Set my first eggs today!

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lovezebs
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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by lovezebs » Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:58 am

Holy Crow, look at how they've grown.

Wow!

Now I know next to nothing about Quails, but I do recall reading somewhere that males will fight, sometimes to the death. Is this true, and is this something you'll have to plan for???
~Elana~

Linnies~ Canaries ~ Zebras ~ Societies ~ Gouldians ~ Orange Cheeks ~ Shaft Tails ~ Strawberries ~ Red Cheek Cordon Bleu ~ Goldbreasts ~ Red Brows ~ Owls ~ Budgies ~ Diamond Firetails ~ Javas ~ Forbes Parrot Finches ~

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Celeris
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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by Celeris » Mon Jun 12, 2017 7:32 pm

lovezebs

Isn't that absolutely remarkable? This is my first experience raising any animal except dogs from "infancy," so it's been amazing to see how quickly they grow! The fact that these guys have already shed all their down and are showing their adult colors is just too neat, to me.

I've heard mixed opinions on the topic of male quail co-habitating. A lot of folks apparently have success with males from the same brood living together their entire lives as long as no females are around. Others... Well, not so much. I'm watching mine closely for any signs of aggression and, of course, have plenty of extra cages in the case that someone decides he doesn't like someone else... But hey, that's no different than I do on a daily basis with my zebs! I honestly would be okay trying to make just the three boys work, but my husband apparently has his heart set on pairing them up and getting teensy quail eggs. And, hey, I'm not looking that gift horse in the mouth--if he wants me to get MORE birds, then more birds it is! :lol:

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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by MisterGribs » Tue Jun 13, 2017 3:41 pm

Celeris wrote: MisterGribs

Yes, mine are house pets. The original idea was that I'd pick one pair to go at the bottom of my flight. That's gone extremely well, with three males... Now I'm pursuing finding three hens for them and have had to order a stand with cages. On the bright side, the cages are 30x18x18... I'm sure you can guess what I'm thinking of doing with the spares! :lol: It's no secret that I'm a Crazy Bird Lady at this point!

I think lovezebs may have the right of it--I bet she's not yet matured to that point, so she's keeping her distance. Mine being all boys, I haven't had any such issues just yet. Hopefully your little hen will settle down with time?

Here's a little comparison of my boys at two weeks (top photo) and them now, at six weeks. Such a difference in so short a time!
I love that classic one on the left, gorgeous. Heta (my wife) wants to know what you've named yours!

My roo is driving me insane, he is obsessed with me and spends 24 hours trying to interact with me. If he's on the floor, he hates me and flogs me, challenging for head roostership (not gonna happen) but if I pick him up, I magically am no longer head roo, but daddy dearest. Eyes closed, back of head puffed out, chirping and purring like he wasn't beating my foot 2 seconds ago. It's so confusing, and a little annoying as he has, as of today, learned to rip my leg hairs out by the roots. He also crows at night because he gets lonely, and then when I get up and bring him to bed with me he wants to destroy all life forms.

Weirdly enough, he just sees Heta as a hen, and he chases her for an entirely different reason. :x Hands off my woman, your whippersnapper!

I looked into castration/caponization, but it's so horribly cruel, I can't believe anyone practices this on a living being. I guess I'll just ride it out. Do yours have violent mood swings like this?
2 black cheek zebras and 5 CFW zebras, one A&M pied coturnix hen, my darling cream/lavender coturnix roo, and his attitude.

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lovezebs
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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by lovezebs » Tue Jun 13, 2017 5:02 pm

=)) =)) =))

Absolutely love the Roo adventures.
~Elana~

Linnies~ Canaries ~ Zebras ~ Societies ~ Gouldians ~ Orange Cheeks ~ Shaft Tails ~ Strawberries ~ Red Cheek Cordon Bleu ~ Goldbreasts ~ Red Brows ~ Owls ~ Budgies ~ Diamond Firetails ~ Javas ~ Forbes Parrot Finches ~

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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by Babs _Owner » Wed Jun 14, 2017 8:05 am

Mistergribs

The quail kids look beautiful. I love the great way you describe their shenanigans! :)) You wanted the little feathered man to imprint. By golly he has certainly imprinted.

