Quail_club
In the Brooder
- Nov 4, 2024
- 4
- 15
- 29
Hi there all!
I'm a long time reader of this site, but first time question-poster.
I'm raising my first batch of quail chicks, they're only just 2 weeks old. Theres 8 of them, and their feathers have been coming through nicely, and they have all seemed to be in good health so far.
However. I had an accident in the brooder yesterday. I had to head out to an appointment and was gone for most of the day. I wasn't supposed to be gone for that long, but it couldn't be helped. I came back, and the chicks' waterer had been tilted somehow, and all the water had poured out onto the bottom of the brooder. It must have happened earlier in the day, because when i returned home, I found the waterer was bone dry and the chicks were crowded round it trying to peck at it.
Because of this, the bottom of the brooder had turned into a congealed mess of sawdust and some of the poo from the chicks. I had cleaned the brooder the day before, so it wasn't full of poo, but as these guys get bigger I've realised (obviously) that they start to poo a hell of a lot more! And the poo that had built up through the day was all mixed in with the sawdust that had absorbed all the water. I think as the chicks had been lying down underneath the heat lamp, they had been lying down in a horrible congealed mess of sawdust water and their own poo, which had dried out from the heat from the lamp by the time I got home.
Of course, I immediately cleaned out the brooder and gave them fresh water. They were so incredibly thirsty they were crowded around the clean water for quite a while drinking and then started preening themselves. It was then that I noticed that their tummy feathers and tiny tails were dirty with dried up muck. I think one or two may have been lying on their sides as well and so they've got dried dirt on their side feathers.
Should I wait and let them all continue preening themselves to get themselves clean? Or should I help them along? I know we shouldn't get the chicks too wet early on, as it makes them vulnerable to illness. However, should I get some warm soapy water and just help them along? Give them a little bit of dabbing and then put them back underneath the heat lamp? Or are they okay to continue preening themselves?
All of this happened yesterday, and today there's still some muck on them. Should I just wait a little longer for them to sort themselves out?
I've learnt from my mistake with the waterer. I had perched it on a flat stone to raise it up above the sawdust, so that the chicks were less likely to get sawdust in it. However I think as they get bigger and heavier, they must have been running across it and tipped it into the sawdust. I've now adjusted the platform for the water to make it impossible to do this. I feel so bad for them, they must have been for so thirsty and they look so dirty! What do you think?
I'm a long time reader of this site, but first time question-poster.
I'm raising my first batch of quail chicks, they're only just 2 weeks old. Theres 8 of them, and their feathers have been coming through nicely, and they have all seemed to be in good health so far.
However. I had an accident in the brooder yesterday. I had to head out to an appointment and was gone for most of the day. I wasn't supposed to be gone for that long, but it couldn't be helped. I came back, and the chicks' waterer had been tilted somehow, and all the water had poured out onto the bottom of the brooder. It must have happened earlier in the day, because when i returned home, I found the waterer was bone dry and the chicks were crowded round it trying to peck at it.
Because of this, the bottom of the brooder had turned into a congealed mess of sawdust and some of the poo from the chicks. I had cleaned the brooder the day before, so it wasn't full of poo, but as these guys get bigger I've realised (obviously) that they start to poo a hell of a lot more! And the poo that had built up through the day was all mixed in with the sawdust that had absorbed all the water. I think as the chicks had been lying down underneath the heat lamp, they had been lying down in a horrible congealed mess of sawdust water and their own poo, which had dried out from the heat from the lamp by the time I got home.
Of course, I immediately cleaned out the brooder and gave them fresh water. They were so incredibly thirsty they were crowded around the clean water for quite a while drinking and then started preening themselves. It was then that I noticed that their tummy feathers and tiny tails were dirty with dried up muck. I think one or two may have been lying on their sides as well and so they've got dried dirt on their side feathers.
Should I wait and let them all continue preening themselves to get themselves clean? Or should I help them along? I know we shouldn't get the chicks too wet early on, as it makes them vulnerable to illness. However, should I get some warm soapy water and just help them along? Give them a little bit of dabbing and then put them back underneath the heat lamp? Or are they okay to continue preening themselves?
All of this happened yesterday, and today there's still some muck on them. Should I just wait a little longer for them to sort themselves out?
I've learnt from my mistake with the waterer. I had perched it on a flat stone to raise it up above the sawdust, so that the chicks were less likely to get sawdust in it. However I think as they get bigger and heavier, they must have been running across it and tipped it into the sawdust. I've now adjusted the platform for the water to make it impossible to do this. I feel so bad for them, they must have been for so thirsty and they look so dirty! What do you think?
Oh dear! I'm laughing with you, not at you, I promise.
