Dry incubation for button quail

[Quail man 45]

Thank you. I happy to say that 3 eggs hatched!

how long should I wait to handle them once they are in the brooder?

 

[DK newbie]

Of curiosity - how many eggs did you have and did you end up adding water? Do you know what your humidity was?

Some people say they are prone to get splay leg if you handle them too early(I think 3 days or so was mentioned? I think I've heard a week too). Personally I have not experienced any splay leg issues with any of my chicks, but they are parent raised, I only handle the occasional weak one. However, I did notice when picking up a chick just 3 days old, a few days ago, that it was already trying to escape me. The younger chicks(or maybe they are just usually weaker/colder when I pick them up?) usually stay still once they sense the heat from my hands. So perhaps it is easier to get them tame, if that is your goal, if you start right away. Just be as gentle as their size indicates ^^

 

[Quail man 45]

I had 10 eggs in the incubator and I added water 2 days before they hatched. I believe the humidity was around 30-40.

Ok thank you. I'd like them to be tame so that there's not a lot of stress on them if I need to move them places.

 

[Quail man 45]

Do you have any ideas on how to tame them if they're already 3 days okd

 

[dc3085]

Button quail are really nervous birds and except for the rare occasion they really don't make good pets at all. Goldfish like being held more than button quail do.

Edit to add: this question has been covered many times in the archives, there is a lot of great information stored there. The advanced search feature can limit your searches to the quail section so you only get pertinent information. Every question most most keepers can come up with has been answered many times over in the archives.

 

[DK newbie]

I have never actually tamed a button, or even seen a tame button. Some of mine will eat bugs from my hands and they aren't too nervous around me, that's how far I've gone personally. But I have seen pictures and read stories about tame buttons, so I know it can be done. My guess is that the way to go with chicks, is heat. Take them out of the brooder, make sure your hands are warm, and make them associate your hands with heat - put them in your lap with your hands over them while watching a movie, or something like that. Try to make them follow your hand and go under it themselves if you move it a little away(I've done that with a newly hatched chick, but I don't know how old they can be for that to work). Talk to them, feed them small bugs. I don't know if it will work, but you can always give it a try.

 

[Quail man 45]

Great thanks

 

[Quail man 45]

How do you stop button quail chicks from piling on each other? Two of mine keep sitting on the biggest one when they take a nap and he starts peeping frantically. Should I intervene?

 

[DK newbie]

If they are piling together, I guess they are cold, so I suppose increasing the heat would help. That said, mine struggle to get below each other, rather than on top of - they are so big the adults can't sit on more than 1 or 2 and with 4 adults and 15 chicks, that doesn't really add up. So they pile together, with the chicks trying to get below each other.
Actually, my guess would be that the biggest chick is trying to get below the others and is peeping because they aren't big enough to cover him - are you sure it's not him pushing himself below them, rather than the other way round?
And how does the taming process go?

 

[Quail man 45]

Thanks. I think the big one is trying to go under, now that you mentioned it. I never realized that was something they did. I think I'm getting somewhere with them. They don't get as panicky when I put my hand in the cage.