A couple of my coturnix quail started dustbathing in their food crumbs just a few days after hatching... Put some sand in a shallow dish and they just appear to eat it until they get the majority of their feathers - my experience
I was wondering the same thing... Do I need sand in with my 1 week olds?? They've feathered out soooo much faster than I thought they would.. I have 3 pheasants also & the one that's a day older (8days old) is huge & has its wings almost full feathered!!
@mistymmg I put some twigs in my brooder today and they seem to enjoy jumping up on them. I think I will throw some sand in a small dish and see what they do. It has rained every afternoon so maybe tomorrow Ill scoop some up and spread it out on a tray to dry in the sun for them.
They love the sand! I put a shallow plate of warm sand in, at first they pecked around at it but then one little guy just started rolling all around fluffing its feathers out. Its was kind of comical. The rest followed. 30 minutes later they have almost scratched every bit of the sand out. I'm really glad I tried it. They are 1 week 2 days old.