3 day old quail dieing in brooder

[oldguy]

I hatched 56 out of 105 and they look healthy but I'm losing 3 or 4 a day and i wonder if maybe they haven't found the water

i had 3 chickens in the brooder that were about 10 days old and i removed them thinking maybe they were running over the quail

i also have 5 pheasants in there that hatched the same time the quail did and i see the quail are picking the beak of one of the pheasants until it's bloody red - are quail cannibalistic, if so maybe that's what's happening to the ones who die

What do you think

 

[monarc23]

unless the ones that have died are bloody I doubt that's the cause. I wouldnt call them cannibles really more like stupid and curious to the point of murder

Pheasants and quails arent' a good idea to be brooded together in teh first place i've heard...it's been done with good and bad results if it was me the beak blood i'd remove the two species from eachother just to be safe. I've raised many large chicken chicks iwth coturnix and havent had one get killed by being stepped on (and they step on them a lot lol)! I'm talking about standard chicken chicks

Unless your waterer is really tiny and or hard to get to i doubt that is the reason they are dying. Is there any cold chills if so they could be "piling" and crushign eachother trying to get warm.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I wouldn't think lack of water would be the problem this long after hatching, I would think food would be the problem. Are you sure they are eating?

 

[becky3086]

What type of waterer do you have. If the chicks can stand in it and are constantly getting wet, they will die. I usually start out with some small jar lids with colored stones in them and just keep refilling them (over and over and over) throughout the day. It is a pain but they don't get wet and die that way.
You also may want to check the temp in the brooder. Quail grow faster and don't need quite so much heat.

 

[oldguy]

thanks for your replies

i use one of those waters that is made for small birds, that they cannot get in and get wet

their distance from my light bulb indicated approx the correct temp plus i have a thermometer in there and chicks and pheasant do well in there

they should be getting enough food, as their is excess

they are 4 and 5 days old now and i lost one overnight and more seem to die during the day so they may be too warm

but they aren't acting to hot nor crowding the corners, so i don't think that's it

 

[JJMR794]

What Type Of Quail? As Monarch Stated Coturnix Usually Arent Cannibalistic, But What They Lack In Ugliness The Bob White Speces Makes Up For! So..... If They Are Bob Whites , Then Yes They Are Very Ugly To Each Other. Not So Much Cannibalistic, But Very Peck Happy. If Bob White The Wounds Will Be On The Nostrils Or Feet And Lower Legs.

1. Lots And I Mean Lots Of Brooder Space, Or Smaller Groups In Multiple Brooders

2. Red Heat Lamp=== Not White

3. Lower The Temp A Lil Bit=== If They Get Too Warm They Get More Aggressive With Each Other

4. Place A Large Shallow Pan Of Sand For Them To Dust Bathe In--- Gives Them Distractions So They Wont Peck So Much

5. Place Some Hiding Spots In There So If They Are Getting Pecked On They Can Go Hide And Get Away From The Aggressors

6. The Yolk Runs Out Between 4-5 Days Old. If There Are No Wounds On The Dead Ones Its Likely They Arent Eating Or Drinking--- Put Something Shiney In The Trough Of Your Water Font And Place A Nickle Or 2 On Top Of Your Feed --- These Will Help Attract The Babies Attention, In The Course Of Curosity The Will Peck At The Shineys And Find The Food And Water

7. It Never Hurts To Grind The Crumbles Up In A Blender--- It Makes It Easier For The Lil Guys To Eat It

8. Gamebird Starter==== Not Chick Starter! Some Chick Starter Will Make The Babies Either Constipated Or Have Diarrhea In Some Types Of Birds. Medicated Or Not--- Thats Your Personal Choice. I Also Start Adding Dilute Vitamin And Minerals To Water Fonts At About 5-7 Days Of Age--- Maybe 1/2 Teaspoon In A Quart Water Bottle Every 2-3 Days Alternating With Plain Water On The Off Days

9. Check Butts! If They Have Pasty Butt They Will Get Impacted And Die, Also Quail Will Notice The Pasty Butt On Brooder Mates And Peck At It Incessantly Until The Pasty Butter Gets Wounds And Will Likely Die


Good Luck!

 

[farrier!]

What are you feeding?
I had 51 hatch and only 11 survive. These were not my first quail hatch but my 4th.
I am waiting lab test and the feed company has requested a sample of their feed returned.
It sounds like yours are dying off at a far less % them mine.

 

[becky3086]

I just can't think of anything else. Wait, what are you using for bedding?
Only other thing I can think of is take them all out of the brooder and sterilize everything.
It may be the feed though.

 

[JJMR794]

farrier! :

What are you feeding?
I had 51 hatch and only 11 survive. These were not my first quail hatch but my 4th.
I am waiting lab test and the feed company has requested a sample of their feed returned.
It sounds like yours are dying off at a far less % them mine.

WOW SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING WENT WICKED WRONG THERE! DANG THAT'S GOTTA SUCK! DID THEY EXHIBIT ANY PARTICULAR SYMPTOMS???​

 

[oldguy]

None died during the day while i was away at work, so maybe it's leveling off.

They are Bob Whites, maybe 40 - 45 left and 5 ringneck pheasants that hatched the same day in a homemade plywood brooder 24" x 40" and it's far from sterile, i just scrape out the loose after each batch.

I use a white bulb and probably need to plan for red.

Last night i added a second waterer for good measure. I really think it's water.

I've been feeding chick starter and will pick up gamebird starter tomorrow.

I did turn down the heat a bit ago, but may have to turn it back up at night as temps have been in the mid to low 60s. And brooder is in barn with no drafts.

Thanks for all the tips.