Late afternoon today, our first little emu chick popped out. It is very alert and trying to stand.
Tomorrow I will move it into a pen under a heat lamp.
Hopefully over the next few days it will be joined by other sibblings.
Category: Poultry
Quail Hatch Day
Came down in the morning to find our first quail had hatched. The little ball of fluff was chirping and wondering around lonely in the incubator. By mid morning Fluffy had been joined by two others.
Eight eggs remain in the incubator so fingers crossed and may the hatching continue.
Hatching Quail Eggs!
Something new, never done it before. We were generously given quail eggs by someone who had purchased some of our honey. Told they were fertile, not having looked after quails before, we thought we would have a go at hatching.
As you can see, very small eggs – quail on the left, chicken egg in the middle and emu egg on the right.
The quail egg weighs 15 grams, the chicken egg 65 grams and the emu egg 750 grams!
To hatch a a quail egg the incubator temperature needs to be 37.1 centigrade with a humidity 50% RH.
A dozen eggs in our little incubator, I would expect about a 60% hatch rate. So possibly 7 quails, of which 60% or 4 will be male and 3 female. 23 days to hatch day and counting!
Check back for updates!
Beautiful Mornings!
The mornings over the past few days have been crisp, bright and warm!
Letting the animals out is even more of a joy when the weather is so gorgeous. You forget what is going on in the world.
After all, they don’t have a clue and every new day is another adventure.
Mr Fox is out and about
We have unfortunately lost a duck and a chicken over the last couple of days. Taken by Mr Fox! We haven’t ever had any issues with Foxes, but this year we have lost 3 ducks, 2 chickens and a goose!
Fox Attack & a Goose Killed
Yesterday afternoon one of our geese was killed by a local fox in Bickington.
This year we have now lost to foxes two ducks, a chicken and now a goose. We have not had loses like this for the last 7 years.
Fortunately, each time it has only been a single bird taken, and appears to be an opportunist always attacking in broad daylight in the afternoon. I suspect a young brazen fox, or a parent feeding cubs.
A warning to any other poultry keepers, or small pet owners in the Bickington or Fremington area, be vigilant!
The Geese Have Finished Laying
The geese have finished laying for this year, so we no longer have goose eggs for sale. We have a broody goose sitting on the last eggs laid, so maybe some spring goslings? Hopefully more goose eggs available from late February next year.
We still have plenty of duck eggs for sale. Please knock if you want to buy.