Articles by TwoCrows
Do Poultry Mourn?
It has long been known that Elephants do indeed mourn their fallen comrades as do Giraffes and Apes. But do poultry and others in the avian species mourn? It has been very easy for human kind to think that animals or birds don’t have the...
Crops And Their Story
Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treating Crop Issues
The Crop. Just what IS a Crop, what do they do and why do birds have them?
Anatomy of a Crop:
The Crop is a muscular pouch located on the right side of a birds lower neck or upper breast area. All birds have them. Chickens...
What is Egg Binding?
Egg Binding refers to a very serious condition in any female bird that has an egg stuck in the oviduct that she is unable to pass. This can be a life-threatening issue and can cause serious damage to internal tissue, infection...
Recently, (2013) I decided to get my chickens out of the "Frost-Bite Motel" and into a REAL coop. This was my first coop build, as originally when I got started in chickens many years ago, I went with one of those pre-fab type coops and updated it a bit. It was a small, raised 2'x6' coop which I...
Beaks and Claws...every bird has them! Birds use their beaks for grooming, they explore their environment with their beaks, they can feel textures and temperatures with them, scratch in the dirt for bugs and dust bathing, preen their feathers, pick up objects such as food, nesting materials...
We see it a lot here on BYC, "Help! My cuddly "Simon" the chick has grown up to be an aggressive monster! What do I do?!" The first step in dealing with an aggressive rooster is to learn why he acts the way he does. If we understand why he gets so feisty, and learn how to get into his mind, then...
Whether you've just hatched your own chicks in your incubator, an ordered batch of chicks from the hatchery has just arrived, or you brought home a box of fuzzy butts of joy from the feed store, if you don't have a broody in your coop to raise them you will need to brood and raise them yourself...
The Quail As A Species
There are 130 different Quail species all around the world. However, this article is going to concentrate on the most commonly kept species, those that have been domesticated. No matter how different each of these species of Quail are, they share many characteristics in...
Roosters crow but the hen delivers, eggs that is! Nest boxes sure can make our lives easier when it comes to collecting eggs. Egg hunting can be fun once a year at Easter time but who wants to go digging around on a daily basis in corners of the coop and bedding, outside under every bush, or...
Quail Diseases
Quail are generally quite hardy little birds and don't get sick often if kept properly. But on that occasion that they do, you will need to know how to heal and later on prevent further illness.
Good hygiene is the number one way to start. Keep your birds environment as clean...
Your bird's most precious possession is its feathers. Each feather on a bird's body is a finely tuned structure that enables flight in some birds, helps them show off to potential mates, blend into their surroundings, protect the skin and keep them warm. However, after about a year, these...
Just What Are Quail?
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds in the order of Galliformes. Old World Quail, or quail native to Europe and Asia are found in the family Phasianidea. And the New World Quail, or...
Big things can come in small packages and when it comes to Lice, Mites and other creepy crawlies they are no exception to this rule! These tiny monsters can be huge problems and spell disaster to your flock, leaving them weakened and susceptible to disease and can even lead to death. There are...
Leg, Foot and Toe Issues
In Poultry Of All Ages
SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT
Table of Contents:
Chicks:
1.1 Preventing Leg and Toe Defects in Chicks
1.2 Splay/Spraddle Leg
1.3 Curled Toes
1.4 Slipped Achilles Tendon in...
What is a healthy coop? A healthy coop breeds healthy birds. It's one that offers your flock the best environment to thrive and live a healthy life. How much room do chickens need? Is my coop predator proof? Does it have enough ventilation for good health? What sort of bedding is best for my...
(This section pertains to all Quail except Button Quail which I will cover later.)
Your Quail will need to be kept safe, secure and dry at all times. You can keep them in cages, pens, Rabbit Hutches or even aviary style. You can even keep them in small Chicken coops with an attached run. But no...
Hatching Quail Eggs
(California Quail eggs after a hatch)
Hatching Quail can be a fun and educational experience for the entire family. Since Quail are not as available as many of the other species of...
How to successfully raise Bobwhite Quail
Ok, so you have just ordered that new...
I have often wondered what I would do to feed my flock should circumstances arise which prevented me from purchasing pre-bagged formulated feed from the feed store. Hurricanes, floods, forest fires, other natural disasters, not to mention the world's shaky economy, any one of these scenarios...
Hatching Chickens can be a fun and educational experience for the entire family. How cool is it to watch a small egg turn into a tiny life! And of course when these chicks grow up, your understanding of chickens and their life cycle can be quite rewarding, something you will never forget. So how...