NEED HELP PLEASE ASAP!!!!

[SamanthaWilson4]

Hi everyone i have 20 be 4 week old quail friday. They stink more and more each day! And their calls get louder each day. Since it is only 3 days until they are 4 weeks old and is getting mid to high 80's and temps are getting about 50-60 at night. Think be safe put em out there few days early? I have tarp around the cage to keep wind and weather off them. Cots and jumbo. I have people that live upstairs and worried they call landlord cuz they so loud lol.

 

[dc3085]

If they are fully feathered and it truly is that warm at night you can probably get away with putting them out and covering them. Usually I put them in a real cage with a heat lamp for a few days but if you can't get a cord out there it will probably be ok. Keep a close eye on them though,.

 

[SamanthaWilson4]

I have honestly not had heat lamp on them since they were about 2 weeks old. I took it off them put it on the new babies. So they do fine at night with windows opened in the same room they are in and with temps dropping to the 50's I wanted to harden them off faster.

 

[dc3085]

Yeah you'll be fine then. Be careful pulling the heating lamp early though, the reason we use it is because until they hit the 4 weeks range they don't generate any of their own body heat and without being fully feathered they end up using a lot of their energy trying to stay alive since they ahve no way to keep warm.

 

[ChazzanHillel]

I have 10 Coturnix that are 4 weeks today. They did great in a little plastic sterilite brooder box I made for the first 2 weeks. By the end of about 2 weeks, yes they were punishing the box with crap and I was having to clean the box daily. I'm here in Fort Worth, Tx and the passed several weeks have been pretty much ideal weather and temp wise with the exception of some heavy rains. I started putting them outside in a little "tractor" on my lawn just after about 2 weeks when they were almost fully feathered. The first few days I put them out during the day in partial shade and temps were between about 80-90 degrees. They did fine and I would bring them in at night. By the end of week 3 they were pretty much fully feathered and I began leaving them out over night with a small heat lamp. The lamp attracted moths and June bugs which they soon discovered to be tasty treats! Unlike chickens, quail are active at night and they can begin getting a great protein source from bugs.

The great thing I've noticed is that, if they are uncomfortable, they show it very easily and you can make necessary adjustments to their environment.

 

[SamanthaWilson4]

This are wicked loud out there but think it is because it is a new place. in day or two they should be fine. Will they pant when they are stressed out as well? Few of mine seem to be panting lol

 

[SamanthaWilson4]

one thing I do know is I am ready for eggs from them so I can raise me some meat babies to put in freezer this winter. I want to have about 200 in the freezer for this winter. Next year I will have tons more lol. This year started them to late in season to get the 400 that i wanted lol

 

[bkvail]

I put my (now 7 week old) quail outside before they were 3 weeks old and they did fine. I live in NW Washington and we had a decent spell of weather at the time. Didn't lose any in the transition.

 

[dc3085]

I put my (now 7 week old) quail outside before they were 3 weeks old and they did fine. I live in NW Washington and we had a decent spell of weather at the time. Didn't lose any in the transition.

Yes but they lost weight when you did it. It's a scientific fact that they don't generate body heat for the first month of their life. It is also plainly obvious that they aren't fully feathered until after 4 weeks of age. If you are keeping them below the temp they are supposed to be at their bodies are suffering.

 

[SamanthaWilson4]

my birds are big and fat little things. So not sure how you get that they get skinny mine are fatties lol. Big bluff balls and have been since they were born. I am sure that 2.5 days will not make that much difference on the egg laying. If it does then I will just wait another week or two for them to lay. I live in the city and having them in my house stinking the place up is grounds to have them taken away from me and my chicken and my rabbits and so not doing that. So if it comes down to it then yes. That is fine if it takes little longer for them to lay. At least I will still have them for them to lay lol