Saturday 15 February 2014

Coturnix coturnix africana and other fowl issues

 

 
 
Klein came by the other day and dropped a load of books off.  They’re all about raising chickens, ducks and geese.  I was fascinated.  Or perhaps I was just bored with Montgomery’s tedious six hundred page tome, ‘A History of Warfare’ (and his part in it), a Director of Studies prize I received at Sandhurst in 1985 and with which I was so delighted, it is the only book in my household I have not managed to read to its conclusion.



There are lots of books out there on raising poultry and all the information anyone could wish for is available on the internet.  What makes these books special is that they were published in an age when small holders had little choice but to be largely self-sufficient and able to improvise.  One, the Muskator Geflügelbuch was written in 1956 and another, Hadlington´s Australian Poultry Book ten years earlier in 1946 (Australia: Large island south of the civilized world, famous for football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars.  Population: Largely imported from Asia).  Both are full of handy tips and hints, Hadlington’s more for the commercial poultry farmer while Muskator seems aimed at those raising chickens for food while rebuilding a country. 

Nice bloke.  Mad on chickens.

While implicit in Hadlington’s advice is an assumption that everything required can be obtained from an emporium dedicated to the poultry farmer, Muskator illustrates artisan drinkers made from bottles, flower pots or tin cans and feeders made from what look like spent artillery shell cases and steel helmets.  Thankfully, the German who wrote Muskator’s guide had heard of S.I. units of weights and measures.  I was keen to learn what and how much of it I should feed to a laying hen each day.  Hadlington advises a morning mash made of pollard, bran, Lucerne meal, wheat, maize (whole and cracked), meat meal, linseed meal, coconut meal or cake, and salt.  The liquid may be offal soup, milk or just water, preferably hot.  He also advises an unlimited supply of shell grit stating that no other substance is of use.  Oyster shells are the best. Yes, yes, yes, I thought, but what are the quantities?  ‘A kerosene or petrol tin is the measure most frequently used,’ advises Hadlington leaving this keen reader still none the wiser, ‘as well as the most common conveyor of poultry food on the farm.’  Depending on the product, a kerosene can holds between 12 and 18lbs I discovered after many more pages of this.  It’s all delightfully vague, isn’t it!



Living here in Africa, I don’t need books which list all the latest techniques and are full of glossy pictures illustrating all the Gucci must have kit every smart poultry farmer can’t live without; I need the sort written by those living in the dark ages before Amazon was invented. The chapter entitled ‘Selbstbau, zweckmäβiger Hühnerställe’, offers detailed plans for practical self-build hen coops for 5 to 8 chickens, 10 to 14 chickens, 20 and 50 chickens.  They appear so simple to construct I think I shall buttonhole the Filipino carpenter in the morning and tell him to knock some up.  This poultry farming lark is beginning to look easy.

Marcia collecting a day's egg production while wearing zweckmäβiger clothes.

Klein also had the prices for birds.  I asked him what breed of chickens they were and he said, ‘Brown ones’.  I know enough about chicken breeds to be confident that brown ones lay more eggs so US$15 per bird seems pretty reasonable as at 80 cents an egg, they would only have to lay twenty each to cover their purchase price but buying 100 of them will dent my piggy bank a bit so I will go for 30 instead and see how I get on.  45 bucks a beak for ducks made my eyes water a bit but they are made in Peking apparently so should crisp up nicely.  I had planned on 40 of those but half that has a nicer ring to it, I think.  Geese are still unobtainable so poor old Goosie is going to have to wait a while longer before he gets his first leg over.  I was very disappointed that in a country where they run round wild (just not round here), Guinea Fowl were also off the menu.  Klein asked me if Coturnix coturnix africana would do instead.  Coturnix?  Sounded like an under garment Asterix the Gaul would wear.  ‘Codorniz,’ he said in Portuguese witnessing my baffled expression.  ‘Wachtel,’ he tried in German.  ‘Quail?’ I asked querulously. ‘Ja! Qvail!’ he confirmed, ‘nur neun hundert pro stück!’  Nine hundred Kwanzas, nine bucks a bird.

