeling. I ordered a cold brew coffee maker that comes in a giant mason jar and grabbed some extra ones for funsies and to make a batch of pickled quail eggs when we collect enough. We're getting 4 a day from our hens. The new hens laid a few the first day but will probably be off laying for a week or so as they adjust to the new living situation. When they all get going, we should get 10 or so a day. One of the new hens seems to have a screw loose. Her head seems a little tilted and she tends to spin in a circle to the right before she gets going somewhere. She puffs up like and angry miniature turkey and runs at any other quail she's been around, so she's currently living in the bathtub with a bucket to hide in. She does seem to be calming down, but from what I've read, she may never be happy around other quail. How's your hen doing this morning ovenrack? I hope she recovers quickly.
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Post by violajack on Jun 27, 2020 11:28:19 GMT -6
Because this thread needs more pictures, here's the big chickens hanging out with me in the evening before they go into the coop for the night. And the quail eggs before they became breakfast.
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Post by ovenrack on Jun 27, 2020 11:42:21 GMT -6
Hen is the same today - she's eating and drinking because I put the dishes right in front of her. She really can't move much - I gently felt her feet and legs and it's definitely something wrong with one, but I can't feel anything super super obvious - no misshapen bone/whatever. She doesn't seem in distress, but she's also a chicken, so...
If she doesn't improve in a week, or seems worse, we will dispatch her. It's not a good quality of life and we are not generally vet-to-the-chicken people.
Sorry if that horrifies some of you, but we eat meat, and our chickens are cute and fun but not pets.
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milano
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Post by milano on Jun 27, 2020 12:31:11 GMT -6
Hen is the same today - she's eating and drinking because I put the dishes right in front of her. She really can't move much - I gently felt her feet and legs and it's definitely something wrong with one, but I can't feel anything super super obvious - no misshapen bone/whatever. She doesn't seem in distress, but she's also a chicken, so... If she doesn't improve in a week, or seems worse, we will dispatch her. It's not a good quality of life and we are not generally vet-to-the-chicken people. Sorry if that horrifies some of you, but we eat meat, and our chickens are cute and fun but not pets. This would have horrified me at the beginning of my chicken-raising journey but it doesn't now.
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Post by violajack on Jun 27, 2020 17:43:21 GMT -6
Hen is the same today - she's eating and drinking because I put the dishes right in front of her. She really can't move much - I gently felt her feet and legs and it's definitely something wrong with one, but I can't feel anything super super obvious - no misshapen bone/whatever. She doesn't seem in distress, but she's also a chicken, so... If she doesn't improve in a week, or seems worse, we will dispatch her. It's not a good quality of life and we are not generally vet-to-the-chicken people. Sorry if that horrifies some of you, but we eat meat, and our chickens are cute and fun but not pets. This would have horrified me at the beginning of my chicken-raising journey but it doesn't now. I just dispatched two quail. First time ever. Intellectually, I can be very pragmatic about it. Physically doing it was not as easy as the videos made it look. I'm not sure how I actually feel about it yet. But it's done and the current set up with the quail that are left should provide good eggs from happy quail.
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Post by violajack on Jun 27, 2020 17:45:01 GMT -6
Happy quail, enjoying high protein, non GMO, quail specific layer feed.
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Post by violajack on Jun 28, 2020 6:33:51 GMT -6
The new chickens, 5 weeks, butts up pecking around in fresh shavings. Now that the quail drama has settled and the rain slowed down, they'll start spending more time outside during the day. They've already been outside some in a dog crate with no floor to be on grass. The big chickens were interested, but mostly behaved themselves. We'll have a good month of see don't touch time before we can move the newbies out to the coop. I think I'm going to try the put them on the roost at night after the big chickens are sleeping method. But I've got a month to see how they do outside but separate first.
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milano
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Post by milano on Jun 28, 2020 9:36:08 GMT -6
One of my hens just passed away 😔. Penny. She has had a hernia-looking thing for a couple months now and I've been telling MH that it wasn't going to heal itself and I was worried about her having a painful death if it burst. He thought I was being dramatic when I suggested many times that maybe we take care of her before anything happened. Well, of course, he is on call all weekend so I'm dealing with it solo. It didn't burst but she looked a bit off yesterday and was still wandering around and eating and I checked last night that she made it back to the coop. I just went to check on her this morning because she wasn't out with the other girls and she was on the floor of the coop barely responsive and her comb was bleeding a bit. Maybe she fell from the roost? No other injuries and I didnt see any injury on her comb, just some blood. I cleaned up her comb and carried her into the barn to put her in a separate cage and once I laid her in there she seemed to kind of seize and now she is gone. UGH. I feel sad even though I knew she was "sick". Now my kids get to add yet another animal to their "death list".
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tj
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Jun 28, 2020 10:11:37 GMT -6
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Post by tj on Jun 28, 2020 10:11:37 GMT -6
Oh milano. I’m so sorry. Poor Penny.
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Post by niko8083 on Jun 28, 2020 13:04:59 GMT -6
I’m so sorry milano. How sad ☹️
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Post by ovenrack on Jun 28, 2020 13:06:40 GMT -6
I'm sorry, Milano. We had to "take care of" our sick chicken today. It's never easy. Blah.
Wishing you all the healthy animals going forward!
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milano
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Post by milano on Jun 28, 2020 13:20:10 GMT -6
I'm sorry, Milano. We had to "take care of" our sick chicken today. It's never easy. Blah. Wishing you all the healthy animals going forward! A sad day for chickens indeed! Which of your chickens has, uh, moved on?
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milano
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Post by milano on Jun 28, 2020 13:47:16 GMT -6
In other feathered friend news, the "baby" ducks (they are nearly 11 wks old now) are STILL living in my garage because the new duck coop we ordered for an arrival of the wk of June 15 is still not here. And they aren't responding to my email requests for a delivery update. I don't want to train them to use the existing duck coop and then switch them to a new coop in a totally different location off the pond so I am getting frustrated. We have a chicken tractor that we have been putting them in during the day with a plastic swimming pool and we are thinking of moving them in there until the new coop arrives - even at night. I am a little nervous but the whole thing is covered in hardware cloth and we had a rooster live in it for several months with no issues and also 2 groups of meat chickens for like 8-10 weeks. So realistically I think they will be fine in there, and hopefully it is only for like a week or so until the new coop arrives. They get SO PISSED when I put them back in the garage - it seriously sounds like I am holding multiple Donald Ducks hostage. Such angry quacking.
I feel like everything I have ordered lately, either on the internet or over the phone or whatever has had issue after issue and I am so over constantly having to email and call people to get the correct products shipped or replacements shipped for products that arrived damaged/broken, etc. It feels like every single thing. I know, pandemic, I'm trying to be patient and understanding but I am running out of pleasantries. Not everything is due to the pandemic. And also, just communicate!
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