Best Temp of the Brooder for Coturnix Quail?

[JNDPLUS3]

Best Temperature for Brooder for quail? Live in Fla so temp rise and drop outside like 20 Deg day, Need a temp range best for brooder of Coturnix Quail. And from what I have gathered from the AWESOME forum is 4 to 6 weeks in brooder?

Thanks So much was quit overwhelmed this time around,
Thought I was an expert >
EX + the unknown
Spert + Drip of water under pressure,
= Therefore > I was an Unknown drip of water under pressure LOL

Thanks In Advance
JW

 

[Nabiki]

The best way to set up your brooder is to have a warm end and a cool end. That allows the chicks to self regulate their comfort zone. The temperature ranges that I'm going to put below are for the warm end. The cool end can be 20 degrees cooler without any problem.

The temperature varies by age and chick, but I start mine at 95-100 degrees and drop it a bit day by day. By the end of week 2, they're usually comfortable at room temperatures. By week 6 they're fully feathered and can handle close to freezing temps as long as they have shelter and are kept dry.

 

[JNDPLUS3]

Thanks So Much i should ( SHOULD ) be great then!
JW

 

[CindyinSD]

I'm not a quail expert having never bred them, but I do hang out on the most active of the quail threads, the Quail Hatch-a-Long. Folks there will be able to answer your questions, but for now, I do know that many use an incandescent 60 watt bulb rather than a heat lamp.

Your needs will vary by room temp, of course. I believe quail use pretty much the same temps that chickens do, but I never measure my brooder temps. I use a brooder plate for chicken/turkey/duck/goose and I put the feed/grit/water at the far end of the brooder. Some people do use a brooder plate for quail; others don't like them as their quail sometimes don't understand where the heat is, or get tangled up in them.

Anyway, I see Nabiki (while I was writing) has given you what you need to know. Do drop in on the quail hatch-a-long. You'll learn a lot there about all aspects of quail raising.

 

[mdees88]

Nabiki was spot on. You will want a warm side and a cool side. I keep my hot end at 100F, my cold end is usually 15ish degrees cooler.

I like using as large of a brooder as possible so I do not have to regulate the temp as precise. Mine are roughly 4ft x 2ft. I also like keeping the hot end a little warmer than they need, between 100-102F, but you need to have a cooler side so they can get away from the heat if they want to. A little too warm is better than too cold as long as they can escape the heat. The quail will position themselves where they're most comfortable.

You can watch the quail and they'll let you know how they feel. If they're all bunched up, trying to climb on top of each other directly under the heat source then they are too cold. If they stay far away from the heat source all the time they are too hot. 100F has worked great for me but I don't really check the Temps anymore, I just watch the quail and adjust as needed.

If you can put up with the smell for 6 weeks you can leave them in there that long, lol. I keep mine in the brooder for 2 weeks then move them outside (low temp usually high 60's). If the temp is any lower than that i will put a heat lamp outside for them. By 4 weeks they shoud be able to handle very cold temps without heat. I would guess 3.5 weeks in the brooder is about average for most people....