End of Quail Quest

This morning Ermentrude was looking rough - all fluffed up and sleeping with her head in her feather. 

We knew something wasn't right. 

When we gave her food as usual, she perked up and started moving about, but then, went back to sleep. 

We thought we'd leave her alone and see, but as it's that time of the year, we didn't want to have any emergencies, so we took her to the vets.

There was no egg stuck in her, but the vet found multiple lumps inside her. 

She had a cancer. 

She looked fine, especially on her way to the vet. Looking around, singing a little bit...but she was full of fluid that built up inside her due to the cancer. There wasn't anything the vet could do to cure her, and the cancer was going to make her suffer.

We had to put her to sleep. I'll never forget her "fine face" when she was taken into the "back room" of the vet. She really did, look fine, like a fine quail. 

R.I.P. Ermentrude, the easy going quail.

Thanks for the eggs...

So...

That's that. Our Quail Quest ended today.

For the time being we won't get any quail. One day, when we move somewhere with a much bigger land, we will make a HUGE quail house, maybe get 4 quail, and give them the best life they can possibly have.

Until then...Good bye!

Sad news...

During September, Rusty passed away. 

She seemed to have stopped laying eggs, but her body was still trying to create eggs. After the vet's autopsy, she apparently had some eggs inside her (more like hard boiled eggs with no shells). This had caused an obstruction in her Fallopian tubes and eventually had caused an infection in her lungs.

Vet didn't think that she was in any pain though.  

Rusty, thank you for the eggs over the last 2 years.

Now, Ermentrude is on her own in the house. 

She seems ok, though, it's very hard to tell what quail might be thinking.

Her egg laying is more irregular than ever, and she's been laying eggs with weird shape / coloring, often broken.

We need to keep eyes on her and record exactly when she stops laying - hopefully we can see the vet regularly from then on to make sure she doesn't get blocked. 

Otherwise, Ermentrude is bouncing around in the nicely heated quail house! 

She's singing everyday. A little bit different singing style to other quail...

This is how it's going to be

 Thanks to Stevie the peace-keeping decoy quail, Ermentrude and Rusty are friends again!

Qozy Quail.

Since then, they had some short fights, but nothing too nasty. This might just be how they are going to be!

We thought Rusty was the one stopped laying, but it might be Ermentrude. We have one egg per day or every two days...from somebody!

Post Holiday Argument

After such a memorable holiday, for whatever reason the truly qrazy quail are fighting again!!!!!!

Rusty was behaving very oddly, and we thought she was just having a quail menopause, as she stopped laying eggs lately....but then we saw Ermentrude chasing her around, quite viciously!

We put Ermentrude in the cage (within the green house) for a couple of days.

We let her out...

She went STRAIGHT for Rusty!

So we put Rusty in the cage for a couple of days.

We let her out...

Ermentrude went straight for Rusty......!

Final and ONLY solution - STEVIE the Decoy Quail.

Cleaned, re-painted, and improved Stevie, all ready to go.

"Now then, ladies..."

"I'm here to sort you two out!!"

By moving Stevie into different locations occasionally, the real quail seem to think Stevie is real (or just a strange object in different locations...).

Oh no......not her again!

Two qrazy quail seem too busy thinking about Stevie, and there have been no sign of war for a day and half... Let's hope that everyone can live in peace now.

We are going on a summer holiday...

Well, maybe not summer, but it was warm(ish) today, so Qrazy Quail went on their holiday in the garden! 

We bought a Fellside Animal Pen from Charlecote Pet shop, and we put it around a currant bush. Netting which came with the pen wasn't big enough to cover over the bush, so we used a different net. 

SO.....HAVE FUN, LADIES!!

Ermentrude (left) and Rusty (right)

They seemed really happy! 

They were bouncing around, pecking, digging, and dozing off in the shade....

They were out for about 4 hours. 

Meanwhile, their house got cleaned thoroughly.....and look what we found!!! 

This cute mouse isn't a permanent resident, and there's only this one about (so it seems.....!). We put an extra glass at the bottom of the greenhouse (one side was just netting) to make it hard for anybody else to get in.

Quail are now back in their mansion.

We are going to buy another pen to extend their holiday area. Roll on summer!

Updates

Very sad news.

29th July, 2013

Zebedee passed away.

