Raptor Farm Eggs and More

08/21/2023

Excuse the mess, lol. I was actually going to clean one my button quail pairs’ house when I discovered that my girl has started nesting! She’s sitting on 3 eggs. I’m hoping she’ll stay on the nest and raise her own babies so they get to stay messy for now.

Button quail are quickly becoming a favorite of mine and make wonderful pets. I’m happy to answer any questions about them!

07/28/2023

One month ago I rescued a male/female pair of button quails from a very neglectful situation. I was told the pair is 3 years old. The poor girl was missing a most of her neck/back head feathers. They were very nervous and unsure of everything and extremely hungry.

I made sure they had a clean house, lots of food and fresh water. I also made sure to include enrichment items (dust bath, fake plants, nests, etc.) and changed their housing around to offer them more space and things to explore. The girl really settled in and would follow my finger around, her feathers grew back, and she was a sweetie.

Sadly after just 1 month, she passed away very peacefully most likely from old age. I’m sad that she’s gone and so is her partner but at least her last month was full of comfort and love. Her boyfriend is less social but he’ll get some extra treats tonight.

06/26/2023

Happy 2 month birthday to Peas! So thankful to have this little love in my life and this little Peachick never ceases to amaze me.

Peas still loves to cuddle mommy and comes when I call her name! Look how much she’s grown in just a month!

06/26/2023

Tiny egg alert!!! One of my bantam girls has been laying teeny tiny little eggs for the past 2 days, sometimes they are called fairy eggs or fart eggs. I think it may be one of my newly laying girls but I haven’t figured out who yet.

For reference the eggs in my hand are a normal bantam chicken egg, a coturnix quail egg, and the little fairy egg.

05/27/2023

Introducing the newest rescue member to my little menagerie! Meet Peabody aka Peas 🫛.

Peas is a whee peachick who is now 2 days old. Peas’ previous owner isn’t sure what happened but within hours of hatching, the poor thing suddenly couldn’t stand and was constantly laying to one side. I saw their post looking for someone to give the little peachick a chance so I went to pick up the little darling yesterday evening. Wasn’t ever planning on raising any peafowl 🦚 but here I am 😊.

Peas had a little swelling of her foot and hock joint along with a couple peck marks. I sprayed her leg with Vetericyn and applied a hobble band. She spent a few hours yesterday in a coffee mug to get weight of her legs and hold her upright.

As of this morning, the swelling and redness is gone and Peas is standing and zooming around the incubator! Now that she’s stronger, she’ll move to a brooder. Peas’ favorite things are eating scrambled eggs, getting the zoomies, and snuggling inside my shirt.

05/11/2023

This little showgirl silkie hatched out last night!

Several more cute little silkies and a few standard breeds hatched out too… for a grand total of 17 little fuzzy chicks! More pics to come soon!

05/01/2023

Introducing Nile, a silkie with an indomitable spirit to live. She hatched out April 5, 2023 from my worst incubation experience to date. Right at lockdown our power flickered on and off then our AC broke in the house (on those 80* days). This all created a very poor hatching environment. Nile was the only chick to hatch out of 11 eggs. She had some problems with her legs, so I created sling-type thing using a coffee mug and vet wrap and kept her in the incubator a bit longer than normal. Once she was in the brooder, I got her 2 partridge silkie chicks to keep her company. She absolutely loves them and they are so protective and loving towards her- 3 Musketeers.

When she was 4 days old, I went to check on them and found Nile had fallen against the waterer, became soaked, and cold. She was barely moving and I thought I was going to lose her. I dried her off and luckily, I had forgotten to unplug one of the incubators so I popped her in. Within the next hour she was standing again. I made her a splint using pipe cleaners and vet wrap to help straighten and support her leg so she could walk better.

Nile is a little fighter and has stolen my heart. She loves to be held and will nuzzle my nose with her beak.

04/30/2023

34 new little quail babies hatched out successfully Friday evening/Saturday! We got them all moved into the brooder today and settled in.

These little ones are from my breeder girls and my two boys so I’m super excited to see their colors as they grow. There are a couple of interesting looking ones in the mix too.

04/01/2023

While cleaning out an empty coop to get it ready for some broody girls, Arda decided to play at being a chicken. She jumped in through the open side door to get a closer look, lol. She’s a silly girl.

03/13/2023

Someone is being impatient while waiting for the rest of their siblings to hatch.

03/13/2023

It’s hatch day!!! These past 18 days have felt so long. These babies are the 1st from my breeding group so I’ve been extra impatient.

10 out of 33 hatched so far and more are starting to hatch!

I have another 40 quail eggs due in 2 weeks.

03/08/2023

The mommas (Roo and Susie) are still coparenting the 4 chicks together! They had a supervised field trip out of the nursery coop with their flock for a bit on Sunday.

Roo, being a seasoned mom, knew which flock members were safe to be close to the chicks while Susie is on the overprotective side. Maisie, my black Cochin bantam, was an ecstatic auntie. She broke up pellets for the chicks to eat and called them over to share a meal with her (known as tidbitting).

