Wanted eggs. I Chose Quail.

No chickens here!

It was either Guinea hens or quail. After reading I went for Coturnix Quail. After raising them for 2 years I think I chose ok.

They poop a lot and stink worse than chickens I feel.

Their eggs are tiny but have a better smell when cooked and nutritional value. They lay eggs at 6-8 weeks old and I’ve found fill out nicely to butcher by week 8-10.

I have found they don’t gain weight between week 7-10 but the chest widens a bit making them easier to clean.

A lot of people struggle to raise them according to the many forums and groups I’m in. However they are fairly hardy after the first 2 days and after a week of life they’re like a whole new bird.

My current pros and cons list looks like:

Pros

  • Mature at 6-8 weeks
  • Eggs are great pickled
  • Less smell when cooking eggs them than chicken eggs
  • Richer yolk
  • Dark meat
  • Butcher setup is very simple
  • Easy to vent sex / feathers sex if certain colors
  • Very easy to hatch, 15-19 day cycle, depending on heat
  • Small foot print for how much floor is needed
  • Don’t make much noise unless a male

Cons

  • As soon as the weather gets cool eggs become less instantly
  • They are very messy eaters
  • Poop stinks worse than chickens
  • They fly and break their necks frequently
  • They don’t return to a coop to roost
  • They always need to be in a merged space unless you don’t care if they don’t return
  • After 3 weeks their poop goes from meh poop to yea I’ve got to clean that
  • Health things appear often and while they can survive a lot they are fragile

My Turkey Has Chosen Violence

Turkeys!

These 2 cute little baby turkeys came home in April of 2026.

I specifically went out to their coop every single day with my toddler to socialize them.

They would come outside with us and the goats to graze.

It was great!

My kid would run, and all the animals would run to be fed.

This might’ve been where I ruined a turkey.

I thought it was cute until the male started getting spicy.

He would puff up his feathers around my toddler and me. I would ignore him and life would go on.

Then one day, his friend the peacock was out of the coop overnight and crying for his friends. So I let the turkeys out to walk out back to find the peacock with me.

All was fine until the male rushed me on the walk back because the female thought I had a treat.
I thought we had sorted things out, but instead, he tried again, wings flapping, and I kicked at him…not smart for me.

He wanted to try his feet, too.

It was a long walk to the house for a shovel to keep him at bay while getting him back to the coop.

Now I’ve lost all trust with him.

Mr. Attitude himself

So if you want to ruin a turkey, kick off their prey drive, then spark their instinct to fight with their feet. 🙃

Also, he’s now terrible to the peacock. Dude is missing head feathers! So the male Turkey is making the Thanksgiving holiday extra special this year.

Goat Poisoning Lesson

The Goat Poisoning Lesson
I learned a very hard lesson about my goats.

First, while I say that a new goat would cost me anywhere from free to $200, I really like my goats and don’t wish to replace them.

Second, don’t keep your compost pile in their pen.
Yeah, yeah, I know. One should know better. But I’m one of those nuts who thinks that if a goat has a choice about what to eat, they’ll choose the things they need.

However, I did learn how to give a B-complex shot to a goat.

Goats that get poisoned stop producing B vitamins, which are what stimulate their hunger. And while all sources point to separating the ones that are still sick, sometimes they bond to one another and don’t rest as needed without the bonded ones in the same area.

If they’re ever poisoned again, I’ll know the drill.

Call the vet.

The vet will check them out and give the first round of shots: antibiotics, Banamine, and B-complex.

Next is every 6 hours: B-complex shot using a 20-gauge, 6 mL needle.
Every 12 hours: Banamine for pain.
For 24 hours, follow this route.

If a goat remains unwell, continue on just that one.

One click of Banamine for two goats. Given every 12hrs to help with the pain is what I was told.

I’ve got Nigerian Dwarf goats, for size reference.

Offer blackberry leaves, blueberry leaves, and hay.
Offer both plain water and electrolyte water.Google the measurements.

One goat stayed sick longer than the others. He was drinking water but not eating.

I decided to force electrolyte water into him, 2 mL at most every 6 hours. I put less salt in the mixture and added baking soda to the tip of the syringe if he was still foaming.

If he was really foaming, I had a little Pepto-Bismol.

Blueberry leaves convinced him to eat a little.

I’m not a vet! Just a fellow goat owner who lost at connect dots in my brain one night, with don’t put tempting poisonous plants into the goat pen.

