norseofcourse's journal - spring and show update

[BrownSheep]

@babsbag, it seems like many other Californians your valley quail have moved up to Idaho. I've never seen our native species (Mt. quail) but the valley quail are all over.

@norseofcourse, sorry to hear about the quail trouble. Just remember that sometime you have to start over to be able to enjoy it.

I lost all of my first turkey batch and now my mom would say we are over run.

 

[babsbag]

@BrownSheep Can't really blame them for wanting to get out of CA.

I can go 8 miles in any direction and find them...just not here. A few wild turkeys, VERY few deer, raccoons, or skunks...just coyotes and ground squirrels.

 

[norseofcourse]

You might want to try tylosin for the quail. Sorry you are losing them. Yay on the breeding line up!

Thank you - I'd read that tylosin was the next 'step up' if the Duramycin didn't work. She was improving on the Duramycin, so I was hoping she'd recover fully. If another quail starts the same symptoms, I'll try the tylosin.

I am looking forward to lambs in the spring - and milking again!

 

[norseofcourse]

@babsbag - I don't know if quail are harder to raise than chickens - I've never had chickens. From what I've read, they take less space and eat less food, but the feed conversion ratio might be a bit better than with chickens. But you have to like little and cute! LOL. And they make the neatest little devilled eggs, but it's a bit tedious because you have to make a lot....

 

[Southern by choice]

The problem with the respiratory issues in quail is that it may be compounded by the mycoplasma issues. Once it is in the flock (especially quail) generally it will affect the entire breeding colony.
If you suspect myco you can treat hatching eggs in a tylan dip- it is a shock method that allows the tylan to penetrate the egg eradicating the mycoplasma. No carriers. No Myco! After treating incubate as normal. Then you can eradicate it from your flock and premise.

I like my bantam eggs for salads and things but you are right...so tedious!

Nothing like lambing and kidding season. Just so much adorableness!

 

[norseofcourse]

@norseofcourse, sorry to hear about the quail trouble. Just remember that sometime you have to start over to be able to enjoy it.
I lost all of my first turkey batch and now my mom would say we are over run.

Thanks. Even if I lose all of these (which I sure hope I don't), I can still see wanting quail in the future. Just a different setup, and maybe not through the winter. I like winter (ok, not all of it), but it makes some stuff more complicated. I know people in Canada and parts of the US who have a longer and colder winter than I do, and I'm just amazed at how they get through it. I'd say wake me in the spring, and go hibernate!

 

[norseofcourse]

@Southern by choice - interesting about the tylan dip - if I ever incubate my own eggs I'll remember that.

 

[norseofcourse]

The four remaining quail are still doing well, I'm getting three to four eggs per day from them now. Any eggs through November 15 will be sold for crafting, then I can start eating them again (as long as the quail stay healthy and don't need medicated again). Do I need to make a hole in both ends to empty out the contents? Hope I don't ruin too many in figuring this out.

The sheep are doing well. There's less green stuff for them to eat, but they're still browsing on whatever they can find, and only nibbling their hay a little. I need to get some new pictures to share, especially of the lambs.

I was going over my sheep expenses for the year, my two biggest costs were feed and vet bill (equipment like lumber and fencing were high too, but those built things that will last a long time, like the hay feeder). The main vet expense was having the ram lambs wethered (I do not care for banding). After a lot of research, I'm going to use an emasculator next year. The one Premier1 carries is pricey, but the reviews are good and it will save me a lot in the long run.

I've also been thinking about milking next year. I know I'll need to re-do my milking area a bit, and I've been reading a lot of threads on here about different people's setups. It's been really helpful! My milking area is out at the barn, about 200 feet from the house, and there's no electricity or running water there, so there are some challenges. This year, I was only milking two ewes, then taking the milk immediately into the house to filter, measure and cool.

Next year, I may be milking up to four ewes, so I'd like to figure out a way to get the milk cooling while I'm still at the barn. That leads into the question of whether I should filter it out there as well, and whether I should figure out a way to measure how much I'm getting from each ewe (this year I just measured the combined output). The more I do out at the barn, the more time it will take, and the more stuff I'll need to either have out at the barn, or carry back and forth with me each day. I'll be milking in the morning before going to work, so time will be at a premium (have I mentioned I'm not a morning person? lol).

Figuring this all out will be one way of looking forward to spring. It's still a long ways off yet though!

 

[Southern by choice]

@babsbag - she has a cooler method that she makes a "slushy" out of that will chill it quickly.
You could milk and put each into a container then take it in strain and weigh it.

 

[norseofcourse]

@Southern by choice - thanks, I've read a lot of her posts with great interest! One method I'm considering is some homemade 'ice packs' of saltwater in a cooler, and setting the milk in there to cool. The cooler would be fairly easy to carry back and forth, and would also work well to keep rain out of the milk if it's raining.

One container for each sheep - so, what to use for containers? This first year, I milked into a plastic (food-grade) bucket and poured it into a plastic measuring container to measure and store it. On the milking threads I read, most people seemed to favor metal or glass instead. I have all winter to find/save up for a nice stainless milking bucket. Maybe mason jars for the output from each sheep? I have half-pint jars - or I could be really optimistic and get quarts

Seriously, though, I am really looking forward to finding out what their production will be next year. We have a little experience at this now, I'll be doing once a day milking after separating the lambs at night, and only one will be a first freshener - the others will be second and third. And I'll be milking earlier in their lactation than I did this first year. Rose was nearly three months into her lactation when I started, and four months into it when I figured out the 'separate lambs at night and milk in the morning' routine.

Is it spring yet?