I did a very quick mental calculation and decided to bin the ducks for the time being and get quail instead.  The chickens would provide eggs, the quail would be for raising and eating.  I’ll go for fifty or sixty quail and blow the rest of a thousand bucks on chickens.  I will wait until the restaurant and cottages are all fenced and then buy the ducks and geese and put them on the pond, they’ll be happier there than here although God knows how I will find my duck eggs.

Feed is available in Luanda.  50 kgs of chicken feed is $38 (compared to the US or UK, is that chicken feed or is it expensive?) and quail feed is $46 a bag.  I have absolutely no idea how much a quail eats but I have tentatively concluded that a laying chicken eats 110 grams of feed twice a day.  Please correct me if I am wrong!

So there you go!  I was a bit worried that I had all those varieties of sea food on the menu but not much exciting as far as fowl was concerned, I mean, who is going to come all this way just to eat chicken unless it is in one of my amazing curries?  Quail along with the guinea Fowl when I lay my hands on them should really add something to the menu especially as I will also be offering venison.


Coturnix coturnix Africana. Lovely, tasty little game birds.
I want them to go from here...

... to here.

45 comments:

  1. I think one can learn too much about poultry keeping. Basically they need food, water, and somewhere dry to sleep. They also need to feel secure, and have somewhere peaceful to lay eggs. Other than that.....

    I like Quails. I roast them for my grandsons who see them as tiny whole chickens, and eaten with fingers. What could be better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly, treat them like dogs. Feed and water them, give them a place to sleep and they look after themselves.

      I am sure Alex and his friends will love them. I certainly will!

      Delete
  2. Quails eggs are delicious hard-boiled, shelled and rolled or dipped in salt and pepper and make a good accompaniment to an aperitif...or caviar. I find quail and other game birds for their meat to be more bones than meat, and in the case of grouse or pheasant as tough as old boots. But casseroling game can obviously tenderise it. Chicken of course gives you no such problems.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should try the local chicken here; they call them frango rijo which translates as 'tough chicken'. Really the only way to prepare it is in a pressure cooker. I tend to casserole most of my game dishes except the most tender cuts. The ensuing rich sauce occasioned by a casserole is half the delight. I always felt slightly guilty eating quail's eggs knowing that had they been left to their natural course, in a few months I could have been shooting and eating them!

      Delete
  3. Of course, suburban chicken keepers in Sheffield are always very wary of urban foxes. They seem capable of thwarting the tightest security to get at their feathered dinners. I wonder what predators might be an issue in your neck of the woods? What about snakes? Always think positive - that's my motto.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suspect the greatest threat will be posed by my dogs, especially the mother as she is still more or less feral. It would be a shame to have to shoot her but I will, without hesitation, if she kills any of my birds. I have surrounded Stalag Luft III with a very fine mesh and base boards to keep out snakes and rats.

      Delete
    2. Stapling pictures of Margaret Thatcher or Katie Price to the perimeter fence should keep most predators at bay.

      Delete
    3. Yorkshire Pudding, so enchanted was I by Hippo's reverie I dug out all (and I mean ALL) books by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Which side tracked me. So I forgot to send a comment to Hippo who must miss me dreadfully.

      What I now not know about how to keep chickens you don't need the back of match box for.

      Hot tip, this is HFW and I trust him explicetely: Foxes - like a lot of animals - are weary of human smell. Just shave bits, keep the remnants of your hair in a net (if challenged just ask your local Barber to donate that which superfluous to their clients). Hang it on fence. Or wherever you keep your fowl. Bingo. Please do let me know how it goes. Will pass on (only positive) feedback to HFW who lives just up the road.

      U

      Delete
    4. Hmm, Margaret Thatcher and Katie Price. Might work until the first ex miner passes by and sets fire to the place.

      Ursula, there are no foxes around here and the bigger predators are attracted by the easy meal the scent of humans promises.

      Delete
  4. Quail are delightful little buggers
    I had a load two years ago

    As for hens
    Just email me if you get stuck ( which u won't)

    Marcia needs a little more sun btw
    X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A load two years ago? All in one sitting?

      I wouldn't mind knowing how much feed they need per day so I can order the right amount of feed.

      Marcia spends all her time in an airconditioned Jeep, no wonder she needs more sun!