Don't be jealous (chuckle). Get some fake quail eggs and let Heta place them one by one each day in a little nest for him. Maybe he would get broody and calm down. She could help alternate "sitting" by placing her hand over the nest when he gets up to eat or drink.

The added entertainment would be priceless. Hahaha!

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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by MisterGribs » Wed Jun 14, 2017 11:28 am

Babs wrote: Mistergribs

The quail kids look beautiful. I love the great way you describe their shenanigans! :)) You wanted the little feathered man to imprint. By golly he has certainly imprinted.

Don't be jealous (chuckle). Get some fake quail eggs and let Heta place them one by one each day in a little nest for him. Maybe he would get broody and calm down. She could help alternate "sitting" by placing her hand over the nest when he gets up to eat or drink.

The added entertainment would be priceless. Hahaha!
You might be on to somethinh, there. :o
2 black cheek zebras and 5 CFW zebras, one A&M pied coturnix hen, my darling cream/lavender coturnix roo, and his attitude.

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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by MisterGribs » Wed Jun 14, 2017 11:38 am

He's such a blob
He's such a blob
Flogged the back of my head till he got tired then cuddled up.
Flogged the back of my head till he got tired then cuddled up.
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2 black cheek zebras and 5 CFW zebras, one A&M pied coturnix hen, my darling cream/lavender coturnix roo, and his attitude.

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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by lovezebs » Wed Jun 14, 2017 1:01 pm

Oh my....

Just got to love this guy.

I can't believe how big he's got in this last little while :D .
~Elana~

Linnies~ Canaries ~ Zebras ~ Societies ~ Gouldians ~ Orange Cheeks ~ Shaft Tails ~ Strawberries ~ Red Cheek Cordon Bleu ~ Goldbreasts ~ Red Brows ~ Owls ~ Budgies ~ Diamond Firetails ~ Javas ~ Forbes Parrot Finches ~

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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by MisterGribs » Wed Jun 14, 2017 3:38 pm

He's a funny guy, and as mean as he is, he won't bother my finches, even when they're on the floor. He's afraid of them, the big sissy. Must be their lack of vulnerable leg hairs.
2 black cheek zebras and 5 CFW zebras, one A&M pied coturnix hen, my darling cream/lavender coturnix roo, and his attitude.

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Celeris
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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by Celeris » Thu Jun 22, 2017 3:19 pm

MisterGribs

The wild coloration roo is my favorite of the three! He's been named "Jeeves," since his little bib makes him look so much like a little butler. The silver, in the middle, is named Lore, and my little cinnamon tuxedo, on the far right, is Speedy (bet you'll never guess how he got that name. :lol:) I picked up three young hens for them on Monday--I'll have to post pictures of them when I'm on my other computer. I was able to pair Jeeves with a wild female and they are just an absolutely stunning couple. The most well-adjusted, too. Lore and his girlfriend are, well, potentially in need of counselling. I think I may have a situation similar to yours on my hands there, though--I think she's not fully mature just yet. The other two are laying consistently for me, but she's not. And, as far as I can tell, she's not egg bound. So I think their spats may be her rejection of his advances.

Oh goodness, love hearing about your roo's shenanigans! Sorry that he's figured out to pluck your leg hairs, though--that can't be pleasant! My three roos have been extremely docile, with each other, their mates, and me. My husband hasn't handled them much, though, so maybe it's the testosterone thing?

Love all the pictures of your quail kids! So glad they have you two to love all over them!

Are you guys planning to try to hatch out any more, since you only got the two? I am thinking that, in the future, I will probably hatch some from my pairs.

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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by MisterGribs » Thu Jun 22, 2017 7:40 pm

Celeris wrote: MisterGribs

The wild coloration roo is my favorite of the three! He's been named "Jeeves," since his little bib makes him look so much like a little butler. The silver, in the middle, is named Lore, and my little cinnamon tuxedo, on the far right, is Speedy (bet you'll never guess how he got that name. :lol:) I picked up three young hens for them on Monday--I'll have to post pictures of them when I'm on my other computer. I was able to pair Jeeves with a wild female and they are just an absolutely stunning couple. The most well-adjusted, too. Lore and his girlfriend are, well, potentially in need of counselling. I think I may have a situation similar to yours on my hands there, though--I think she's not fully mature just yet. The other two are laying consistently for me, but she's not. And, as far as I can tell, she's not egg bound. So I think their spats may be her rejection of his advances.

