First Egg

The "girls" have begun laying and as of today I have two eggs!

Quail Heaven

Nothing like a good dust bath in the sod!

Slide Show

I found a web hosting site that is pretty cool.  It lets you upload your photos (really fast) and you can create slide shows and share pictures quick and easy.  So, here goes:

Quail Crowing

Here is a great short little video I found on YouTube of a Coturnix Quail crowing.  I had thought that the little sounds my quail were making was the crowing.  Then, I found, through research on the WEB, that the boy quails don't start to crow until 6 weeks old or so.  So, what I heard was not really crowing.  Well, here it is:

Four Weeks Old

It's hard to believe how much the little guys grew in just four weeks. Here is a photo of  the least camera shy of the group. Henry (aka Henrietta if eggs are involved) is not afraid to come right up to the camera and smile for the picture.

Day Outside

Today the quails got to spend the day outside.  I removed the droppings tray and just set the cage on the grass.  They had a blast eating all the nummy little bugs.

Another New Friend

Here is "Buckwheat".  He is the littlest of all the quail.  He also hatched last from the littlest egg.   I think he may be a boy.  However, we may just have to wait a bit longer to see.  He is holding his own with the bigger birds.  He is also getting in some nice reddish brown feathers.  These birds are a bit camera shy, but I will try to get a picture of each one and post it as I name them.

New Digs!

Today I moved the quail to their new cage.  They had a little trouble walking on the wire at first.  However, they adapted pretty well.  I think this will help keep them a bit cleaner in the long run.  I use corn cob bedding for them.  The information that I researched said that hard wood bedding is bad for their eyes, cedar is poisonous, and the paper stuff they sell is a bit of a pain.  Besides, I can use the droppings for fertilizer because the corn cob is biodegradable. 

 

In a couple of weeks I will have decided who will go into two different groups of four and put four in each cage.  Although, if the one cage is big enough and nobody fights, I'll keep them all together.  I have also started cataloging some of them by taking pictures.  The white ones now all look a bit different from each other.  I have named the brown one "Jimmi".  We are pretty sure he is a boy because of his coloring.  Th

e two golden ones are "Buckwheat" and "QT Pie".  I think Buckwheat is a boy.  His has some reddish feathers and he was crowing "court-ney, court-ney" this morning.  I'm pretty sure QT Pie is a girl.  I have named only one of the white ones.  He was also crowing this morning when I moved them all to their new cage.  His name is "Henry".

This is  Jimmi.  He is the first one that was named.  He was also the first to hatch.  My daughter thought he looked like those chocolate sprinkles that you put on ice cream.

Two Weeks Old Today

The quail are two weeks old today and have lots of feathers.  I can't believe how big they have gotten!  I may have to put them in their cage a week early.  Some of the white ones have black feathers growing on top of their heads.  This makes them look like they are sporting a funky Mohawk.  It's really cool to watch these little guys grow and change.  I should be the expert by next spring when we hatch them and watch them grow in class.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Today my daughter and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  We visited the Greek exhibit, the Egyptian exhibit, and the Medieval armor.  We also visited an exhibit called "Comic Book Heroes".  We saw the costumes of some famous movie characters such as Spider Man, Wonder Woman, and The Iron Man.   We also saw the armor that King Henry the VIII wore.   I took lots of pictures, but you are not allowed to use any flash.  We were not allowed to take any pictures at all in the Comic Book section.  This is a picture of a Greek Horse statue that I took in the Greek exhibit.  We really found it interesting that a lot of the treasures from ancient history that have been found are funerary in nature. A lot of caskets, burial boxes, etc.

One Week Old Today

Now they are one week old and beginning to get feathers.  They look a bit scraggly and like they have a bad hairdo.  I had to move them to a bigger box.  They are growing very fast.  At four weeks old they will be moved to a cage.  By five weeks old they won't need the heat lamp any more.

American Museum of Natural History

On Saturday my daughter and I visited the Museum of Natural History in New York City.  It was quite the adventure.  We took a train to Penn Station and then rode a city bus to the museum.  While we were there we saw the Planetarium show.  We also saw LOTS and LOTS of rocks and minerals.  I will be able to show you the pictures when we do our Earth Science unit. We also saw dinosaurs and various artifacts from all over the world.  One thing we learned was that all through history, all over the world, ALL people like to eat, listen to music, and wear hats and costumes!  On the way home we took a subway back to Penn Station and then the train back to the station for the car trip back home. 

Now There are 8!

Here is a brief video of all eight.  Three more hatched today while I was at a workshop.  My daughter put them in the brooder for me.  Now I need to think about building a cage!

Day 19

Today is the day!  So far 5 eggs have hatched.  One more looks like it has pipped and will try to hatch.  Here is a brief video of the first two hatchlings just minutes old, and the third egg that is getting ready to hatch.  These guys are a bit camera shy, and my camera is not the best.  I didn't get good video of the hatching.  

Patience

Whoever said "patience is a virtue" never had to wait for eggs to hatch!  I have 9 eggs left after disposing of those that did not show signs of development.  Several of them have started moving around in their egg, and every once in a while you can see the egg move.  Today is day 15 and they are due to hatch any minute!  I have stopped turning them.  Now, it's just wait, and wait, and wait! Hopefully, tomorrow I will have some pictures of hatching quail to post.

One Yolker

Tonight I candled the eggs.  One was definitely a yolker and was disposed of.  One I am not sure about.  The other nine have well developed air pockets.  Two of the eggs were "rockin' and a rollin'" all over the place this morning.  Maybe they are the ones that will hatch first.  I can barely contain myself!  Tomorrow I will put water in the water tray.  Wednesday I will add more water, stop turning them and lower the temperature one degree.  Then, it's wait and see!

Homemade Brooder

Due date for the little "fellas" to hatch begins around Thursday or Friday of this week.  In preparation for them I researched and then build a brooder box for them.  I candled the eggs last night and found that two of them are probably "yolkers".  I will recheck on Sunday night to be sure and dispose of those that will not hatch.  Two of the eggs have begun to form the air pocket.  That means that they will most likely hatch first.  The other seven eggs do show signs of development.  I am very excited.   

No Heartbeat Yet

I tried candling the eggs today.  It was very hard to see anything with all those brown spots.  I think most of them are fertile, but I won't know for sure for another week.  I even tried listening with a stethoscope.  No luck.  I might have heard a heartbeat in one of the eggs, but again it's too early to tell.  I'll check again in a few days.  However, these little guys are supposed to start hatching beginning around next Thursday.  So, by the time I find out it may be almost time to hatch!  

My New Incubator

Here is a picture of my new "homemade" incubator with new eggs. I am hoping they will hatch in time for the end of school so that I can post pictures of them here for you to see. Check back the last week of school as well as during the summer. I will be posting pictures of the hatching and the baby Cortunix Quail as they grow.

I will be visiting some museums and other interesting places this summer. Check back for pictures!