Quail flying out of cage!! PLEASE HELP!!

[HeatherRoss]

I have about 13 bobwhites that are about 2 1/2 weeks old. I have them in a big aquarium in the house under a heat lamp with a towel covering half of the top. Well today they started flying out somehow, I had litle bobwhites running all over my kitchen, it was a nightmare!! My question is do you clip their wings like you do all other birds? If not what do you do? Thanks!!

 

[gamebirdsonly]

I put some kind of cover over the top of the brooder. on my one box I have window screen over the box so there is still air flow but they can not get out.

 

[PECULIARPETE]

I have a brooder I made out of plywood, the top opens up from the center, and I cut 2 12 x12 windows in the tops and covered them with 1/2x1/2 hardware cloth. I can keep a red light over one half and access their feed and water thru the other side. since they tend to stay closer to the light I can get in there without any of the little buggers tryin to runnoft. Have you nipped their beaks yet? The red light keeps them from peckin at each other too. Oh. My brooder is 24"w x 36"L x16" high. the little guys can fly fast enough to break their necks when they hit the top if you startle em. 10" is better, but I use it for chicks too. Have fun n I hope I helped

 

[jetto]

I'm sorry- a friend warned my husband about flying bobwhites and he didn't believe her- til he was cleaning the brooder one day and had bobwhites flying all over our spare bedroom! So we can relate!

What we have done for our brooder top is to go to a Habitat for Humanity store where they sell all the stuff they pull out of houses- and the money goes back to HFH. Anyhow- they have all sorts of used window screens so we bought two of them- $3 each- and those are the tops for our brooder. Works good. Chicks can't hurt themselves when they bonk off the screen and they are portable. Kristi

 

[HeatherRoss]

How do you nip their beaks?

 

[shelleyd2008]

To answer the wing question, yes you clip their wings like you would with any other bird.

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
HA HA! WELCOME TO BOB WHITE OWNERSHIP!! LOL

YOU CAN CLIP THEIR WINGS AND IT WILL HELP A LIL BIT, BUT ONLY FOR SHORT TIME. BEST IS TO PINION THEM--- ITS PERMANENT AND HAS A WONDERFULLY CALMING ADJUSTMENT TO THEIR FLIGHTY NATURE, AS WELL AS HELPS YOU RETAIN YOUR STOCK WHEN THEY REACH ADULTHOOD. I PINION ALL MY QUAIL AT3-4 WEEKS OF AGE ITS EASY AND QUICK AND BEST OF ALL--- PERMANENT! JUST SNIP THE TIP OFF OF 1 WING--- MONARC23 POSTED A WONDERFUL SEGMENT HERE IN THE QUAIL SECTION WITH PIX AND INSTRUCTIONS(NIKI YOU SPOIL US SO...) I PINION THEM AND GIVE 'EM A WEEK OR SO TO HEAL (THEY WILL CONTINUE TO GET MORE AND MORE FLIGHTY AND SPASTIC WITH AGE) THEN WE HAVE A FEW QUICK FLYING LESSONS--- USUALLY 2 OR 3 TIMES, JUST RELEASE THEM FROM WAIST HIGH AND LET GRAVITY DO THE REST--- ONCE THEY FIGURE OUT FLYING ISNT AN OPTION THEY SETTLE DRAMATICALLY! AND IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE A LABRADOR RETRIEVER WATCH FROM THE SIDE LINES THEY EVEN SEEM TO CRAVE BEING HELD BY YOU (PREFERRABLY HIGH UP AWAY FROM THE DOG!!!)

UNTIL YOU PINION THEM I WOULD SUGGEST PLACING A COVER OVER YOUR AQUARIUM OR BRUSHING UP ON YOUR QUAIL WRANGLING SKILLS! LOL

GOOD LUCK!

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
WITH FINGERNAIL NIPPERS--- JUST SNIP ABOUT 1/8 INCH OFF THE TOP BEAK.

 

[Goldlaced_Girl]

Clip their wings?? I hate to say it, but if you are comfortable with it, pinioning? :S I know I could never pinion, they're so little and innocent.. you trim them just like other birds, clip to just under the first layer of coverts. leave the last four feathers, it looks better and the'res no risk of bleeding!