Baby Qauil keep dieing HELP!!!

[becky1677]

I had a large hatch of bobwhite Quail - 90 eggs 2 weeks ago, I am finding 3-4 chicks dead a day maybe more at times. My temp is at 98 now and they are eating and drinking water. I change food and water and bedding daily. I am noticing that their beaks are a little bloody??? I had them all together in one giant tub. They were piling a lot so i started a second tub for the smaller chicks and they are doing better in new tub but the ones in the bigger tub are dyeing still. Any thoughts????? I don’t want to lose anymore (

 

[TwoCrows]

Are these babies 2 weeks old? At this age, the temp in the brooder should be about 92 degrees. (you start at 97 and lower it 5 degrees each week for 5 or 6 weeks)

Use a brooder with solid sides, solid floor and do not cover the top with anything but a screen. The heat lamp should be off to one side, with a thermometer on the floor directly under the heat source. Food and water off to the other side. The food should have been crushed and sprinkled on the floor of the brooder for the first several days so they knew where the food is and what to eat.

For 90 babies, you need at least 1/2 square foot per bird at this age, and by 4 weeks, you will need 1 square foot per bird. If their beaks are bloody, then you have two things going on....it is way to hot and or you are crowding them in. So if you have to, divide them up and get several brooders set up for all these babies. Get the temp proper as well.

 

[becky1677]

Yes this coming Monday they will be two weeks. I have one heat light for both tubs, i don’t think that they are over heating but will get a second temp reading. I will start to lower temp tonight like you said. I have hatched few other batches of quails but never this many and never had such a problem but i guess the more chicks the more problems that can happen. I’m down to like 60 babies I would say now What do you use for bedding??

 

[TwoCrows]

I never use bedding for hatchlings. Too much poop around can cause cocci which can kill them. I raise all babies on wire until they are 6 weeks old. Then they go into aviaries with litter floors.

However you can use wood shavings, grass hay, or even straw for bedding. What ever works best for you. Just keep it clean as possible. If you use bedding, raise the waterer so that it stays clean and no bedding gets kicked into it. Babies don't have properly developed immune systems and bacteria can grow in dirty water.

And yes, the more babies raised in one tiny space, the more troubles there are to deal with. That's why you never want to crowd babies in. Too much disease and aggression.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[sparrow hawk]

When I hear tub, I think problems. I have many wire cages, some were intended for rabbits and others for canaries. For quail, I use the double canary cage which has a removable partition and wrap 3/4 side in cardboard. No bedding and place a paper towel down in one corner with a mash spread on it, water in the other corner. Change towel and water daily. Heat source on the other side so they can adjust their location relative to the temperature. As far as the "mash" I add some kitten kibble to my magic bullet and mix it in with the %18 med chick starter at 5:1. Nay sayers will poo poo my feeding method but I have never lost a quail doing things this way. 15 max in this particular setup so you may need a few. As far as why I shudder when I hear tub, I had bad experiences using rubbermaids and the like, erratic temps due to plastics thermal characteristics as well as chemical off-gasing caused by the heat. I know a lot of people have "never" had a problem but I know a few have including myself. Then again it was always with waterfowl, never with game birds.

Thin your flock out and adjust your heat source.

 

[becky1677]

Thank you for advise!! will invest in wire cages for next batch.

 

[becky1677]

. Here is pic of setup, light on side.

 

[becky1677]

. Still having bloody beaks

 

[TwoCrows]

Those crumbles look way to big for them to eat. You may be losing them to starvation. You need to crush that feed up so that the crumbles are very very tiny, until they grow a couple of weeks and can eat bigger food.

 

[farmtotable]

I crush my starter feed with a mortar and pestle, it's supposed to be for grinding spices but it works amazingly well for feed. It results in a mix of crumble that goes from powder to slightly bigger chunks, so the chicks have a variety of sizes available.