Baby Quail News!

[MageofMist]

I FINALLY got a vid of the babies dustbathing, and wow they do grow up super fast XD The brooder used to be massive to them!

 

[Binki]

Hehehehe Awww!! I miss those baby bird sounds haha they are so quick, skittering around

 

[lena_]

I FINALLY got a vid of the babies dustbathing, and wow they do grow up super fast XD The brooder used to be massive to them!

Aww so cute! Out of My 6 button eggs in incubator 4 hatched. 1 yellow, 1 silver, and 2 normal browns. OMG! I cannot take my eyes off them. So fluffy, I will post a pic later.

 

[MageofMist]

Hehehehe Awww!! I miss those baby bird sounds haha they are so quick, skittering around

They are super quick when they want to be, which I call "Bullet quail mode" XD And I also love the little baby quail sounds.

Aww so cute! Out of My 6 button eggs in incubator 4 hatched. 1 yellow, 1 silver, and 2 normal browns. OMG! I cannot take my eyes off them. So fluffy, I will post a pic later.

That is adorable! Congratulations on your hatch,and I can't wait to see a pic of them! ^^
My babies are just mini-versions of their dad, which I found super adorable. And it is really hard to stop watching the adorable little peeps, I honestly could just sit by the brooder watching them forever! I swear that when they were quilling up, every few hour a new quill or feather appeared on them until they were little balls of feathers instead of fluff.

They are a pain to handle now though, not wanting to cuddle as much anymore and instead just wanting to run or fly off to explore.

But I still love cuddling them.

 

[MageofMist]

I introduced them today and... Something surprising happened. XD

The adult male did some mock charges which was to be expected, but the moment one of the chicks stood it's ground making growly chirps and scratching the ground, he backed off. The chicks claimed a corner of the cage with an abandoned egg as their turf, and seem to be sitting on the egg despite having other places in the cage they could hide in. The adults seemed to have settled down now and don't mind the chicks much anymore... And my doves are just watching confused still.

Edit:
I went to check on them again and unbury their food bowl as they kick the straw over it, when the male hid himself in the middle of the babies for safety while the feisty chick that stood it's ground glared at my hand making growly chirps... So yeah, the adults accepted their new flockmates and even seek safety in them. XD

Edit 2:
The male was chasing the hen around and being rather obsessive, so I took him out for a minute and then put him back in, and he is much more relaxed now.

 

[Dani xxx]

So a happy family so far fingers crossed it remains that way

 

[MageofMist]

So a happy family so far fingers crossed it remains that way

Yup, a happy family so far ^^ The male was also preening one of the chicks earlier as well, when before he was all huffy, growly and charging them until one decided to challenge him, in which he backed off. I have been watching them closely to ensure nothing bad happens and all of them have been eating and drinking together peacefully, and I even caught them cuddling a few times.

The chicks are very unsure what to make of the doves, staring up at them and pecking at their toes curiously when the doves use the lower perch, but the doves just move onto a higher perch to avoid the little toe-nibblers.

 

[MageofMist]

The family pics.

If they have any more kids, they'll need a bigger cage. XD

 

[Binki]

Awwwwww!!!! That's so great - preening another bird?? I've never seen my coturnix do that

Lmao your description of the chicks claiming some turf

 

[MageofMist]

Awwwwww!!!! That's so great - preening another bird?? I've never seen my coturnix do that

Lmao your description of the chicks claiming some turf

My king quails sometimes preen one-another, mainly when cuddling. ^^ It is far too light in pecks to be anything aggressive, and the ones being lightly pecked seem to enjoy it as you can see with the little one.

The little ones were quite happy with the cage and were quite determined to stay in it, no matter what their grumpy dad thought.

We intended for 1 hour sessions of introducing the chicks each day that grew longer, but they settled in so fast and so well on the first day that they went from having turf-wars with their parents to snuggling with them, we felt secure enough to leave them in overnight and they are all still doing well. Though the poor dad keeps having his white wing feathers pecked at and once accidentally got kicked in the face by one of his daughters who was popcorning.

Poor guy.

And the hen keeps being chased around by the babies who want to hide under her for cuddles, making whee calls and trying to crawl under her like they would do as chicks despite being around 4 weeks old now. XD