Goodbye, blog

Life catches you off guard sometimes, and i have been thrown into my busy, everyday routine. I have found this blog to be the last thing which i worry about, and i rarely post here.

It's not as if my quail will cease to exist with this blog gone. The only thing that I'm saying is that it is unlikely that i will ever post again. Blogger has started to bore me, although it's a wonderful blog medium. I simply do not have the time, and the time which i do have i choose to spend doing other things.

So thanks for following! It was fun while it lasted.

Clover~

A home for spring

Well it's official. Spring is here.

While snow still lingers in dirty piles, plants sprout, trees bud, and the green house gets freakin' hot!








As the temperatures in the greenhouse were rising to above 80 degrees, I realized it was time to move the quail. My dad and I have been working on this run. It measures 6x2 feet. It turned out quite lovely, dont you think!












The quail are slightly confuzzled by the move, but getting on fine. Today, and the day before yesterday they layed 7 eggs. Quite impressive, I must say for a bird weighing barely 12 ounces!

While getting them in and out of this new run, I have encountered a few problems. While attempting to move them, both Dove and Loli escaped. It was a panicked moment, but they both are very calm so i returned them to their hutch in a few seconds.

So while this set up currently isn't too attractive, with the propane tank propping the greenhouse door open, and the dirty pink-whatever, I think it will look very nice once plants start to grow.

~Clover

Spaz.

As the days get longer, and the snow finally begins to melt...

 Spaz has been exiled to the hutch.

This little guy, however charming he looks, is quite the menace to his fellow quail in Quaildom.

His rival male, Cotton, has become quite scruffy looking.

And all of the girls grew quite tired of his rowdiness. So, off to the hutch he went. He can still see and hear his friends. at least, so he isn't completely alone.

~Clover

Art.

Other than animals, art is one of my passions. I have been really busy, and i haven't posted on this blog much. Painting has been one of the things keeping me busy.

Here are some of my most recent watercolors.

~Clover

So many eggs!

Can a hen lay more than one egg a day?

It is commonly known that a bird cannot lay more than 1 egg in 24 hours. But can that rule be bent?

The reason i ask, is because i have found lots of eggs lately. More than it would seem possible for a tiny little bird to lay.

 I collected this many eggs in 2 days...

Some of them are quite obviously larger than the others, and have double yolks.

This one was somewhat oddly shaped.

 These little white birds always surprise me with what they lay!

So it's a curious question. Are they in fact laying more than one egg, per bird, per day. Or is it just my sloppy counting.

Either way, i'm not complaining! :) 

~Clover

Hardboiled quail eggs

So, upon my return from vacation, asides from 6 healthy quail, i found a lot of eggs. Nearly 2 dozen. 

With so many eggs, i decided that i needed to use them up before they went bad. So, hardboiled eggs were an obvious, tasty choice. 

Here is the recipe i used!

Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover the eggs and an inch more. Place the saucepan on a burner over high heat. Carefully place the eggs in the water. Don’t crowd them.

Cover the pan and bring the water to a boil. As soon as the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat. Leave the pan covered on the burner for five minutes.

Immerse the eggs in cold water, or better yet an ice bath, to stop the cooking process. When they are cool, crack the shell by tapping it on a hard surface and peel. The membrane between the shell and the white is a bit thicker than chicken eggs, but not too much so. Serve with salt to taste. Store leftover peeled eggs in cold water in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

They turned out beautifully, and in my opinion, much tastier than their chicken-egg counterparts! They are definately much creamier tasting, with less of a strong eggy flavor. Delicious!

( Recipe originally from here X )

Clover~

Vacation

I'm on vacation! Yay!

My quail are at home. I gave them plenty of food and water, and my neighbor is checking on them. I'm sure they will be fine :)

~Clover

Happy Valentines day!

I hope you are having a brilliant day :)

The quail? They're good. Stella is fat and happy, laying a lot! Spaz, is spazzy as usual. Dusty is fluffy in the cold. Lolipop is super sweet and lovable. Dove is as curious as can be! And Cotton? He is at the bottom of the pecking order, and very tiny. But i think he's happy to be with his friends. 

Nothing is better than good friends, right?

Happy valentines day!

Clover~ 

The Storm

I woke up this morning to the sound of strong wind and rain- a look outside confirmed that there was a massive storm surrounding my house.
           At first, i had no particular reason to worry about the quail- our greenhouse is very sturdy. But then i noticed our neighbor over by the greenhouse, waving his arms.
I ran out in my Pajamas to see that one of the quail, Lolipop, had escaped- The greenhouse door was being bent by the rain. After a few tries, i caught her quite easily, and returned her to the greenhouse.
However all of the little quail were running around nervously, soaking wet- one of the top panels of the greenhouse had blown out.
As I tried to move them into their hutch so they would be safe, the front door of the greenhouse blew out as well. After a while of frantically chasing them in my Pj's, i got them safe into their hutch with plenty of food and water.

The aftermath looks pretty chaotic...

 But they are all okay, if a bit traumatized.

 Plus they have been laying like crazy! This is from 5 days...

Also, we seem to have a lovely barred owl living in our backyard- I'm sure my little quail are afraid of him, but he can't get into the greenhouse!

Clover~

           

Cooking with quail eggs....

Yesterday, i collected 3 quail eggs and today i found 2- it's was time to eat them!

Quail eggs have a very similar flavor to chicken eggs, though a little bit creamier and milder in flavor. As healthy as chicken eggs are, quail eggs are even healthier! Packed with vitamins, minerals, good fats and healthy cholesterol, they are practically a superfood! Plus they apparently help suppress allergies.

Here is how i ate my quail eggs;

Yum! They were very tasty. I am definitely looking forward to eating lots of quail eggs!

Clover~

Eggs at last!

Hello Lovely followers! I'm so sorry how i haven't posted for such a long time. I have really been quite busy with a little bit of everything. Plus, a lack of having a camera has prevented me from doing much.

I realize my last post sounds like a sad ending to my blog, but it isn't at all! It's more of a new beginning, going along with the new year. It is totally different in the greenhouse now- much calmer with less quail. They seem happy, i think.

 Happy and cute as always!

 Spaz had me scared for a little while- he had lots of trouble walking for about a week. He had to shimmy around on his belly with his wings. He must have injured his legs somehow. Now he is much better though, walking normally and being the mean little bugger he is. :)

The little cuties are doing very well. How can i tell?

Today i found these in the greenhouse.

They are laying at last! YUM!

Clover~