See, I Didn't Even Name It!
My time crunch has made me a typo queen. Out of character, but there it is, so maybe it's a new element of my persona. Typos that get left there versus not blogging because I don't have time to make it perfect because typos usually drive me insane. The "good enough" test is passed with flying colors. I'll get back to my former rigor once I'm back in the groove of regular posts.
All I can write right now is what I'm up to. Grander thoughts and photos will have to wait, though I am very eager to get back to talking politics (hmm, the Tea Party's a little embarassing) and feminism (this men's recession is a bitch, but shake-ups are not always bad) and dinner (I'm thinking of gearing up quail operations but need to hawk-proof the run). So bear with me.
In the meantime, talk amongst yourselves. Here's a subject: MY FANPAGE!!!! Okay, no. Really. How about this? A fave song from a few years ago, stuck in my head today. Sure, the video is a snarky romp through religious history (maybe not really the best Passover/Lenten viewing), but my school plays never had this kind of production value. And the Shins are yummy. So I'm listening again anyway.
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12 comments:
I would love to hear about your scaled-up quail plans! What do you currently have poultry-wise?
The quail are just two hens and a (finally acting like a boy) cockerel. A friend is making an incubator. We'll then need a brooder as well, of course, but the plan is to raise some Silkie Bantams, place them around and about town per some standing requests (we have one hen now who sleeps in the shower at night--smelly but quiet), maybe keep two more hens, then do a brood of quail for food (boys) and eggs (girls).
The very prospect is daunting, but Gertrude's eggs so far are vastly superior to even the local eggs we get through the co-op. Those are delicious as well, but the shells are not as hard and the yolks not as perky. Gertrude just eats bugs and greens all day long, ranging around as she pleases.
The quail eggs are also delicious, just boiled, or amazing poached in butter...haaa.
Sorry it took a month, btw!
Where did the actual answer go? My computer is being crashy.
We're planning on incubating a batch of silky bantams first, keeping a few hens (we have one now, she ranges during the day and sleeps in the shower at night...), then we're going to do quail. We have two hens and a cockerel so far.
All the eggs are out of this world! It's the bugs they're eating in the yard. Marvelous.
So you'll use the bantams as broodies for the quail, instead of incubating them? I'm interested in trying that eventually. How do you keep your silkie from flying out of the yard? Are they very poor fliers? I know most bantams fly much better than the big birds but maybe silkies lack the proper feathers?! A silkie would not fair well in wet and cold Scotland!
I wasn't thinking bantam as brooder for quail. She doesn't seem to relate to the quail eggs. They're just too small.
Since we want more silkie hens, we're going to do them first. The quail are a separate hatching.
She never flies at all. I'll have to look, I think she has flight feathers, but she's a pretty decorative beast, I'm not sure she's capable. Even when the dog loses her restraint and lunges, Gertrude just flaps and cackles. She can't even get up onto chairs or tables. No chicken in a tree at night problems, nor fly-away issues.
I'm not sure how they'd do in Scotland. That's got to be googlable. They're so broody, all winter and much of summer, it would be easy to keep them warm indoors (barn, coop) as actual run around time is minimal.
See, I was also going to ask you how poodle + poultry worked out because I love them as a breed but am wary of their desire to retrieve!
Siklies don't do well outdoors here but they'd be fine in the shed - I prefer a more prolific laying hybrid though, like Black Rocks, but I do have a soft spot for Pekins - so sweet!
The place I got my quail from uses bantams as broodies occasionally but you have to cut the leg feathers or any furry breeds or the tiny bumblebee chicks simply get swept away by them!
Good luck with it all - do you raise bunnies for meat too? Or just cuddling and manure? I suppose it's a bit warm there for angoras??
Our poodle is very poodle, smart as the dickens and well trained. She knows the bird is mine. Therefore she mostly leaves her unmolested. She's never mouthed her, and only one excited stomp as far as I know. A puppy may not fare as well. Stella was two when we got Gertrude, and we kept them separated for a long while. Now Stella's three, she's interested, curious, but doesn't touch.
Interesting to know bantams can brood quail! I didn't see why not, but Gertrude just doesn't seem to understand the quail eggs are eggs. One of my quail hens is brooding over a nest, which is remarkable as they've all seemed fairly inept until now. We'll see!
Yes, the bunnies are dwarf. One a calico rex, the other a white mix. They eat and frolic. The plants are grateful.
I'll take a peek at those other bantam breeds.
Excellent, I love to hear the details of other home schooling edible forest gardeners' set ups! Good luck.
Are you reachable another way? It would be fun to friend on FB or such...we're doing the same stuff.
No, I'm not on FB anymore, I just have the blog. FB was too time-sucking!
Hey, we got our first quail eggs!
I saw them on the blog. Aren't they fun?!
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