03/04/2023

Welp I went to Farmers Cooperative to get chicken feed and somehow came home with these 5 cuties.

These are Buckeyes, a chicken breed I have wanted for a very long time and finally found some!

Fun facts about this breed:
*This is the only breed of chicken attributed to a woman, Mrs. Nettie Metcalf of Ohio in the late 1800s.
*They are an American chicken breed.
*Buckeyes are excellent mousers said to rival any barn cat.
*Buckeyes are a friendly breed, known to gather around the legs of their human caretakers.
*This breed was previously on the brink of extinction and is now making a comeback.

03/04/2023

I did a thing… I got the last 8 assorted bantam chicks at tractor supply last night 🙃

02/26/2023

Roo (black and white mottled Cochin bantam) is officially a momma for the second time! She raised her first hatch last spring. She’s such a great momma and I’m excited to see her raise this group.

Roo is sharing the nursery coop with Susie (Mille Fleur frizzle Cochin bantam). Susie is sitting on 4 eggs, due to hatch in a couple days. Adorably, Roo doesn’t mind if one of her babies takes a nap under Susie and Susie continues to diligently sit on her own eggs. I have a feeling these two will end up coparenting the two clutches.

Side note: the reddish brown chick is a 3rd generation chick (2nd hen hatched out here).

02/23/2023

Omg… I feel seen…

02/23/2023

Added lighting to the quail enclosure yesterday. They seem to be enjoying it. So far each girl has continued to lay everyday.

Side note: The panels on the side block wind/rain. I put solid on the outside bottom as a sight break for my dogs and on the inside as a sight break from my silkies and special needs chickens.

02/19/2023

My breeding group of coturnix quail are officially moved into their outdoor home! They’ve laid 3 eggs in there already and are happily exploring their new digs.

We still have some things to add later (looking forward to adding some plants in the spring/summer).

02/18/2023

This poor girl was attacked by an aggressive male (who I no longer have) a couple of weeks ago. She’s became terrified of all other quail after that so has been living by herself while her wounds heal. She had completely stopped laying since the attack.

A couple days ago, she started laying again! This weekend we’re going to introduce her to my younger girls so she won’t be alone anymore. Hoping it goes well!🤞

02/15/2023

So…so…so true

02/11/2023

Bowman’s was out of chicks today but there’s always next week 😆

02/09/2023

Two of my bantam Cochins have decided they want to be mothers and have gone broody (sitting eggs).

Roo (black and white mottled Cochin bantam) hatched/raised chicks last year and was a great momma. She’s sitting on 5 eggs, started on Feb 4.

Susie (frizzled Mille Fleur Cochin bantam) is a first timer. She’s sitting on 4 eggs, started today.

In about 21 days (less for Roo) we’ll hopefully have chicks peeking out from happy mommas!

02/08/2023

This little lady is Baby.

Baby is a Mille Fleur d’Uccle and is a bantam (or miniature) breed. She may be tiny but she is definitely fierce. Baby is the boss of her flock and even keeps the boys in line.

Baby is extra special because she nearly died the first day I had her when she was only 2-3 days old. She was very weak and unable to stand. Baby lived inside my shirt in my sports bra to keep her warm and I hand fed her vitamin water and chick food through the first day. Baby got stronger and was able to stand by the end of the day. She got her name because “no one puts Baby in a corner.”

02/05/2023

Rascal is such a good little boy! He’s a mottled cochin bantam. He hatched out April 16, 2022. He’s always been a sweetheart and comes when he’s called.

02/02/2023

02/02/2023

Quail babies turn 2 weeks old tomorrow! They grow so fast!

Note: they were only in the clear bin while we cleaned their brooder.

01/30/2023

Did you know that fresh eggs from your local farmer are much better for you? Studies show that farm fresh eggs have less cholesterol and saturated fat than those purchased from the store.

Additionally, they also contain more vitamin E, more beta carotene and up to 20 times more Omega-3 fatty acids. Plus- they are FRESH! Store bought eggs have already sat in refrigeration for over 30 days before they even hit the shelf for the consumer to buy!
Source: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

If you’re interested in getting eggs from me please check out my order form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf4yGqg93f4RcuwAz-COEiBft38s2gYqcKURrAROTbzwwDbTg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Eggs can be picked up in Olney or Damascus, Maryland

01/28/2023

Two of my 16 week old girls just started laying!! I’m not 100% sure which ones yet but based on egg color it’s my Easter Egger bantams and/or my Green Queen Easter Egger bantam.

One egg is blue in person and the other is green!

01/27/2023

This big guy is Link! He’s a Cochin rooster and the best boy ever.

He weighs about 10lbs and is a gentle giant.

His favorite snack is tomatoes (only food he doesn’t like to share). He loves to cuddle and talk to us. He’s gentle with his ladies and always watchful.

His crow sounds a bit like an owl.

01/27/2023

So excited to be starting this new page. Updates and information about our small farm will be posted here.

I look forward to sharing more about our animals and the products our farm offers.