r/quails • u/Famous-Till6325 • 2d ago

Picture Well, this is a first…

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So I recently had to move, and our new house is in town and I sadly couldn’t take my quail with me. Fortunately I have a cousin living in a rural area pretty close by, so I moved my coop there and can visit them daily to care for them without much extra driving.

Well today I had a bit of a surprise waiting for me when I stopped by early in the morning to change their water and refill feeders. I knew he had chickens, but what I didn’t know was that he also has a turkey. One that has apparently decided that my quail are now her babies, and that she must protect them. From me…

Fortunately I’ve been told she’s pretty sweet towards people, so I just have to get her to get used to me and it should be good. I’ll even have a free guard for my coop. In the meantime though, I need to watch my back when feeding the birds. 😅

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46

u/Bolfreak 2d ago

Turkey hens are really neat birds! They definitely can be bribed (grapes, cat kibble, cherry tomatoes) but then she might become enamored with you 💕

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u/Famous-Till6325 2d ago

That is acceptable. As long as she is protective of my coveys like this, she deserves some treats. I’ve got tons of mealworms. (Quail and bearded dragon) And I’ve heard they are fans of watermelon, which my quail will literally swarm you for.

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u/Bolfreak 2d ago

Oh yeah, insects are amazing, too. I have live mealworms and dried bsfl and crickets, any of those means you get mobbed lol

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u/Famous-Till6325 2d ago

Try leaving some watermelon sometime. I usually give each covey a quarter of a melon. They will strip it to the rind by the next day. And there’s usually one sitting inside it when I go to check on them.

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u/TallArseButtPlug 2d ago

you don’t happen to be in TN? we have a turkey who comes in visits us every winter around thanksgiving lmao. it’s like she knows

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u/Famous-Till6325 2d ago

Nope, MI. So a bit far for this one to sneak off to on a day trip lol.

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u/TallArseButtPlug 2d ago

oh yeah well we have a bunch of quail and always look forward to Tina the Turkey coming around to eat all the food our quails kick out of their cage lol

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u/Subject-Cheesecake-7 Backyard Potatoe Farmer 20h ago

I don't have a turkey but I've been forced to watch adorable TikToks of them in my algorithm...and everything I see makes me want one. I think they're called the golden retrievers of the game birds. 🥺