Oh goodness, love hearing about your roo's shenanigans! Sorry that he's figured out to pluck your leg hairs, though--that can't be pleasant! My three roos have been extremely docile, with each other, their mates, and me. My husband hasn't handled them much, though, so maybe it's the testosterone thing?

Love all the pictures of your quail kids! So glad they have you two to love all over them!

Are you guys planning to try to hatch out any more, since you only got the two? I am thinking that, in the future, I will probably hatch some from my pairs.
It definitely is the testosterone, but I have some good news for you, it won't last! They're really really bad when they're going through the change, but he has calmed way down and is back to his old sweet self. I think it's just a pecking order phase, and once they've established who's boss (ME!!! :evil: ) they just accept their places and get along.

As for the rejected advances, I figured something out to help mine quite a bit that solved the problem almost completely:

1. Don't let him chase the hen. Pick her up. If he's holding on to her, grab her feathers at the point where his beak is, and pry them away. The more he tries to force her, the more she will hate him.

2. They have a natural courtship behavior that they can't always effectively carry out in captivity. The rooster will pick up a piece of food, the rarer and more delicious it is the better, and pretend to eat it while making a pt-pt-pt-pt sound to attract the hen. He will tease her with the food, playing keep-away for a little while and then let her take it. If he's trying to force her, pick her up, and offer the roo a special treat; just one, so she can't just pick up her own. When he starts too cluck, put her down.

Rinse and repeat, and eventually they will get along. he will stop chasing her as much, and even when he does, she won't run so hard.

Diglett was a late layer. We just now got some eggs, and she's laid two a day so far! She also acts broody, and turns the eggs, but doesn't sit on them. I don't really let them accumulate into a clutch.

I WOULD LOVE TO HATCH SOME BABIES but Heta is like 'Absolutely not.' She doesn't want to get overrun with birds, and she's the smart one in this instance, I guess one of us has to be reasonable. Plus, there's no guarantee we'll get a hen, and I would have to kill a perfectly lovable rooster which I don't want to do.

Our living arrangements with the birds are just perfect as of now, I'd hate to fix something that isn't broken!
2 black cheek zebras and 5 CFW zebras, one A&M pied coturnix hen, my darling cream/lavender coturnix roo, and his attitude.

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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by lovezebs » Thu Jun 22, 2017 8:46 pm

The Roo adventures continue, lol.

Are they breeding? that you are concerned (or Heta is concerned) that chicks will hatch?
~Elana~

Linnies~ Canaries ~ Zebras ~ Societies ~ Gouldians ~ Orange Cheeks ~ Shaft Tails ~ Strawberries ~ Red Cheek Cordon Bleu ~ Goldbreasts ~ Red Brows ~ Owls ~ Budgies ~ Diamond Firetails ~ Javas ~ Forbes Parrot Finches ~

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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by MisterGribs » Fri Jun 23, 2017 4:58 pm

lovezebs

They're thinking about it. Almost no coturnix hens will go broody, so I don't have much to worry about. It's even unusual that Diglett lays hers in an actual nest and turns them! They normally just lay them on the floor while walking around and don't even seem to notice.

It's awfully tempting to pop one in the incubator though, lol.
2 black cheek zebras and 5 CFW zebras, one A&M pied coturnix hen, my darling cream/lavender coturnix roo, and his attitude.

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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by MisterGribs » Fri Jun 23, 2017 5:03 pm

Diglett posing in front of the nest.
Diglett posing in front of the nest.
2 black cheek zebras and 5 CFW zebras, one A&M pied coturnix hen, my darling cream/lavender coturnix roo, and his attitude.

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lovezebs
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Re: Set my first eggs today!

Post by lovezebs » Fri Jun 23, 2017 7:10 pm

Heta will kill you!!! [-X [-X [-X
~Elana~

Linnies~ Canaries ~ Zebras ~ Societies ~ Gouldians ~ Orange Cheeks ~ Shaft Tails ~ Strawberries ~ Red Cheek Cordon Bleu ~ Goldbreasts ~ Red Brows ~ Owls ~ Budgies ~ Diamond Firetails ~ Javas ~ Forbes Parrot Finches ~

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