Best brooder flooring ???

[fowlman33]

PIne pellets or Pine shavings (fine or shavings) ???

For Bobwhites ....

 

[_Randall_]

Everybody's got their preference, but I like towels (paper towels, now) on 1/2" wire for the first few days......according to what species you're raising (which means how big their feet are in 7-14 days. I put Georgia Giant Bobs on 1/2" wire at 7 days. They do good........ https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=43975-my-quail-brooder

 

[TheRealTimShady]

for my coturnix i kept them on cloth for the first week, then moved them over to aspen wood shavings, it is what i can get at my local petco, biggest bag for 11 bucks. at 4 weeks they move outside to 1/2" cloth on floor

 

[chickbird]

Quote:
from your pictures, it looks like they are on newspaper ?? why do you have the metal both inside and outside the brooder? do quails require that much heat? what time of year did you make these pictures...just starting to try quail raising and need as much info as possible. thanks

 

[TheRealTimShady]

there is alot of info in the sticky...unfortunely RANDALL hasn't written a bobwhite sticky yet!

 

[SliderShooter]

I use alfalfa hay on the floor of a cardboard box for the fist week then into the wire floor brooder. The hay helps the birds build strong legs and it doesn’t harm them if they eat it. Its very easy to add more hay to prevent them from running in their droppings.

 

[cva34]

Feed oats ,rice hulls work well and fairly cheap.Rice hulls around here are free.Just hook on to the trailer and haul it too your place open gates and it unloads itself. take back to rice dryer/mill...cva34

 

[_Randall_]

Quote:
Well, actually I don't feel my experiences with raising Bobs would lead the readers (as a whole) to optimum results, since I "push the envelope" so to speak on key elements.....things like incubating staggered hatches with super-high humidities, brooding procedures, feed choices, and above all...male/female ratios during breeding season, as well as overall coop population. A very close friend of mine gets by with most of what I do with his Bobs, and that lets me know that even though my methods are not status quo for the typical breeder, I know what works for me, and when and how to make changes if they don't. If you're raising very few Bobs (8 - 10 - 15 or so) then yeah, you may wanna try to follow the "typical" recommendations we read about almost daily. On the other hand, if you're raising hundreds where you need pens the size of the typical family home, you may find yourself "pushing the envelope". As we all know, Bobs are domestically wild, and have a violent streak that lies dormant until it's triggered by whatever it doesn't like at a given moment. Being confined in a wire cage will not fix this. And if one decides he/she wants to put the ever-livin' smackdown on another one, and peck out its nostrils, scalp its head, or amputate its toes.....he/she will make it happen......even if they are the only two trapped inside of Cowboys Stadium. Meanwhile, don't expect the rest of the crowd to ooohhh and aaahhh and feel sympathy when blood surfaces on a resident. They will all pretty much turn into gangstas, and do what Mother Nature has them programmed to do....display dominance.

 

[_Randall_]

Quote:
from your pictures, it looks like they are on newspaper ?? why do you have the metal both inside and outside the brooder? do quails require that much heat? what time of year did you make these pictures...just starting to try quail raising and need as much info as possible. thanks

That's old bath towels laying on top of a layer of newspaper in that picture. I use paper towels now. Just start at one end, and roll up the poop mat when their feet are big enough for the wire. That metal is just aluminum sheet that forms the walls on the outside. The other metal in the corners was put there to rid the 90º corners. This eliminates the advantage of them being able to pile by removing right-angle walls to help the chicks "build the pile". Piling in corners is instinct for them, and the one(s) on the bottom will sometimes smother. As for the temp, that is a 250 watt heat lamp, which is controlled by a digital thermostat. You can see the thermocouple hangin down to about 3" off the floor. I start out at 99º, and decrease the temp 1º every day until they go to the growout pens - according to what time of year it is. This brooder was in the wash room where I hatch at when this pic was taken. I have since moved it (and another one) outside under the carport. I've also got a 100 watt light bulb burning in there for backup if needed. It still performs great even with day-old chicks in there with lows in the 50's at night. Just put my last hatch of the year in there Thursday.

 

[7L Farm]

Quote:
I also use paper towels in the brooder. My coturnix pens have a wire bottom half inch. My Bob Whites are raised on the ground which is sand here at 7L.