She was breathing heavily, not moving around, eyes closed....a little bit like how Rusty was a couple of weeks ago. So we thought we'd leave her and see how she is later.

Well, things didn't improve, so I booked an appointment with the vet. Within 15 minutes from making the appointment, she passed away. 

We took her body to the vet anyway, as we recently lost Dougal and we wanted to make sure there wasn't anything bad going on in the quail house which could potentially harm Rusty and Ermentrude. 

The vet did an autopsy on Zebedee, and said she had Peritonitis. Couldn't tell what caused it, but there was nothing anyone could've done to save her. 

Sorry Zebedee. You were a very good quail, full of character, a little bit smaller than everyone else and always had a spiky hair-do...

Thank you for the eggs. We miss you.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's the second winter in the qrazy quail land. With just Rusty and Ermentrude in the house, we thought we need to make sure they have all the warmth they can get. 

They now have a heat lamp (just heat, not light). Their house is now warmer than the house we live in....

This is their own sun. 

This is their own Christmas tree.

MERRY QRISTMAS! From Qrazy Quail.

Who's the leader!?

While Rusty wasn't too well, there has been a change of leadership in the big quail land.

The leader is now, the easy-going-quail, Ermentrude!!!

Looks like she even got a medallion!

And Rusty and Zebedee seem to spend a lot of time together. When Rusty was in a REALLY bad state, Zebedee didn't leave her side!

(Rusty on the left)

(Rusty on the right)

Anyway, when Rusty got better, she started to fight with Ermentrude to reclaim her leadership!!!!!!!!! NOOO!!!

Ermentrude has been the most kind, non-biased, and good natured quail...so I was worried and feeling sad that she was involved in the major fight!

But I saw this yesterday, and my worries have disappeared!

Qosy Quail!!!!

ill, or not?

We had a slightly frustrating, but kind of ok days recently. One morning, Rusty suddenly became unable to walk properly, and when we picked her up to see any injury, we could feel a sticking out bone (maybe a sternum?). We couldn't see any blood or external injury as such, but she was struggling to move. 

So we made an appointment with a local vet. 

She looked like she was dying all day. No strength in her legs, etc. 

"Ok, it's time, Rusty, we are taking you to the vet...............??!.....Rusty????"

SHE WAS WALKING, EATING, DRINKING, STRETCHING, SCRATCHING, FLAPPING, BATHING.....like a normal, healthy quail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We cancelled the vet appointment in the end, as we were worried that there will be another war if we take her outside, and if there was nothing wrong with her, there will be an unnecessary fight. 

Now then, a couple of days later, it happened again. So this time we took her to the vet!

The vet gave her antibiotics and worming injection, but apart from that, she didn't see anything wrong with her! The vet said that normally ill birds are painfully thin and weak. Rusty has a good fat reserve!!!

She came home, no fighting with Ermentrude or Zebedee, just happily quailing. 

It happened again yesterday morning, we left her in the house, she was fine by the evening......

What can we do!? Nothing!

Those Quail are Qrazy!

R.I.P. Dougal.....

We have no idea what happened, but yesterday morning she was found lying on the hutch floor, cold. 

There was no evidence of injury. She was definitely the most healthiest looking quail....

She was only a year old and it doesn't feel right that she's already gone.

Dear Dougal. It was fun to live with you, and thank you for all the eggs. 

Qrazy Quail Q&A

I've been receiving some Quail Questions from Qrazy Quail Keepers all around the world, so here is a quick summary. Hope it's useful! 

Q. I can't find "quail food". What do you feed them with?

A. I make my own Quality Quail Food. I use an electric coffee grinder to grind Organic Layers Pellet down to almost, but not quite powder. Then mix this with Chick Crumb, Poultry Spice and Bird Grit (for small birds, not for chickens!). 

Our quail gets dry mealworms first thing in the morning, and late afternoon.

They sometimes find earthworms etc in the plant pots I give them, so they enjoy eating those too.....

They sometimes get a cob of sweetcorn and broccoli stems.

Q. What kind of sand do you use for their sand bath?

A. I buy Play Sand from Argos or DIY shops. The sand in the bags is normally wet, so I have a special Quail Sand Frying Pan, and cook the sand until it's lovely and dry. Let it cool down, and I sometimes mix Mite Powder in the sand. I also have a special Quail Sand Sieve, to get rid of feather, straw, poo, whatever ends up in the bath. I then re-cook the old sand before returning it to the quail. 