      Delete
    2. 150 g min a day each ( pellets)
      If they free range .....less

      Delete
    3. That's for eggs
      Eating birds need more

      Delete
    4. Thanks for that John. So I wasn't that far out with 110gs considering they will be allowed to roam the garden once they have settled in and will have their rations augmented with scraps.

      Delete
  5. when you get to the point of eating your chicken, save the livers and if you want a killer pate' recipe i will give you mine!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can buy packets of frozen chicken liver here so even before I start killing, I'd love your recipe!

      Delete
    2. Thanks for that, Jaz, I shall give it a go next week!

      Delete
  6. Fowl! I've seen quail netting staked out over and along the ground at varying heights, maybe about 1/4 acre. Was used to let them forage, eating bugs, grasses, etc. They were happy as clams. Likely work for chickens as well. Free Range meat, vs antibiotic stoked poultry food.

    Dogs like chicken, no surprise there and you likely have a raft of wild things with a taste for them, including snakes. We had a black lab, loved the things, my old man hung one of his kills around his (the dogs) neck for a few days and shamed him out of it. Brings back memories from my youth on the farm. Chickens need roosts to feel safe sleeping and boxes to lay eggs in. Burlap over the openings to give privacy I suppose. I personally hated gathering eggs as the buggers liked to peck a kids hand inserted into a darkened box looking for eggs and the occasion disturbed chicken. While your at it, get a couple homing pigeons for the boy and your self to enjoy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Remember oyster shell to keep eggs hard, they have a craw. and as far as feed, no idea, dump some in until somes left the next day. Oh yeah. You know this is an excuse to get yourself a pet rooster!

      Delete
    2. I imported some homing pigeons from UK... They all flew back.

      They'll have to be satisfied with clam shells, there's no oysters here. If any of my dogs attacks the birds it's them I'll hang...

      Delete
    3. I can imagine the picture already. Dog with hood over head on scaffold outside the coop. Chickens gossiping and flapping wings.

      Delete
  7. Having just checked, chicken feed is about £15 - £20 for a 20kg bag in the UK currently. Never having kept chickens or game birds, just eaten them, I cannot offer any advice. Neither have I eaten quail eggs. Must try them. I do feel confidant in the knowledge that you will be a success in raising them and selling wonderful meals to your lucky customers. I just wish I could be one of them. I salivate just reading about your recipes. As an aside, have you ever made coffee ice cream? I am now drooling at the thought.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I pay 7.99 for 20kg of pellets and then mix it with wheat 50-50

      Delete
    2. I like coffee ice cream too. I also love iced coffee but sadly I am in a minority so only make the flavours I can sell quickly.

      It would appear the price of feed here is quite cheep (!) but I suppose it depends on what it contains. I will let you know once I get my first bags of it.

      Delete
  8. I kept some quail when I lived at mum and dads, they did like to kill themselves. They like to take off straight upwards, you might want to add some soft netting near the top of the pen for them to crash into but see how they go. I used to love how the little eggs look, I'd like to get some more one day but I'll see how you get on first!
    Chickens are simple just watch out for red mites they can be a bugger to get rid of.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The roof of Stalag Luft III will be covered with soft netting at a height of 2.3 metres so they should be OK.

      How do you check for red mites? Pointless me buying the birds if they are already infected.

      Delete
  9. I can't wait to hear the chicken stories!!

    Seriously, I give mine a bucketful of feed with a small handful (I have 4 birds currently) of crushed egg shells and gravel, and in a few days or whenever it's empty, I refill it. They will eat just about anything....mosquitoes, leftovers nobody wants, carrot greens (big fav!), those outer leaves of a head of lettuce ( do you all have iceberg lettuce in Angola?), newborn squirrel, heck by now I toss anything halfway edible in there and if they don't eat it I'm surprised. Although mine are prima donnas and don't like brassicas much the jerks. In the rain they are gonna go for all the worms out doing walkabouts and they screech something awful for any green sward outside of their pen...I cut down swatches and toss it in sometimes, since I can't let them out to scavenge because of the dogs. Oh, and yeah, that - every chicken I have at one time or another has been tossed around by the dogs. None have died, but a few times it was close. Like, trip to the vet close. But I work at home and heard the commotion subconsciously or something, in time enough to get out there and put a halt to the chicken tossing. And I guess I have pretty obedient dogs TG! Even though the dogs seem always hungry, the chickens are quite resilient. You're smart, you'll learn what they need! It's a great adventure! Always available for any question, whether it seems trivial or not. Or rather, available dependent upon my email checking ROFL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mine will be getting a lot of scraps as well. I allowed a few local chickens to roost around the garden of my old place and they eat just about anything, ants, beetles, grasshoppers, little chicks that had fallen out of their nests in the trees. They also bred like crazy, in no time at all I had quite a sizeable flock.

