3 week old quail cries when put outside

[Latimar]

I've got three 3 week old japanese jumbo quail, that I consider fully feathered. (These are my first ever quail so I'm not super confident in my estimate, but from what I've gathered here, they're feathered out.)

I've moved the chicks out of the brooder, into their outside coop and everything's going well. Now one of the babies keeps crying out, especially in the morning. Could it be too cold for them? Is it possible there's "bald spots" where they're not completely feathered out and are now freezing over from? Am I freezing my babies to death like this?

It's been around 68-71,6 °F (20-22°C) during the day, and the temperature drops down to 59 °F (15°C) during the night. The chicks huddle up every now and then, but not constantly and not super tight. They seem relative comfortable, except for the crying and some huddling.

Should I take them back in? The temperatures are just dropping from here on out, so I kinda don't want to keep them inside longer just to have them have to adjust into even colder temperatures later.

The picture above is the crying one, I think it's the rooster of the flock.

 

[Nabiki]

Do they have shelter from the wind? Do you provide hiding places where they can cuddle together?

If there are three of them, are they all the same gender? If not, that could very well be a problem since the ideal ratio is one male to five females.

 

[Latimar]

Do they have shelter from the wind? Do you provide hiding places where they can cuddle together?

If there are three of them, are they all the same gender? If not, that could very well be a problem since the ideal ratio is one male to five females.

I'm not completely sure about the genders yet, but I think I have two hens and one rooster. Is that bad? Do I need more hens or should I then only keep one?

They have huts they can go in that are completely covered, and the whole thing is pretty windless cause it's built into a wall-like fence and in our backyard.

 

[Nabiki]

If you have two hens and a roo, you will want a couple more hens.

The temperatures aren't too low for them, especially with completely covered huts. You might want to make sure that nothing is coming by to visit them in the mornings.

 

[Latimar]

If you have two hens and a roo, you will want a couple more hens.

The temperatures aren't too low for them, especially with completely covered huts. You might want to make sure that nothing is coming by to visit them in the mornings.

Okay good to know thank you!

 

[MrJudeRaw]

Okay good to know thank you!

contrary to popular homestead opinion it is too early for those birds to be outside. They only have their juvenile feathers with plenty of down. They should have a warm spot at around 80 degrees.

will the temps they are experiencing be fatal? nope. Are the birds going to be uncomfortable and lose energy staying warm that could be used to get larger. yes.
week 4 during the summer week 5 any other time of the year is the earliest recommendation from the quails best interest.
You know when they are ready to be outside because they molt off their juvenile feathers.