Quail and a pan of water question

pac

Songster
Premium Feather Member
Mar 4, 2025
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So it seems that given enough water a quail chick will drown itself in it.
What about adult birds and a pan of water? Do they know enough to stay out of it in cold weather?

I recently watched a video on keeping chickens in winter. And it made a lot of sense. The youtuber said the best thing he has found for freezing temps and his chickens has been one of those rubber bowls you see at TSC. When it freezes you simply turn it upside-down and step on it to get the frozen water out of it and refill it.
I remember when I had chickens and rotated waterers and many times the one thawing would still be frozen when it was time to replace the one in the coop.

I'm wondering if something similar would work for quail. Maybe a silicone dog water bowl.
Or are the adult quail going to end up jumping in it because they don't know any better?
 
I remember when I had chickens and rotated waterers and many times the one thawing would still be frozen when it was time to replace the one in the coop.
One possible solution to that: have more than two waterers, so you do always have one that has thawed long enough.
 
I was hoping they would grow out of that phase.

Kinda makes you wonder how they have a place in the wild.
 
One possible solution to that: have more than two waterers, so you do always have one that has thawed long enough.

That was Plan A.
More and smaller.

I used those 3g Little Giants when I had chickens. And it did take them longer to freeze and the chickens could peck through the ice for a while. But it never thawed completely before putting it back in. And I don't have the room to be thawing a few of them at a time.

I still might come up with something.
Now that I know I can't have an open pan/bowl.
 
They don't. Coturnix quail have been domesticated for a long time.

Survivability has been bred out?

They look to be quite skittish. I figured they were a step removed from their wild "cousins". I guess not.

So that answers another question in the back of my mind. Why people say quail hens make poor mothers.

I guess Coturnix are the English Bulldogs of the bird world. Form before function.
 

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