Babies
I was gifted 5 quails a couple of weeks ago and yesterday they finally hatched.
1x egg failed to develop so I removed that from the incubator when I candles them at day 10 (a little later than I normally do)
1x egg failed to hatch, it was fully developed but unfortunately perished
So I was left with three little babies which I wasn’t very comfortable with. Usually I have about 30 babies. Worried they would get cold and not figure out how to access the water and eat the food, I placed an older hen in with them.
Although the babies are resting under the heat table, it’s so cute seeing them chase ‘mumma’ around every time she moves about the brooder 😍🐣
I use cut-off from fake grass under the heat table, for food and to place the water on. Usually I cover the rest of the wood shavings with paper towel so the babies don’t eat it - but I had run out! Let hope mumma quail keeps them inline.
#quailstory
Quail enrichment
Making use of the winds blowing down branches to add enrichment to the quails #quailstory
Oh how the quail are loving this warm spring weather!
I’ve been digging out some of the rich soil from the pen and replacing it with fresh cut grass and leaves.
One thing I’ve found to be beneficial is to place a large log in the pen, it gives them a new surface to walk on (keeping feet clean) and gives them a little more side cover. However, it also provides them enrichment as the logs attract bugs that help break the wood down. Quail just love an opportunity to peck for bugs, so I rotate it every few weeks - free food!
#quailstory #quail
Today we managed to get a few super worms 🐛 hopefully we can breed them up for the quail to enjoy ☺️
Having an edible garden is one of my goals, and keeping quail is a big part of my plan to live more sustainably and grow my own food. The rich soil I get from the pen is full of life and moisture, and the best part is that I don't buy any bedding to create this; I use resources from our property, such as leaves, bark, weeds, bamboo, sticks, mulch and even logs.
Today I've planted some garlic, so hopefully, some will grow.
#permiculture #permaculturegarden #quailstory
Today’s enrichment is bark and grass, I think these two are having fun 😍
#quailstory #quail
We’ve had a few cool days and nights so I’ve had the fire going inside the house. Which means we get ash!
Once the ash is completely cool it makes an excellent dust bath for the quail 🥰
Look at how big this grub is! 😮
I had to save it from being pecked out, as it would be too big for the quail to eat.
#quailstory #quail