Baby Coturnix Keep Dying... Why?

[Cherlyn]

I hear both pros and cons for medicated feed.

And I have a 20kg bag of it (turkey food, so protein is 28%) that needs to be eaten by SOMEONE. I have chicks, chickens, a duckling, adult quail, and baby quail. Who should be eating it? Quail food is very hard to come by around here, for some reason.

~Cherlyn

 

[mschickychick]

I agree, forget what the temperature reads, let the chicks tell you what they need. If they are piling they are too cold. Warm it up. I have been amazed how warm they need it but it has worked for me.

I have only fed unmedicated feed (it is turkey gamebird) so can't comment there. I also grind it up in the food processor.

Best of luck.

 

[kingmt]

I stopped buying separate feeds for all my birds. I just grind it up in the blender for the quail. They seem to waste less of the ground then they do crumbs anyway. The crumbs they would just through out the side

.

I haven't had enough to give advice on them dieing off. Sorry.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I don't feed my babies medicated, they get 20% flock raiser just like all the other babies. I do feed my adults the medicated though, and it doesn't bother them. I doubt it's the feed.
I keep the brooder temp at least 98 degrees for the first few days, this keeps them from pilling up. A lot of quail chick death is caused from them piling on each other in the brooder.
Unfortunately sometimes they just die, and there's nothing you can do about it. I think it has to do in part with the time of year.
This past spring many of the chicks I hatched from my birds would die, but all summer long people have been having excellent hatches.

 

[Cherlyn]

I feel absolutely terrible.

My thermometer worked fine a few days ago, so I have been using it in the brooder to measure the temp. It has been at 95-100 for the last 24 hours.

I just moved the lamp much closer to the ground. The temp says 120 now. And the chicks love it. They are scurrying around, napping every few minutes, playing, eating, and drinking.

So, unless they aspire to be desert quail, my thermometer is GROSSLY not calibrated.

Down to EIGHT babies, all because of my inattention to detail...

~Cherlyn

 

[kingmt]

If it is right under the bulb then it isn't giving you a temp of the brooder. Direct light is giving you the possible radiant temp of the direct light which isn't where you want them to hang out. Set the thermometer to the side of the light.

 

[Cherlyn]

It is not directly underneath the center of the light. It is off to the side, and it shows 120.

~Cherlyn

 

[kingmt]

I have had them way off before. I have a meat thermometer that reads 120 at 77.

 

[Cherlyn]

Quote:

~Cherlyn

 

[mschickychick]

That's great they are doing better. Now make sure they have plenty of room in the brooder to get away from the heat if they choose. From my experience that won't be for a couple of weeks.

Also watch how tall the sides of your brooder are. Taller sides tend to hold the heat more. I prefer a shorter sided box (or whatever) but somewhat long with a wire or screen top (I have also used a sweater drier flipped upside down on top, works great). Now I use an old rabbit cage with the plastic bottom and cage on top. It works better than anything I have tried. I can lay the lights on the top wire. I usually start with 2 lights side by side on one end then go to just one light when they tell me to.