Murdock624
Chirping
I realize there are several posts about broody quail, but I do have some questions that I don't think have been asked before. Ok, I have a quail with eggs that are due to start hatching in the next day or two. We've been raising quail for a little over a year now, but this is the first time one has been broody. She is in a hutch by herself because she tends to get bullied by the others. When I noticed that she was sitting on her eggs, I removed them and replaced them with fertilized eggs. I saw a post in a FB group about a mama quail that ended up scalping one of her chicks and was pecking at another one. How concerned should I be about mine doing this? Is this something that happens often? I am planning on moving her and the chicks into a storage bin on our deck. The lid has sections cut out and is covered with 1/2 in hardware cloth. At what point should I move them? Should I go head and move them before they hatch or wait until they've all hatched? I have a trail cam set up and we've been having a nightly raccoon visitor. So far, he's left the quail alone, although he's dug around under their hutches (they're up off the ground). We haven't decided how to handle this yet, but I'm worried that he'll try to pull the chicks through the wire since they're so small. My husband and I have predator-proofed as much as we can, but it still makes me nervous which is why I was going to move them into the storage bin. That way, I can easily bring them in the house if I need to. Anyway, if anyone has any advice, I'd appreciate it. Thanks in advance!