My dad looked into that but I think he changed his mind because of all of the fire ants down here. They kill just about everything (horrid things). Anyhow, it sounds like fun. What kind are you raising?
No new pics but I can post some later when I get home from work. She had what the vet thought was a skin infection. But he decided later that it might be mange. So a few shots and a couple weeks worth of antibiotics later she is clear of any infection. Plus she has doubled her size in about a week. She is 14 weeks old and about 30 pounds!!! She is gonna be the size of a car.
TheMightyQueenPixie said:
Alot of people keep guinea hens in Upstate NewYork to deal with the ticks.. Wonder if they would eat the fire ants?
Fire ants are pretty nasty for there size. It would have to be a pretty good flock of guineas to be able to keep them under control. Plus you couldn't cage the birds, they would need an escape route if the ants overwhelmed them.
Good luck with them. I had button quail in an aviary years ago. The babies were incredibly cute, like little peeping bumblebees, and were small enough to pop through the hardware cloth. Had to add some window screen around the bottom.
I breed and raise poultry for show. No...these buggers make chicken poo smell like roses. Seriously...it's a very distinct smelll and you will be ever so greatful that you are keeping them outside. LOL. I am just firing up my incubator now to start my spring hatch. Of course I'm talking well over 100 chicks now (Silkies and Cochins) and several hundred more going by the end of June.
Guineas are really good at keeping the fire ant population down and they do not take well to being fenced in. They are LOUD though so if you have close neighbors that may be a problem and the roost in trees. They are just about as good as any guard dog to have guarding your livestock though.
As for what type of quail you raise. If you are planning on releasing them PLEASE make sure that it is a species that is natural to the area. Putting California quail where they don't belong is just wrong in my opinion. The whole "introducing a foriegn species" comes in to play.
I live in Iowa, so I will only release bobwhites. Plus California quail can't survive in Iowa anyway (people have tried).
But on a side note: Guineas seem to be a good choice. But I remember a lady down my road that had a huge group of them (around 30 or 40) And one day my friend decided to visit me at my house. He drove a car that was lowered to 4 inches above the ground. He comes hauling over a hill going about 60 and the whole flock of guineas is in the middle of the road. He chopped the flock down to about a dozen. I personally will never have them but I have never heard anything bad about them except for the noise.
