Raising baby quail inside for the first time.

[MamaBear228]

Hello! So I want to start raising quail and I have researched a lot but still have a few questions! Hoping I can get some help here. I know when you get them (I believe they are a week old at the store near me.) they need to be under a red heat lamp for 5-6 weeks until they are fully feathered and kept draft free. Is there a specific bulb i need to get? I have pine shavings in the cage, mannapro starter crumbles ground up in a small lid and a plastic refillable water feeder so no possible drowning. I had 2 babies previously and they passed after a day but I believe its because i was using a clear white heat bulb and i did not grind up the crumbles. Am I doing anything else wrong? Anything else I should be aware of or advise on being a first time quail mama in the city?

 

[The Phantom]

@ButtonquailGirl14

 

[Erkenstein]

What kind of quail are you getting?

This advice is pretty general, but there may be some differences depending on your breed:

You need a red bulb that is close enough to the birds so that they can stay around 90F the first week. I use a poultry bulb that is 250W, but you can use whatever gets the brooder to the right temp. Make sure they can't jump and hit the bulb, peck it, or get burned. They will stay in the area that is the right temperature for them. Keep the food and water out of the heated area so they will get used to the slightly cooler temperature when they go to eat and drink and so they aren't messing up their food. The light should be on all the time, and not only will they get chilled but they will panic if the light goes out, so it's a good idea to have a spare bulb. After the first week, move the heat away from them so that it drops about 5degrees, and do that again the second week; if they are piling up it means they are too cold, so keep and eye on them.

A lid will be okay as a feeder for the first couple of days, but they will be able to eat out of a normal feeder after that so they won't be pooping in it. Grind up their food so they will be able to eat it, and after the first week or so start to transition them to full sized crumbles (only grind half of it). I suggest you add chick start powder to the water for the first couple of weeks to give them probiotics and electrolytes and to encourage them to drink. Keep food and water available at all times.

I worry about pine shavings when they are little because I don't want them eating them. They are also a hassle to keep clean. I like to start my birds on paper towels for the first week and change them twice a day to keep the floor clean. During the second week, I keep about half of the brooder floor covered with paper towels, and the rest is 1/4inch wire. By the third week, they are on wire only but have a sandbox. When they are fully feathered, they can go to outside pens.

I raise coturnix quail, and they start testing their wings at about 1.5 weeks old, so depending on the variety of your birds you need to be ready to prevent them flying out of the brooder.

 

[mdees88]

1) what kind of quail?
2) how many quail?
3) how big/what is your brooder?

Great advice above.

I will add that I use two 150w warm white bulbs on a dimmer switch. I have used red 250w bulbs and white bulbs and have not had a single issue with either color bulbs and i only use white ones now.

The biggest thing is making sure they are not too cold or too hot. My brooder is a 55 gallon tote from home depot (4ftx2ft). I have my light bulbs at one end and have the temp around 100-110 degrees on hatch day. If it is 110f the quail will stay at the edge of the light instead of directly under it. The quail will tell you what they want. If they are piled on top of each other directly under the light then they are too cold. If they stay far away from the light they are too hot. This is the benefit of having a large brooder. You do not have to worry about keeping the temperature precise as long as you keep it hot enough. Here's my 1 day old quail staying right where they like the temperature....

Coturnix quail are mostly feathered at 2.5 weeks. At 1 week I start turning my dimmer switch down each day (lowering the temp). By the time they are 2-2.5 weeks old my heat lamps are basically turned off and they are fine at my 70 degree room temp. By 3 weeks they can go outside. I've put them outside at 2 weeks before with a heat lamp (lows in the high 50's) and they did just fine.

I use fine pine shavings from day 1 and they work fine. I pack them down tight so the floor is smooth for them to walk on for the first day or so. I add some shavings each day to cover the poop.

I put a paper towel down the first day with ground up food on it. After the first day or 2 I remove the paper towels and they use the red plastic chick feeder from tractor supply. They only need ground up feed for about 3 days. After that they will eat a crumble no problem. If your birds are 1 week old I would feed them straight crumble. As previously mentioned, you want the water near the heat source but not directly under it and the food can be further away. I too add electrolytes to the water for the first 3-5 days. I also use the quail waterer from tractor supply (it is in my pic and has a narrow trough so they can't drown).

So basically make sure they have a heat lamp that is at least 95-100 degrees, make sure they can get out of the heat if they need to, make sure they have ground up food if they are only a couple days old, make sure they have unlimited access to food and water and they should do just fine.

 

[Erkenstein]

My understanding of using a red bulb is that it doesn't disturb them as much when they sleep. Another reason people use red bulbs is so that, if one of the birds happens to bleed for some reason, the other birds don't see it as easily and don't start attacking the injured bird.

With a solid-bottom brooder like a tote, pine shavings might be the way to go. My brooder has wire, so I like to use paper towels since they help dry out the droppings pretty quickly and are easy to change out or layer up.

Do let us know what type of quail you're getting and don't forget pics!

 

[MamaBear228]

I got coturnix quails! I have them in a large fishtank type of tank. Is that an okay starter brooder? I wondered if the white bulb was disturbing them because i read that they need 8 hours of darkness and they werent able to sleep with the bright bulb i was using! I will add pictures later when i get home from work!

 

[Erkenstein]

It depends how big the tank is and how many birds you got. Coturnix grow fast.

Notice in mdees88's picture how she's put the waterer on a piece of wood. That helps a lot with keeping shavings out and with keeping the birds from pooping in the water. Another thing I do with the (round) feeder is to put it into a plant saucer that is slightly larger. It catches a lot of what they spill.

 

[MamaBear228]

I have 3 and they are only a week old right now. It is a 50 gallon tank. I am currently building them an outside play area and trying to find a hutch to remodel for them to have more space inside once they get bigger!

 

[Fishkeeper]

I'd suggest getting a few more. Coturnix need to be kept at a ratio of about 1 male to 4 females, or 5+ all of the same sex. With three, you risk one being picked on too much, and it's a small number to keep of a social species. I'd up your number to 5 or 6, if at all possible.

 

[MamaBear228]

How do you know the difference between male and female? And i can definitely up my numbers! should i change their enclosure if i buy 3 more? Maybe a large tote with chicken wire?