      Delete
  10. Yes, I know I have taken a shine to Yorkshire Pudding. Here is one for you, Tom, apart from your shavings and so won't feel neglected: According to the delicious Hugh FW the trick is to erect chicken dens on poles (off the ground) and install a ladder for them to enter and exit at their pleasure. Foxes don't like ladders. Read Beatrix Potter. Can't vouch for pythons. Read The Little Prince.l

    U

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am building my boxes off the ground.

      There are no foxes here, the crocodiles and lions ate them all.

      Delete
    2. No foxes. I like foxes. "Crocodiles and lions" instead.You make it sound so homely (gemuetlich). How you are going to attract business by being so upfront I don't know. Still. I suppose there are adrenaline freaks out there, in need of being fed. To whom?

      U

      Delete
  11. We are overrun with foxes. We need to kill them. They are so bold they took my kebab out of my hand. Actually I threw it at it because the fox was so bold it wouldn't run off when I shooshed it. I ran in doors. That was when I was in Bethnal Green. The foxes in the country just eat hens and ducks and quails and have a free reign.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I take it you are not a fully signed up member of the Anti Hunt League or the equally radical group, the RSPCA?

      You should get in touch with Bashing Bambi (bloglist on the right hand side of my blog), he knows what to do with foxes...

      Delete
  12. I can't help you on the chickens but the lady with the two buckets is a dead ringer for my german grandmother. The same evil old bat that used to kick me in the nuts just for fun and no good reason when no one was looking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perhaps you deserved it? Happily, my German grandmother was the nicest granny anyone could wish for. She is still alive and knocking on her century. Only play Canasta with her if you are resigned to losing, To make a change, I taught her gin rummy. After three hands, she never lost another.

      Delete
  13. OK, finally you're talking about something I have experience at, raising chickens. Your prices are at LEAST twice as much as I pay in California, both for the birds and for the feed. I'm guessing there isn't much grain grown in Angola? I have to disagree with all the people who "free range" their chickens. First, chickens will soon eat everything within their range. While there might be lots of grass and bugs when they start, those will soon be gone. If the birds have to range farther to find food, it makes it easier for predators to get them. Free range = Free meal for predators.

    I have found it makes more sense to keep the chickens in a reasonably roomy, extremely secure pen and bring forage to them. Leftover vegetables, whatever you have. If there's something they don't eat in a day or so, however, take it out so it doesn't mold and poison the birds. You're right about your own dogs, they could be your worst problem. Or they could be your birds' best protection. If the birds are in very secure pens and the dogs are loose, they'll keep other things away. As long as your own dogs aren't trying to break into the pen, you're fine. I wouldn't shoot a dog that kills a loose chicken, not many dogs could pass up that opportunity. But one that tries to break into a pen will always do that.

    A rule of thumb is no matter how good your pen is, the predators will soon show you where it will need to be better. I'd start out with just a few birds because there are predators that will break in and kill them all. Once you're confident in your pens, then you can get more birds, or better yet raise your own chicks.

    Quail are a bitch. To collect the eggs and be able to grab a few when you want to eat them, they need to be easy to catch. That's why people raise them in battery cages. Loose quail are not easy to catch. Battery raised quail peck each other. I think people who raise them try to eat them before they eat each other.