Do not do anything you’re uncomfortable with or that you can’t take responsibility for the actions you chose to pursue. This is just my story.
Definitely not a lesson I want to learn twice.

Where learning about herbs began

When I started learning about herbs, I was really excited to see what my yard had to offer.

I’ve found that just trying to identify the herbs in my yard makes everything seem so much more magical.

Don’t get me wrong, I think being outside has always been an important part of my life. But I’ve just never thought about what your yard, and all of those pesky weeds, could really be offering you.

So to start, let’s talk about those little yellow, annoying flowers that grow in your yard. You know, the ones that, when you pull them up, clean off the root, cut them up, dry them, toast them a little bit, grind them and then soak in hot water for a coffee replacement. To support your stomach acid and support and detox your liver.

The ones where you can take those pesky little leaves and throw them into a salad, and they’ll add a vitamin K boost. While also boosting stomach acid and again your liver.

Yeah. Those are the ones we’re talking about.

Dandelions.

But watch out, because not all yellow flowers and green leaves are dandelions. In fact, cat’s ear is pretty commonly found growing alongside them. And while cat’s ear has its own interesting properties, it isn’t dandelion.

And apparently, this is where my obsession with figuring out exactly what is growing in my yard began.

Liver Detox maybe it’s not that good for you

I have to vent because I keep seeing all these herbal remedies that are targeted toward liver detox. And let me tell you, when I read about our poor livers and what we could do to support them and the side effects, I too was on the bandwagon of, “Yes! Liver detox!”

Going to share all the fun things that I have learned over the last few years about myself and how it’s changed how I view liver detox.

It started probably about ten years ago when I decided to do a 23andMe DNA test. And then I found, I think it was called Genetic Genie, that would take my raw data and tell me what genetics I had because I was curious if I had MTHFR.

Let me tell you, I have both of the genetic factors for it! Lucky me, I got them both.

But honestly, it’s not that bad once you actually start to learn about yourself.

So I took this newfound knowledge to a naturopath who suggested that we check my B12 levels because I was suffering from fatigue. So I started my B12 shots and took them for years!

They were the magical sauce that made my brain keep working, or so I thought.

She suggested B-complex, but two days after starting it, the fatigue got worse, so I stopped because no matter how many times I said this, it was, “Power through it. Give it time.”

Nooope!

Over the years, I continued to suffer from fatigue and was just way too stressed out from everything.

Then I started acupuncture… which was amazing! What did I get from it? NOTHING!

But week after week, damp heat came up that my body just never seemed to get rid of. I followed the diet. I went to acupuncture once a week for eight weeks and then one to two times a month.

Years of this!

Then I got severely sick and could barely leave the house for about eight months before I decided to once again go back to the doctor. My naturopath suggested an elimination diet.

I’ll explain what this elimination diet is in another post.

So all the things were eliminated. And I had a gastrointestinal appointment during the COVID era where it took six months to get in to see a doctor that was still two months away.

It turns out I don’t really care if I have celiac or not. What I do care about is that I will not be eating wheat, gluten, rye, or oats for the rest of my life because no thank you to ever experiencing that again!

Every time I go see a doctor, they always test for my thyroid. Because magically, I keep gaining weight with no explanation.

I’m exhausted. I’m stressed out. Fertility issues. Etc.

Come to the most recent finding, where I specifically had to ask for blood tests.

I went a little crazy…

I used Google AI to track symptoms for an entire month so that I could ask about different blood tests that may show some insight. Then I reached out to my doctor so we could actually run those tests to see if anything turned up.

What do you know? My B6 is way low, and my vitamin D.

TRAVEL BACK BEFORE KNOWING THIS

Before this doctor’s appointment, I decided to reach out to a Chinese medicine herbalist because honestly, the thing that had helped me the most in the past was acupuncture.

Her and I went through my list of symptoms, and she gave me the first herbal blend.

I noticed some really good changes happening.

We moved on to the second blend, and all of a sudden, more really good things kept happening. My unexplained, broken, unattached toenails were growing rapidly. My dry foot skin was clearing. I was peeing a lot. I was actually thirsty. My body didn’t feel so heavy. I started losing weight.

But then I got to the end of my bottle, which at this point had been supporting my spleen, which in Chinese acupuncture means supporting your kidney and your detox pathway.

By the end, I’ve got a foot rash that itches terribly. And the skin on my foot, but the nail bed is pink and happy.

My mood is better. I’m less fatigued.

We sync on good and bad because I take notes. I never expect things to correct a problem in just a few days. I’m just happy when things change.

