1 week old bobwhite not eating or drinking much

[CherryCake]

I got 6 bobwhite yesterday. They're not eating much and drinking even less. They sleep most of the day. I've given them hard boiled egg yolks and dipped their beaks in the water. Any ideas? would probiotics or enzymes in the water help? What temperature is best?

any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[TwoCrows]

Babies need to be brooded properly. For one week olds, you need to start the heat at 92 degrees and lower it by 5 degrees each week for the next 5 weeks.

You will need to crush the food up for the first week or two, if they are week olds, so they can eat it. Lay down paper towels and sprinkle the feed on the floor all around the feeder so they can find it. Feed them gamebird food. You can remove the paper towels once they now where the food is.

Use a chick waterer or put marbles or tiny stones in the base of a regular water font so the babies don't fall in and drown. Quail babies are really dumb at this age. LOL

Bobs do best with an infra red heat bulb. Keep the thermometer on the floor directly under the heat source. Keep the feed and water on one side of the brooder, the heat on the other so they have to leave the heat to get to the goods and have a place to get out of the heat if they need it.

Do not cover the lid of the brooder with anything but a screen or wire for good oxygen and heat exchange. Use a brooder with solid walls and a solid floor as well. If they start fighting with each other during brooding, lower the temp a few degrees and work it down from there.

Good luck with your Bobs! Oh and welcome to BYC and the quail forums!

 

[CherryCake]

Thanks TwoCrows!

My setup is mostly like you described. It's a plastic tub with wire mesh top. I have a light on one side and a cool side to escape to. Temp fluctuates between 92 and 95 under the lamp. I ground up the food nice and small. My waterer is made for quail, they can't drown I used the same setup for coturnix recently and it went fine. These are my first Bobwhite

Under the white light the Bobs were sleeping under there almost all day and never went to the cool side, so I've been keeping the food and water pretty close to them. I rarely see them drink any water. Yesterday and today I gave them some with a dropper.

I switched a white bulb for a red one after reading your reply, and they seem to react differently to it. They all ran to the cool side of the coop so I just lowered it. Both red and white bulbs are 100 watt and I have a dimmer switch to adjust intensity

Thanks so much for responding

 

[veggiecanner]

the chicks will tell you if it's too cold or too hot. If their right under the light and huddled their probably cold, If they are as far away from the light as they can get it is probably too warm.
if they seem happy and not either of the above they are probably ok.
I have chicks right now under a regular light bulb. I had a heat light on them and they were cheeping very loudly.

 

[CherryCake]

Now they're staying on the cool side of the brooder and they don't seem to care what I do with the light. It's like they have very little energy. Are they supposed to rest so much?

 

[TwoCrows]

Babies sleep a lot the first week or two. As long as they are eating and drinking and not dying, things are going well. Keep the food and water at one end of the brooder and the heat on the other. If you think there still might be an issue with heat, try using another thermometer. Place the thermometer on the floor directly under the heat source.

Did you disinfect this brooder completely between broods? Bacteria grow and flourish in warm moist environments and everything needs to be fumigated between broods, incubators, brooders, water and feed fonts.

Keep us posted on their health.

Good luck with your baby Bobs!