So here a little something I noticed. We only move the tractor once every two days now and they seem to always make a little dirt bowl best thing in about the same area ..idk if it's in or all over them sharing it but when I walk up there's usually ones in it and by 5p.m these always at least 1 egg in or with a inch or two of it. Is one of my quail maybe trying to sit on these or is she just popping them out right there because she's already there chilling ?

The hen is probably laying there because that's where she's hanging out. Most coturnix never set or go broody. The coturnix that have passed on the most genes are the ones that laid the most eggs that were incubated. Maternal instinct have mostly been bred out of them.

Keith

Gotcha that's what I figured but was watching some stuff where folks had them in natural avairy type deals and apparently thought it's still rare there more likely to be broody in that type of environment vs wire o well... We're still debating the incubator deal though , not sure how well the wife would handle dealing with any losses. She loves critters but the whole death part of things kinda messes with her

You likely wouldn't have many chicks she needed to cull, but there would be some. Probably well under 1% have an issue such as curled toes or splayed legs. We cull them and others, freeze them and sell them for 85 cents each wholesale, or $1.50 each retail. I sell live chicks for $3.00 each. Some people charge considerably more. Coturnix chicks sell all year, but live chicks sell best in the Spring.

There's dozens of posts weekly on the various quail forums where someone is trying to save a deformed quail chick.they should just humanely put down. People often wrongly equate their lives to human lives. An instant death for an animal is better than a lifetime of pain from moving poorly.

It might be good for her to learn this.

I like coturnix quail as a species, but not as individuals.

Keith

You might want to start breaking the news to her now that every single one of those birds are going to die. That is just part of the game.

Death is just a part of farming.

It's not like that , I mean she's the one who delt with the last two dead ones we had that's one thing , but killing stuff ( unless it's an absolute necessity), and dead baby critters not her jam. And sorry I'm not gonna force it on her. I mean shes considering incubating but culling and all. One of the main reasons we don't have meat rabbits

Yeah I'm still getting her used to all this , she was raised in the suburbs and all . Loves live out here understands the need for all the gritty stuff , heck she comes hunting and fishing with me but as far as her taking any life ....yeah we're still working on that ... slowly..
Know when we where still dating she had a coon messing up her flower and told me she wanting me to kill it...well she happened to have walked out on me right as I pulled the trigger on it in the cage trap and well the whole song and danger a head shot coon does ....yeaaaahhhhh

But on the bright side she's not one of these hippy dippy can't kill anything types so

You could make her up a little kill stick just for quail. Sump'n say 2 inches long. Be pretty painless. Easier on both of em'.

I think you wife will learn over time. She has a good teacher.

Keith

Put a bowl of sand in there for them to dust bath and watch them go to town.

Funny enough I did just that !

Well it's just dirt but still, also hooked them up a lil fan because it seemed like they were getting hot, got a solar powered one coming in the mail

Very nice project. It's OK that your wife has a soft heart. Country living will grow on her as time goes on, killing and dying is part of the cycle of life.

Too may city folks grew up reading Charlotte's Web and watching Disney.

Death is a part of living period!
Farming is just hands on reality.

I butchered 30 of them this past weekend nothing better than eating what you can raise.