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I was told to bring our new acquisition in here: A student at the university got caught keeping a pet in the dorms. My wife wanted quail ever since we moved into this house, since we're not allowed to have chickens (there was no avoiding living in an HOA here), and happened to see it, so now we're gonna have quail. The cage is just temporary until the hutch she ordered arrives since the kid needed to get rid of her immediately. We'll also be acquiring more so she has some friends (and we have more eggs). We're still in the process of naming, for some reason birds are tougher than cats. EDIT: Nevermind, apparently her name is Tammy after Rick and Morty. BaronVonVaderham fucked around with this message at 15:18 on Sep 30, 2022 |
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Sep 30, 2022 15:16
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 16:32 |
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 Tammy's doing so well. She really likes just being near people. The cats are doing fine aside from Iska who I will never trust around a bird ever. Rexie's just curious, as pictured here.
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Oct 2, 2022 01:08
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Tammy now has a place to live outside! She's uncertain and wary, but given that she was living in a cardboard box in a dorm room her whole life, she's handling the transition well. She's just bouncing around her little yard checking everything out, enjoying the sand bath tub and the bedding inside the house. The eggs are being picked up by my wife right now, USPS was smart enough to not put that box on a truck in the FL heat and called us to pick it up instead. Soon Tammy will have friends 
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Oct 6, 2022 17:26
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Tammy is loving her new palace. She's looking really healthy, her feathers are much better and whiter (she loves her sand bath tub), except for the very top of her head. I'm not sure why it seems like she's losing feathers up there? I've owned a parrot who plucked his feathers, but I've never seen it on the top of the head.  But it doesn't seem to bother her, the skin looks fine, and she's a happy little quail now.
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Oct 9, 2022 22:43
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https://i.imgur.com/bYNbf6L.mp4
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Oct 26, 2022 16:05
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Sorry to hear about that, that sucks  We did drop that down further. So far everyone seems to be thriving and they're all getting along (Peanut Hamper might be a little bit of a dick, but there's plenty of food and water access so they can't bully the others away, everyone's getting plenty).
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Oct 26, 2022 23:04
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I can't believe how fast these grow. Here's little Zapdos with their food coloring mohawk   Didn't want to leave my hand, they're getting very used to humans.
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Oct 27, 2022 18:30
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Poor Petal. I don't handle animal death well since being a vet tech for a few years, so this quail adventure's gonna be rough but hopefully also help me work through it. Right now we're still in the "omg the chicks are so tiny and cute" phase.  This one's Peanut Hamper. I was there when they hatched and they seem to have bonded to me. They always come running and just snuggle down into my hand when I pick them up (the others are eager to escape and attempt to fly even though their little wing feathers are just starting to come in).
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Oct 29, 2022 20:26
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Gwaihir the Windlord is the easiest chick to pick out of the bunch.
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Oct 31, 2022 02:33
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Zapdos appears to be evolving.
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Oct 31, 2022 20:13
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We have liftoff! https://i.imgur.com/NDyBWTf.mp4 Side note: how do you force uploads to various social media to use the original video quality? I feel like everyone else's videos are in like 172435336k while mine always get compressed to look like I filmed them with a potato.
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Nov 3, 2022 03:04
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Gonna bring Tammy inside later this evening where she'll remain until this surprise hurricane passes. The chicks continue to grow at an alarming rate. They went apeshit earlier for the sand bath when Dienes gave it to them, I think she took video. I want to get video next time she gives them sprouts and worms, they absolutely lose their poo poo. Here's the full roster of our covey: Gerald Pancakes  Gwaihir the Windlord  Jeri  Korben Dallas  Kylo Hen  Lucky  Muad'Dib  Peanut Hamper  Quinlan  Volly  Wumbus  Zapdos  They're still a little too small for the leg bands so I wanted to get good images and good IDs before they lost what's left of their food coloring spots and baby patterns. w4ddl3d33 posted:one of my fat bird sons just poo poo on me so i've decided to evict them from my home. it was so warm. how do i move past this massive disrespect The one thing I don't miss about when I had macaws: that uniquely warm and wet sensation of bird poo poo landing on your back and sliding down.
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Nov 8, 2022 22:12
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We finally coordinated to deliver worms to the brooder when I was available to get some video of the ensuing chaos: https://i.imgur.com/U2YZoEG.mp4 And then a handful of sprouts: https://i.imgur.com/IUrRmsa.mp4
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Nov 9, 2022 21:20
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a strange fowl posted:
They look like they know their name and agree with it.