She gives me the next medication because this last one that was doing great is now giving me some super cool rashes.

We go to one that is all about building the blood.

And what do you know? It makes me extremely fatigued again and starts making me gain weight with basically every breath that I breathe.

So I stop that.

But my stress had come down. My connection to my toddler feels magical, and with my husband, I feel more caring than I have in years.

Which leads me back to the main topic of why being low in these two things matters…

Are you sure you’re ready for this?

These matter because the magical weight that I’ve gained since I was twenty, that every single naturopath to this point has attributed to a thyroid issue…

That’s B6 and my yo-yo of B12 getting low or high!

So because my B6 level is low, my body doesn’t rebalance fluids. So that kidney-support formula actually moved fluid in my body.

And the fact that I get so tired I could fall asleep standing, but when I lie flat, after 10–20 minutes it goes away.

ALL SIGNS POINTING TOWARD FLUID REGULATION NOT DOING WHAT IT IS SUPPOSED TO!

Also, that damp heat that won’t budge.

So after this extremely long story, here’s my vent!

I see these incredibly smart women who are advertising for these herbal drinks, which I know they get paid a little bit of money to do when somebody buys them. My thing is that you have all these people that jump on board and are like, “Yes! Liver detox!”

But at no point over the last 15 years of my life have I read or seen anything that’s ever said, “Whoa there, let’s slow down on that liver detox idea.”

Because if your liver dumps too much detoxing and your kidney can’t support that detox, guess what’s coming for you, babe!

More buildup that your body can’t handle.

So what do I hope you gain from this?

If you’re reading my one thousand words on the topic, I hope if you’re someone who also feels fatigued and like they’re checking for thyroid stuff for years and getting normal results, that you know there’s something still underlying.

That you don’t go ham and buy a hundred things of this liver detox, thinking that it’s gonna solve all of your problems because it’s herbal, and it’s natural. And it’s gonna be great.

I also hope you know. I see you.

I hope that you’re advocating for yourself, and that sometimes taking the unbeaten path can lead you to figuring out what your body’s actually doing!

Do I know for sure if taking vitamin D and B6 every three days is actually gonna work to bring up my levels…

Nope.

But every random twist and turn to get to this point has changed my perspective a lot on things like feeling fatigued or stressed out, “try this liver detox!”

Bought Some Salve and Then Things Escalated

I’ve been on a mission to find more herbs and other things I can use that grow naturally around my house. The newest is plantain leaves.

I have a friend who has a kiddo with eczema, and originally I was just reading about different natural things that might help with eczema. I happened to stumble upon a Reddit forum that talked about plantain leaf working for somebody. Then into etsy because you find great things on that site. Which looked to pair plantain leaf with other things like yarrow.

Now, I’m definitely a little bit of what most people would call a hippie. I also have an engineering mentality.

So naturally, I went way down the rabbit hole, reading things.

I can’t help but read, and read and read some more about the benefits of plantain leaf, yarrow, beeswax on the skin, lavender, frankincense, and whatever else comes up on the combination list.

I place 4 in my cart thinking I’ll little it down to 1 but the more I read the more curious I become.

Yup, you see where this is going. I order all 4 because I must smell, touch, and try.

I’ve got dry scaly feet that any disruption in moisture turns bad for my skin. So I open 2. I set aside the 1 that has etsy comments saying how great it’s been for their eczema for my friend.

My 2 becomes 3. I test my feet, no issues the next morning. I test a scratch, no burn when applying but not sure of anything past that.

Then I get swarmed by mosquitoes in my back yard weed eating and I’m itching like crazy. I grab a container and apply this magic to my bites.

A few minutes go by and no more itching. Put some on my 3 year old and he’s hooked.

“Need me stuff”, is the new line when we get bites!

The one I liked best was the simplest one:

Beeswax. Olive oil. Plantain. Yarrow.

Could it be the more potent one? Maybe. Could it be less ingredients is more? Maybe.

All I know is dry skin on my feet that typically gets rashy and angry when I put lotion, oil, or the multiple other things it doesn’t bother them.

On my husband’s face that gets a combo of dry and oily and rashy at times it works the best.

And now I’ve become a little obsessed with finding enough plantain and yarrow so I can make some at home and share it with my family.

So here I am, walking around my property looking for plantain and yarrow, drying herbs, and apparently starting down another rabbit hole.

Stay tuned for my tips on making the salve, because that’s the next step once all of these herbs have dried out.

 

I’m not affiliated just sharing the one I love:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1763435918/yarrow-plantain-salve