Gambel quail growth question

[Mary1956]

Hi All, I have 2 baby gambel quails. They are about a week apart. Right now they would be about 3 weeks and 4 weeks old. The youngest doesn't seem to be growing much while the other is noticeably growing. One I rescued and the other I got from a breeder to keep the rescued one company... Is it normal for one to grow faster then the other? Could it be one is a female and one is a male. I'm afraid I don't know a lot about raising them but they seem to be very happy. I have them in a large box in the house with heating pad and heat lamp if I feel temp gets too chilly. I'm building them a 4 X 6 area right not that hopefully will be finished today. I've searched the internet for pictures of gambel quails at different stages but no luck.. Thanks in advance for any advice. Mary

 

[dc3085]

What are you feeding them? Have you given them any probiotics yet?

 

[Mary1956]

Hi, I'm feeding them Ace Hi (Star Milling) Turkey/Game Bird Kracketts (28 Protein) A little hard boiled egg (yolk) and a little kale. No probiotics... Also, I have a thing of dirt (dg from where I used to keep my horses, so it's sandy) in there with them in case they want to dust themselves or eat some so they have a little gravel in their diet.

 

[dc3085]

Gambels need probiotics to aid digestion. In the wild they get them by eating their parents feces, youll have to purchase some either at a pet or feed store or you can give them probiotics for people if you have no other options.

 

[Mary1956]

Thank you dc. I will check my local feed store tomorrow. Will it have instructions on it with how much to use? I have some powdered pure encapsulation probiotic 123 (diary free) that I use to make capsules for my dog. Is this something I can use for the quail?

 

[dc3085]

Most likely its similar enough. You can add some to the water, its not something you can really overdo (within reason) if you buy an avian probiotic it will have instructions.

 

[Mary1956]

Unfortunately the little one died this afternoon. :-( I feel really bad but I don't know what else I could have done. I would like to get another one so I have 2. Not sure the breeder that I got this one from had good stock as the one I rescued was the one that thrived. Any suggestions on where to get another one in southern California, close to Ventura county?

 

[Ntsees]

Unfortunately the little one died this afternoon. :-( I feel really bad but I don't know what else I could have done. I would like to get another one so I have 2. Not sure the breeder that I got this one from had good stock as the one I rescued was the one that thrived. Any suggestions on where to get another one in southern California, close to Ventura county?

Although I have not raised gambels quail from chicks before, I can only make an assumption that they are very similar to the mountains and valleys that I do raise. The chicks, when they hatch together, do very well together - meaning they do not bully each other. Somewhere a week or more later after they've bonded as a group, if I were to introduce new chicks that have hatched, the older birds would bully on the younger ones. If you do get another "companion" for your lonely quail chick, I think the new bird will also get bullied (watch for that puffed up charge and light peck). It could be the reason why your younger gambels quail died. These birds have a very strong affinity to be with each other - that is, others that hatched and grew up together along with itself. The chicks do not tolerate other chick groups - either they bully the chicks younger than themselves, or are themselves bullied by older chicks.

 

[Mary1956]

Hi Ntsees, thank you for your response. The two I had got along very well even though they were not from the same litter.. They cuddled together and ate together. No Fighting whatsoever. But now I'm not so sure it's a good idea to get another after reading your post. Is it better not to get a companion for this one or do they do ok if I should wait until it's an adult (not sure what age that is) and get another adult. What do you think?

 

[Ntsees]

The decision is up to you. But definitely, do try to pair it up when its an adult.