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.

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.

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.  

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!