Mater's Corner: And then there were seven

Minifarm life can be beautiful and it can be sad. When our quail chicks were first hatched it was exciting and magical. But there were some eggs that despite moving and rocking and looking like they were going to hatch never did. I couldn't even bear to crack open the shell to see why they never made it to birth. Some of them I tried to help out by gently applying extra moisture to the shell. It worked for one. Our last hatchling, Tubbo was an interesting little fellow. As I mentioned in my other quail post, we lost two chicks within the first couple of days. We lost another after finding out the original quail enclosure was not dog proof. But Tubbo... He was a plump jolly little bird. His shape was rounder and more classic chick than the other birds. As he got older his back seemed to be hunched. He would walk backwards to get his feed and move around the pen. Eventually he couldn't lift himself at all and would kick his feet lying on his back and move about in circles on the ground. We made sure to come out and lift him to get water and feed. He was the sweetest bird and my eldest was quite attached. One day we came out and he had died in the night. I don't know what was wrong with Tubbo. We suspected something neurological. In any case, he was one loved quail. After that there were nine for quite some time. One day they finally layed some eggs. I was so excited! But I noticed that because of the rabbits it really wasn't safe to have the eggs. I had the brilliant idea to move the quail to a rabbit run we had outside. It seemed quail proof. It was dog proof. For a few days they were there and laying a couple eggs a day. But one morning I came out to find feathers everywhere around the cage. There was one male quail dead up against the back of the cage. All the quail had feathers missing and a lot had puncture wounds. One quail was missing completely. I could only imagine with horror how something must have reached in and yanked that poor quail straight through the bars of the cage. I moved those surviving quail back into the enclosure my husband has made. I set up a little divider between the rabbits. Quail can fly but they don't really do so unless provoked. So, they stay on their side. I thought for sure that they would all die from their injuries. Thank God none of them did. We still get two eggs a day for the most part. I thought we had four females, but two eggs ...so not sure what's going on with that. There are seven quail left. Eventually we may add some more layers to the brood and try hatching again. Right now with the winter cold fronts I'm content to wait on that.