Emma had been wanting to buy some Quail for a while. We eventually found some for sale near Halesowen. They are just over 3 weeks old, and if we keep them indoors during the cold weather, the 2 females should start laying eggs after 8 weeks.

We have 3 of them - the male is called Waylon and the females are Daisy and Rose.
Quail are notoriously stupid birds. I remember reading a story in the newspaper about someone who bought some and kept them in the garden. They were too stupid to take shelter during a hailstorm, and afterwards they were all found flattened in the mud. When ours eventually go into the garden, we will have a large rabbit hutch for them, so they will hopefully be safe from both the elements and any foxes or cats.

Who's There?
The Police with a battering ram...

We were on our way to work this morning but didn't get far because there were some police vans blocking the road. There were a few policemen standing around wearing body armour, with one carrying a battering ram. We stopped and watched for a few minutes while they smashed in someone's front door. They then encountered a re-enforced inner door which needed some other gadget, which resembled a briefcase but made a whirring noise when they used it. Unfortunately I couldn't see what was happening by then because the porchway was obscuring my view.

The police disappeared into the house. We didn't have time to stay and watch any more so didn't see whether anyone got dragged out kicking and screaming. We spoke to someone at the end of the road who told us it was a drug dealer's house.