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Nov 9, 2022 21:23
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thank you, friend. happily, three nights have passed and the four survivors are doing great 
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a strange fowl posted:all the chicks are still alive 
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Nov 10, 2022 22:24
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Kylo Hen has become rather addicted to attention from humans: https://i.imgur.com/Lrk8ZO5.mp4 Any time we open the brooder up they come running and jump at us until picked up. They also sound like a guinea pig when being petted.
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Nov 12, 2022 00:44
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Family photo. Kylo Hen had to be a show-off and stretch their newly functional wings. Slightly better family photo for everyone else:  Tammy's been getting cuddlier with me. She likes to wedge herself into the crook of my elbow and poof up and make happy cooing noises. 
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Nov 13, 2022 19:52
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Half the covey has graduated to the hutch outside as of last night (all the ones that had their head/face feathers come in). Initially it was just going to be Tammy going back outside after storm cleanup was complete, but we didn't want her to be alone. First it was just Zapdos... But as soon as we closed them in, Zapdos started crying....loudly. We quick scooped up Windlord and all of the Pharaohs and added them and Zapdos settled down nicely.  Yes, their coop has a light on a timer. And a solar-powered bluetooth speaker  They're tentative, but as of this morning they're going in and out of the coop independently, clearly eating and drinking without issue.  This was not intentional, but I caught all 6 chicks in that image. You can see Windlord and Gerald Pancakes inside, and Peanut Hamper's peeking around the stairs.
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Nov 15, 2022 18:06
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It's a mathematically perfect name!
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Nov 15, 2022 21:46
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https://i.imgur.com/739VDZd.mp4 Korben Dallas and Quinlan (the two cinnamon(?) ones) graduated today and joined the crew outside. Tammy has definitely begun to chill out. I think having to come inside for almost a week was rough, combined with suddenly having to share here home with these dang kids. She seems to be accepting them, though.
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Nov 17, 2022 00:15
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Borbs are just borbing. It got down to about 50 last night (the FL equivalent of like -10 based on how everyone here acts), but they were fine. That said, they still get a nightly hot water bottle.
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Nov 19, 2022 01:04
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 The final batch has graduated to the hutch so all 13 quail are now together outside (and we get our craft room back). Weirdly, Wumbus (the smallest and youngest, in the back) is the one who adapted fastest and is loving it. The others are still in the conservative exploration phase. We did notice a weird thing: We put these 4 in the coop and the vererans fled outside for a second. When they came back in one at a time, most of them did a weird posturing thing? They'd open up their wings really wide and hold it for a second. Then they'd flap and jump around for a few seconds....then just went up to each of the noobs in turn and went back out. No aggression, they all already knew each other from the weeks in the brooder and they're getting along great. That was just such a weird behavior, especially after more than one of the birds did it one after the other, like it was a ritual. Birds are weird.
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Nov 20, 2022 21:08
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a strange fowl posted:your quail are delightful, you did an amazing job Yup My wife had been asking to have quail for a while (since I need to fight the HOA to allow chickens) but we had to get the rest of the house in shape first. Then last month a student at the university where she teachers got caught with a pet in the dorms: Tammy (not named Tammy, though). So a snap decision was made to take her and then to get a bunch of eggs. To be clear: this is like 90% her, I'm just good at taking pictures of animals and posting them.
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Nov 20, 2022 22:48
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They definitely look happy. I went out and they were all in a big pile....except for Tammy who had to be in the wicker house by herself.   Then one stretched all the way out on their belly with both legs sticking back, I've never seen a bird do this:  It's weird, as soon as we go out there, they are like, "Oh poo poo, I forgot we can go OUTSIDE!" Then there's a mass exodus and they start playing with their toys and foraging and stuff. https://i.imgur.com/7TS7Uk0.mp4 Quail life is good. Everyone is getting along and they're enjoying all the enrichment materials in their yard....the video had sound but imgur chopped it, there's classical music playing on their bluetooth speaker.
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Nov 21, 2022 20:48
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my cat is norris posted:That flopped-over-legs-out pose is one of content and relaxation. That is a safe and happy quail. Oh good 
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Nov 21, 2022 22:13
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Our quail kind of went viral on imgur over the weekend: https://imgur.com/gallery/6yftymS
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Nov 28, 2022 17:42
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More quail! Here's Peanut Hamper taking a bath (sound but not super important). https://i.imgur.com/nq9HxiS.mp4 And here's Volly having some F E E L I N G S they needed to share I guess (sound on). https://i.imgur.com/hTaALBu.mp4
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Nov 29, 2022 22:54
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Oh poo poo. Dienes put in sod in the hutch today and they fuckin love it. As she's doing that....we got our first crow! Not sure who it is, but it happened again later when I was out there. It came from out in their yard and at the time only 3 were out there, so it has to be one of those. I thought I saw Zapdos moving weirdly, so my money is on Zapdos being our boy.
