Quail Barn Summer Reset
It is so hot outside! Too hot to ship eggs, they will just bake in the trucks and will not hatch. So what do I do with all the eggs this time of the year? Lots of things.
First, I put some up for us for the winter, during shipping season. Eggs are precious that time of year and we do not want to eat them, so now is when I preserve them by freeze drying. I just crack them into the blender and pour into the freeze dryer treys. They store great and shelf stable. To rehydrate, just equal parts egg and water, stir it for a minute then scramble it! Too easy.
Next, I hatch alot and am super choosy on keepers. Breeding season can be chaotic and it is hard to replenish breeders, so this time of year, I hatch alot, be super selective on breeders and then hatch again in late October to be fresh breeders in January. This also gives me the needed breeders for fall shipping.
Cleaning! Who wants to pressure wash in winter, not me! Right now we are at our lowest number of quail. in the barn and it is an opportune time to wash cages, walls, floors, rafters. We do repairs on cages and build more! Poultry are dirty and dusty and there is always something to clean. I still have some chicken chicks and turkey poults in the barn and once they go outside, I can finish washing that side. Incubators get scrubbed and reset for fall.
Typically I will move birds to a clean cage and wash the dirty one and repeat. However the button breeder cages are more specialized and it is hard to move them around being so small! So what I did was wash gently along the edges, the dirtiest spots, and they moved away from the water’s direct spray. I was able to wash the whole cage in a circular motion as they went to the farthest spot. They ended up wet but they love it! The coturnix love it too, they play in the water and preen after like they just got out of a pool, it is super cute!
Even though breeder’s are not shipping alot right now, know we are prepping for fall, cleaning and trying to keep everyone cool.
The Hatching Time breeder cages that we use are easy to clean. The jumbo flooring is a must as it keeps them cleaner longer.
If you need more ideas on egg preservation, I learn alot from Carloyn at the Homesteading Family and she has an egg preservation class with more information.