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Phaedra
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Okay, time to do some renovation work! This is the sickbay for quails - we bought it about two years ago, when I had almost zero experience with those DIY tools. The ready products are convenient, but they are also often pricy and not very properly (with many illogical designs) made.
In fact, there is no quail house on the market here, and this one is more for genuine pigs, I guess. Quails need sunlight, so I first removed the roof and replaced it with a much lighter one made of two wooden sticks and a piece of plastic panel (those for repairing simple greenhouse). The new drill head I bought last year did a good job - the extra space it drills through can ensure a flat and neat surface after the screws are in.
Then, I changed the hinges to the back, so the new lighter roof can be easily fixed and open/close. A small cage made of leftover chicken wire is usually used as a temporary residence when I clean the sickbay. I used it here to create a tiny garden - the quail can peck some fresh leaves, but won't kill the plants completely.
The small solar light which isn't suitable for seedlings should be able to perform well here - it provides light for both the quail and the plants for extra hours.
The small cage also holds two feeders, food and water. At the end, I changed the direction of the front door by re-arranging the hinges and added a metal piece (for fixing PVC pipes) as a door handle. Finally, the door can open properly and smoothly toward outside.
This quail escaped last summer with her friends when strong wind blew up the mobile cage. They were such easy targets and soon attacked by the magpies. She was found under one Rhododendron bush and had several bloody holes on her shoulder and back.
I was not sure if she could make it, and just let her stay indoors after treating her with some first-aids. I believe the principles are similar - leave the wounded ones in the dark, safe, and warm place with water and food. I did what I have learned from supporting the hen attacked by a sparrow hawk.
She made it and moved into sickbay several days later. Then, she molted and stayed there for a few more weeks. It's surprisingly difficult to re-integrate her in the original flock. I tried to re-introduce her several times, but it just didn't work out. With the approaching winter, we decided to let her stay in the greenhouse.
Well, it seems she is satisfied with this renovation and all the facility upgrade.
It's a lovely small project I did today, and it's a good prototype for future optimization of our chicken runs.
In fact, there is no quail house on the market here, and this one is more for genuine pigs, I guess. Quails need sunlight, so I first removed the roof and replaced it with a much lighter one made of two wooden sticks and a piece of plastic panel (those for repairing simple greenhouse). The new drill head I bought last year did a good job - the extra space it drills through can ensure a flat and neat surface after the screws are in.
Then, I changed the hinges to the back, so the new lighter roof can be easily fixed and open/close. A small cage made of leftover chicken wire is usually used as a temporary residence when I clean the sickbay. I used it here to create a tiny garden - the quail can peck some fresh leaves, but won't kill the plants completely.
The small solar light which isn't suitable for seedlings should be able to perform well here - it provides light for both the quail and the plants for extra hours.
The small cage also holds two feeders, food and water. At the end, I changed the direction of the front door by re-arranging the hinges and added a metal piece (for fixing PVC pipes) as a door handle. Finally, the door can open properly and smoothly toward outside.
This quail escaped last summer with her friends when strong wind blew up the mobile cage. They were such easy targets and soon attacked by the magpies. She was found under one Rhododendron bush and had several bloody holes on her shoulder and back.
I was not sure if she could make it, and just let her stay indoors after treating her with some first-aids. I believe the principles are similar - leave the wounded ones in the dark, safe, and warm place with water and food. I did what I have learned from supporting the hen attacked by a sparrow hawk.
She made it and moved into sickbay several days later. Then, she molted and stayed there for a few more weeks. It's surprisingly difficult to re-integrate her in the original flock. I tried to re-introduce her several times, but it just didn't work out. With the approaching winter, we decided to let her stay in the greenhouse.
Well, it seems she is satisfied with this renovation and all the facility upgrade.
It's a lovely small project I did today, and it's a good prototype for future optimization of our chicken runs.
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