    It might take a while to establish a safe, profitable chicken business, but I'm betting you can do it. With the prices you have to pay, you should be able to sell eggs and meat at a good profit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mine will be in a 70 square metre pen and will get plenty to eat, both feed and scraps. Once they settle in and know where home is, I will let them range across a fenced in acre. The dogs are good at digging but two of them will learn quickly, especially if I give them a hiding, The one that worries me is their mother, she is feral and only comes round here when she feels like it or to give birth, She could only get in by digging but then I would hear the excitement and she would not get out again before I shot her. I hope it does not come to that but with a grand invested in these birds, I am not going to let a half wild dog kill them.

      The pen is roofed over in netting, I will have no trouble catching the quail and if I do have problems, Dominic can drop them with an air rifle.

      I think I will reinforce the sides of the pen with chain link folded in such a way that the bottom half is buried a foot under the ground and extends three feet outwards from the base of the pen. That should confound the dog if it tries to dig under the fence.

      Delete
  14. There are some things you could plant that chickens like to eat. I think sorghum (milo) might grow well in your area. And they like most of the vine fruits like pumpkin, zucchini, and watermelon. The biggest problem might be getting them enough protein if you don't have access to corn.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I already have watermelon growing and will be planting zucchini when (if) the rains come. The feed apparently contains all they need for a balanced diet but I will be augmenting it with scraps.

      The chicken breed is, I have been informed by the supplier, Hy Line Brown. Never heard of it.

      Delete
    2. Tom, I am sure you googled it but I found this:
      http://www.hyline.com.au/the-hy-line-brown

      The Hy-Line Brown is the result of Hy-Line Australia’s long history of genetic innovation and industry knowledge.

      Which reminds me - the Holden is no more. They will; be closing the factory down in the next couple of years. Ford indicated they will be closing their factory too and now Toyota has followed suit. There will be no cars made in Australia any more. Impacts no only the employees in the above factories but also all the parts companies we have here. We are just too small a country to afford to make its own cars - those form Asia are cheaper. Back to your fowl - I guess if you could get one of those Maremma Sheepdogs and they lived with the chooks, they would be safer. Any chance you could train your dogs to "bond" with your chooks? I know our lab x collie or something would do that. She has done so with a budgie and Indian ring neck. i imagine every dog is different

      Delete
    3. I never Googled it, in fact. I just thought it was another Klein wind up. So they are Australian birds.. Must be worth the money then!

      Blimey, no Australian cars at all? Vauxhall in UK make a rebadged Holden, the Minaro. It's an insane car.

      I might try letting the dogs get near the birds by letting them in the pen while holding on to them. If they calm down and just sniff around curiously, that'll be a result. They are pretty cool with the goose but the goose scares the shit out of them and gives as good as he gets. Maybe I should put the goose in the pen with the chooks...

      Delete
  15. Make sure you have smaller chicken wire for the quail. They are tiny and can run right out of regular size chicken wire. Also prone to leg pulling. You'll know when you see it. Basically, I just leave the feed in a container and they eat all they want. You can't do that with the large white leghorns though. My first foray into chickens, they ate and grew so fast, their leg bones couldn't support their bodies plus, they sold me all males. I ended up with 50 crippled chickens.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Lord! Imagine, fat breasts and no drumsticks!

      I will make up some feeders and keep them topped up and clean. It is good for me to know how much they should be eating, though, so I can see if they have a healthy appetite and make sure I have enough feed in stock.

      The pen is enclosed top and sides with shade netting. Not even a mosquito would get through it but, I suppose, a determined dog could tear through it.

      Delete
  16. Quail look real good...

    I'm partial to ducks, because mine were so easy. I've never had chickens, but all ducks need are a dog house and two bowls with enough food. My ducks laid like crazy -- typically 2-4 eggs every day for two years. We had good ducks, too -- Welsh harlequins -- but I hear that pekins lay almost as prolifically, in case you are wondering about keeping some layers, rather than constantly killing 'em.

    Also, consider some drakes and roosters, and get yourself self-sufficient. We didn't have enough room for it, but I'd have done it in a heartbeat if I'd been able.

    In a terribly sadistic confession, I do look forward to hearing about the different predators in your area.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The only real predators we get here are thieving locals!

      I will definitely be going for ducks as well but only when the lake property is fenced in.

      Delete

Please feel free to comment, good or bad. I will allow anything that isn't truly offensive to any other commentator. Me? You can slag me without mercy but try and be witty while you are about it.