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Dec 4, 2022 02:33
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IT'S A BOY  Korben Dallas is our first official rooster. He helpfully decided to crow right in front of me when no other quail were around just now. Snapped this picture immediately before anyone moved to be sure of my identification. UPDATE: WE HAVE TWO ROOSTERS NOW! Wumbus crowed right in front of us. BaronVonVaderham fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Dec 5, 2022 |
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Dec 4, 2022 17:07
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Time for another first!
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Dec 6, 2022 00:45
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Heeeeeeeeeer'e's Wumbus! https://i.imgur.com/n4kWoWd.mp4 If you haven't heard a quail crowing before, you're welcome. (sound, obviously)
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Dec 6, 2022 22:04
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I wish we could have chickens. Look at all those magnificent feathery bastards.
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Dec 7, 2022 00:25
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Kylo Hen is the chillest bird. She'll sit in my hands like this forever just making happy quail sounds. Meanwhile, Korben Dallas is gonna be in the recovery cage inside for a bit. He has a bit of a wound on his head.  Might have been fighting Wumbus, but might have been self-inflicted, I saw him pecking into the wire in the door of the hutch earlier which seemed odd.
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Dec 13, 2022 03:28
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my cat is norris posted:That does sound more like accidental injury from being a fence-pecking dingus. We have 13 total quail and 3 are roosters, so we should be fine with that ratio (just shy of 5:1). If there were problems with aggression, we'd move the boys to their own separate hutch...just trying to avoid having to buy and find a spot to set up a second hutch if at all possible.
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Dec 13, 2022 20:07
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We just put Korben back out because his eye looked way better overnight.....and he immediately mounted Muad'Dib  Muad'Dib seems into it though? She started grabbing him back and they were doing a weird-rear end dance. Unless I mis-sexed Muad'Dib and we have gay quail? I know nothing of quail mating habits so this is all really weird to watch. The other boys didn't bully him, though. Wumbus and Volly were both right there and Volly did some crowing but just went and borbed between some of the plants, Wumbus went inside to get out of the rain. I'll just have to continue monitoring, and/or find a way to install a camera out there to record when we're not around.
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Dec 13, 2022 20:30
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a strange fowl posted:your voyage of discovery is a beautiful thing to see. the quail hold many secrets. exactly how stupid can an animal be? watch and learn Turns out Muad'Dib and Zapdos are both roosters. Sooooooooooo I think we have two gay quail, he and Korben are inseparable. That's now too many roosters, so I might be shopping for a separate enclosure for the boys.
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Dec 15, 2022 01:19
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w4ddl3d33 posted:this video will stay muted. i've heard enough quail crowing to last a lifetime I wish I knew. Korben and Muad'dib seem to have eyes only for each other. I can't tell if they're gay quail (I imagine that's possible, like penguins) or they're just dumb.
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Dec 16, 2022 18:29
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Go Moose!
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Dec 16, 2022 23:28
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How are the quail handling the sudden cold here in Florida? The same way I would: just borb up within easy reach of the food. Either the cold has the same affect on them as a cold shower does on humans or else the initial onset of quail puberty has subsided, because there seems to be a lot less chasing and....mounting. Our egg production has also gone back up since I replaced the light I hit with the lawnmower. Oh and Gerald Pancakes is a boy  . We're considering doing another hatching since we're at 7 girls 6 boys so no wonder the egg production is so slow. This time Dienes had the idea to just keep them numbered until they're old enough to sex so I'm less averse to eating the boys (or at least selling them off or something). We could also just get adult, sexed quail from her guy in Orlando to ensure we only get girls, but I do notice a distinct difference between the quail we hatched and the ones where we bought chicks to replace Wumbus the First....they're not as used to being handled by us, and they're noticeably smaller.Either way I really need to map out the sprinklers today to see what kind of space I have to work with to get a second hutch to separate the roosters.
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Dec 17, 2022 14:16
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 16:32 |
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I sure hope so, because a bunch of my idiots are standing out in the rain today.
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Dec 20, 2022 23:40
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