Q. Do the quail try and escape from their house?

A. No. They seem pretty happy. We haven't had any incidents so far! 

Q. Do the quail sing often?

A. Yes they do, often in three-part harmony. They do a proper dawn chorus, and also when the sun is shining. Can be quite loud, but their songs are very nice and none of our neighbours complained.    

     

Q. How many eggs does one quail lay in a day? 

A.  One quail lays one egg a day.

Q. What are you going to do with the quail once they stop laying? 

A. We didn't really get the quail for eggs or meat, so they'll just carry on being Quail. 

World Quail Peace

Quail are singing....

March has been bitterly cold, and quail have been using 3 hot water bottles. 

Ermentrude, keeping warm...

But look, today the sun is shining!!! 

Quail are singing!!

Rusty is laughing!!!

War is over....?

Well, maybe it was just a short war, or they are just having a quick "cease-fire!!!"......or maybe they are happier that now the sun is finally out!?!?

Whatever the reason, I'm all for not fighting! 

Now then, qrazy quail. I thought I'd distract you all from fighting and I made a summer hut. 

It has some stress-release features, such as a Christmas bauble (they can peck on their own reflection, if they want to peck at each other!) and cuttlefish bones (they can peck on the bones if they want to peck at each other!!!). 

I've also painted greenery, which is not poisonous and is highly evergreen. 

?! More clutter !?

Whether quail care about the summer hut or not, it's not important. But I have noticed this!

Zebedee is on the ramp, and guess who's on the polystyrene house......

It's Rusty!!!!!!

And she's not pecking at Zebedee, and Zebedee didn't seem scared at all!!!!

War is over!

The World Qrazy Quail War III

Honestly, those qrazy quail are QRAZY!!

I don't know whether they are being a bit mean because they are going through moulting, or because it's cold and grey everyday - they have started another war!

Zebedee is being pecked by Rusty, and then by Dougal too. (Ermentrude the easy going quail has no problem with anybody whatsoever. What a good quail).

So the "slickness" of Zebedee after moulting, is no longer. She is looking raggedy again!

She often spends time on the roof of the house and checks whereabouts of Rusty and Dougal. 

So here is the new layout with new plants.

They can go up the bark-ramp to the roof of the wooden house. From there I put extra ramp to the polystyrene house, as an escape route. Water and food are available there, in case Zebedee really doesn't want to go down to eat or drink....so there are 3 feeding areas in this small house!

The new green plant is Azalea japonica. Later on I found out that Azelea is highly poisonous!! So I got rid of that quickly (because quail were munching on it!!!!). Now they have larger conifer plant and a couple of rosemaries. Hope they'll be ok....I'm worried now....I thought that Azelea were used to provide hiding place for game birds. Maybe it would've been ok, but I didn't want to risk it!

I put a pot of grass (that got killed long time ago) in front of the poly house, hoping that Zebedee can hop on and off gracefully,she needs to make a quick run.

....There she comes....

!!

!! water and food !!

Ta daaaaa!

It may be time to re-paint the quail decoy, Stevie the peacekeeper.....

SNOW!

It snowed quite heavily today. But don't worry, our qrazy quail are happy and warm. 

We put a plastic covered blanket on the roof which seems to keep the house insulated. 

They have a couple of hot water bottles under the straw too (we give them a new hot water bottle 2-3 times during a day and once before we go to bed).

Slick Zebedee, looking at the snow...

Keep warm!

Moulting!

This is something that happened in November - December....

I was away, and my husband was in charge of the qrazy quail.

One day I received an email from him saying that quail might have started the World Qrazy Quail War III. 

He couldn't see any signs of heavy pecking etc, but one was looking ever so sad and bald! So he separated the "bullied" one into the famous cage within the green house.

I asked him to send me some photos of this "pecked" quail, and I saw this!

They are not at war....She't just moulting!!!

I had finches and budgies when I a child, so I know about those new feathers wrapped in the "straws". 

Phew!!!

So the cage went, and everyone carried on with their lives. 

I now know this is normal, but what a silly time to be moulting......It's cold, so let's lose some feather! 

Anyway, this particular quail was Dougal, and she's looking even slicker than she did before. 

Also Zebedee had hers after Dougal, and now her "tuft" is gone!!!!!!!!! Her head is looking as slick as Dougal!

Happy Moulting.