Lockdown
I am breeding quail
3 months ago, I made the last post about my quail.
https://steemit.com/busy/@felixxx/my-thoughts-on-quail-after-40-days
Since then, a lot has happened.
The two hens each lay an egg every single day - around 5.30 pm ( :D )
Only 4 quail hatched, and all 4 are doing well and they are getting along great.
Still, 2 roosters and 2 hens is not a good constellation.
The two roosters had some fights, when they were 9 - 10 weeks old. Now the matter seems solved.
Ideally, you want to not have more than 1 rooster for 4 hens.
The usual practice would be to kill off most roosters and just keep the hens.
Another method would be to separate the roosters from the hens, in different cages.
Since I only have 4 quail, all these options would be cruel;
Above all, quail want other quail to keep them company.
Only 2 hens in a cage would be a miserable situation.
Also, since I got to like the 4, I can not get myself to kill off the roosters.
It does not help, that I gave them individual names.
So, I decided to start building a much larger cage.
I saved 15 of my hens' eggs and started incubation 2 weeks ago.
If they all hatch, I will have 19 birds instead of 4.
They will be closely related and I will not keep breeding them, but instead order new fertilized eggs to incubate next season.
Lockdown
This is my cheap (and noisy) incubator.
It works.
I do not recommend this cheap setup. More later.
I started the incubator 2 weeks ago.
The eggs are now in lockdown.
On Friday, they should start hatching.
I will try to do a better job at documenting the process this time.
In the next post I hope to describe why lockdown is probably the most critical moment of your bird's life and what I have learned about it so far.
If you have any questions about the process, comment below and I will try to answer in a future post.
sometimes, we see groups of quail, in the morning , on our #hikes at Mission Hills, they make a lovely , gentle sound-as they move through the underbrush...….. @angrytwin
Interesting.... I read the last post too..
Is this a just for fun thing or are you doing it for the eggs... it seems like you could be self sufficient in protein with four hens easily.
That noisy incubator reminds if my cheap noisy hydroponics pump.
I'm not sure apartments are good places for quail breeding or hydroponics!
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I do not have power in the garden.
I have to hatch them and raise them for at least a week in my apartment.
Depending on the feed, they can be smelly.
I would not say it is ideal, but you can absolutely have them indoors, in your garage or on your balcony.
About the self-sufficiency:
I have to buy extremely high protein feed, or they will not lay every day.
I feed them scraps but that does not really help much - their main protein source in nature would be insects.
Unless I start an insect farm, I am not at all self-sufficient for protein.
If I have more eggs than I can eat, I will try to swap them for feed and try to be more self sufficient that way.
Next spring, I will incubate chicken eggs.
Chicken eggs are a serious food source.
It's all very interesting... sounds like you need a small piece of land.
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I am working on it :)
Don't do chickens - do ducks. You only need a small blow up pool for them to splash in. A lot cuter, have individual personalities, less stinky, eggs are nicer, will eat all your slugs if you grow veggies, no problem having them in your kitchen, you can train them although to a lesser degree than dogs.
I thought about ducks.
Water is an issue. I rely on storing rainwater.
This year I ran completely out of water.
Also, I would have trouble keeping a container of water from freezing in the winter.
I have no electricity or water in the garden.
I will go for a solid breed of chickens - they should be able to forage much better than ducks and they come with different personalities, too.
Perhaps I will just get Silky Chickens.
I'm sure they will love your bathtub inside your apartment in winter :D
Hmm, this is interesting. Good luck with a project. I hope it will be all 19 out.
I had no idea you kept quail! Do you enjoy their eggs and meat as an individual who homesteads? Or is it just a finer taste? — I prefer Wendy’s to most fast food, but would easily make meals to taste if I prepped personal ingredients..
I just have them as a hobby.
I live in a tiny ass apartment and have a regular job.
I own a (slightly remote) garden patch -That is quite a common thing here in this part of Germany.
We do not have a 'homesteading' tradition at all and the concept does not really translate to what we do here. Germany is too densely populated for that.
Keep us updated on the hatch!
In the end, are you looking for Quail Eggs, Quail Meat... or just some feathered friends?
This second hatch is just so the ones I already have get to live in better conditions.
I was not really looking for anything, I stumbled upon it and enjoy it for now.
What's up my brother from another German mother?
Haven't seen you for a while and was wondering what you were up to in all this time!
But growing chicks? unexpected ! lol.
Anways that's something I am hoping to do when I settle down in a small village somewhere, it seems super practical and enjoyable at the same time. I love how you decided to just go ahead and mass produce instead of "shortening them", I guess that is better for everyone in the end not to kill those poor bastards.
I got into programming JS and thought I could finish some apps for Steem - It made normal posting a bit meaningless for a while. I am back now and have less illusions about my working speed.
"Illusions"? Anyways welcome back man!
Esperemos que todos los huevos de gallinas y codornices se puedan incubar @felixxx. Expandir tu jaula y criar tus nuevos animales. Saludos desde Venezuela
Hi felixx, what a nice story: you being a quail-daddy ;-) It is interesting to hear about this "process". I don't know quails - so i can learn about them. You were talking about the garden patch (Schrebergarten?) - i own a little garden too, but we are not allowed to have animals. ;-(
I like this ;-) Good luck!
Kadna
It is not a Schrebergarten, but my own patch of land B)
What means this lockdown? Is it the switch off of the heater?
You can spend the roosters freedom. Let them fly, or eat 'em. Darned and fried, it is a delicacy. You are a very merrily guy, @felixxx.
Lockdown means to stop turning the eggs and locking them up in the incubator for 3 days with the humidity as high as possible.
Thank you for information.