Poultry Movements - Last chance Summer Chicks
Wendy, our Ever-Ready Mama, has another set of eggs ready to hatch in the next week (or so). I've popped her in the freshly cleaned Rustic Roost. She has 6 eggs, which is a very small clutch for her.
Meanwhile, I've popped a handful of quail eggs and unfertilized Silkie eggs in with one of the Silkie hens in hopes she'll brood them. I'll gradually remove the Silkie eggs and pop in more quail eggs if she does. I'll likely have to remove the chicks once they hatch, from the accounts I'm seeing online, there's a possibility the super-activity of baby quail can spook Silkie mammas, so they may need to be brooder raised. We'll see how this goes.
Rachel came today to do the farm chores. I helped her with the quail and she still managed to let one of the quail loose. *eye roll* She'd already let one of the Ameraucanas loose. Banner day. She'd forgotten to clean the hutches, so I reminded her about that. She'd also not cleaned the pens, so that's not done. *extreme eye rolling* I've been outside about two hours total, helping with the quail and moving the Silkies around. Its now about 73F or so, likely a bit hotter in the direct sun, so I'm hanging out indoors. I'm thinking our little loose quail will return to hang out near the quail cages, so I keep checking through the windows. *cross fingers*
I hammered out the opening of the TOL workshop on Sunday while doing farmchores. Yay for multi-tasking. I've only 20 minutes, so its really only an overview. :D
Still dealing with the issue of gnats and the fodder system. I need to figure out what is safe for the sprouts and the chickens. Wondering if a tiny bit of hydrogen peroxide or vinegar would do. Must do some more research on this, so far I'm completely stalling out on finding anything.
And now, I think I need a nap. *zzz*
Meanwhile, I've popped a handful of quail eggs and unfertilized Silkie eggs in with one of the Silkie hens in hopes she'll brood them. I'll gradually remove the Silkie eggs and pop in more quail eggs if she does. I'll likely have to remove the chicks once they hatch, from the accounts I'm seeing online, there's a possibility the super-activity of baby quail can spook Silkie mammas, so they may need to be brooder raised. We'll see how this goes.
Rachel came today to do the farm chores. I helped her with the quail and she still managed to let one of the quail loose. *eye roll* She'd already let one of the Ameraucanas loose. Banner day. She'd forgotten to clean the hutches, so I reminded her about that. She'd also not cleaned the pens, so that's not done. *extreme eye rolling* I've been outside about two hours total, helping with the quail and moving the Silkies around. Its now about 73F or so, likely a bit hotter in the direct sun, so I'm hanging out indoors. I'm thinking our little loose quail will return to hang out near the quail cages, so I keep checking through the windows. *cross fingers*
I hammered out the opening of the TOL workshop on Sunday while doing farmchores. Yay for multi-tasking. I've only 20 minutes, so its really only an overview. :D
Still dealing with the issue of gnats and the fodder system. I need to figure out what is safe for the sprouts and the chickens. Wondering if a tiny bit of hydrogen peroxide or vinegar would do. Must do some more research on this, so far I'm completely stalling out on finding anything.
And now, I think I need a nap. *zzz*