Brooding Quail Outside?

[quailkid12345]

I am going to be starting with quail soon, and I am wondering if anyone has had success brooding them outside? I would be taking care of the chicks, so they would not be in the care of the mother. If anyone has, how did you do it? Unless it is absolutely necessary, I am hoping to not have to brood them indoors. Thanks for any help!

 

[quailkid12345]

Just to clarify I forgot to add that the original quail I am getting will be nearly adults, and this is for future reference when/if I decide to grow my flock.

 

[Kale the Quail]

brooding them outside just after they hatch will be pretty cold. even with a heat lamp. if you don't want them in the house you can put them in your garage for a bit until they get a little older. (if you have a garage)

 

[Kale the Quail]

i've always brooded them in the house for a couple days, moved them to a bigger tote in the garage. wait until they've started to grow their feathers, move them outside. then, when they're full grown put them in with the others (if they're an addition to the flock )

 

[quailkid12345]

How long should they stay inside or in the garage before they can go out?

 

[quailkid12345]

Okay thank you!

 

[Kale the Quail]

about when they look like this. then they could go outside with a heat lamp. but if they go away from the heatlamp then you can take it away and they can just live in the brooder until they can move out.

 

[mdees88]

They need to be in a relatively stable environment. Like inside the house, a garage, or in a shop or shed. I keep mine inside until they are 10-14 days old. It all depends on outside temps though. I just moved mine outside at 2 weeks old and they did fine with no heat lamp with low temps in the mid 60's. I've moved the outside as early as 7-10 days but they were sheltered from the wind and had a heat lamp.

Another problem with trying to brood them outside will be pests. Everything likes to eat quails, especially when they're young. The second night my 2 week olds were outside I found this rat snake trying to break into their pen.

 

[quailkid12345]

Thanks for the help! I feel like this is a silly question, but could a basement work?

 

[quailkid12345]

Definitely not long term, but just until they were feathered enough to go outside.