- Oct 22, 2014
- 43
- 12
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I had to hand feed my Mearns with a syringe and a liquid mixture. My chick pipped the egg but never started zipping. After 36 hours, I assisted him by zipping his egg for him. I later found out by talking to an experienced breeder that the Mearns will pip through the egg but take up to 3 to 4 days to zip out. So...I almost lost my chick for lack of knowledge. I hand fed him for a week with liquid through a syringe until he was strong enough to eat live meal worms. Now he's as healthy as can be and jogs in place when I make the feeding call for his meal worms. Now I'm trying to wean him off the live meal worms slowly.
They are a digger in nature and grow very long toenails, so if you keep them on wire, you must keep their toenails clipped or they will pop a nail off which will cause bleeding then toe pecking from others. The breeder I spoke to keeps his on board with wood shavings. So if you had a wire bottom cage, you could simply make a wood floor to fit over the wire. If you keep them in an aviary with ground floor, they have been known to dig out and byebye expensive little bird.
Once I found out I only had 1 fertile egg out of six, I added a button quail egg to the bator and hatched them together so he would have a companion to grow with and also help me teach him how to eat quail feed.
I will be getting 10 eggs from a 20 year breeder in June and will definitely get more knowledge from him on raising these gorgeous birds.
Hatching and brooding looks like the hard part but with their natural digging instinct, that can be a learning experience as adults as well.
They are a digger in nature and grow very long toenails, so if you keep them on wire, you must keep their toenails clipped or they will pop a nail off which will cause bleeding then toe pecking from others. The breeder I spoke to keeps his on board with wood shavings. So if you had a wire bottom cage, you could simply make a wood floor to fit over the wire. If you keep them in an aviary with ground floor, they have been known to dig out and byebye expensive little bird.
Once I found out I only had 1 fertile egg out of six, I added a button quail egg to the bator and hatched them together so he would have a companion to grow with and also help me teach him how to eat quail feed.
I will be getting 10 eggs from a 20 year breeder in June and will definitely get more knowledge from him on raising these gorgeous birds.
Hatching and brooding looks like the hard part but with their natural digging instinct, that can be a learning experience as adults as well.