Congrats on trying quail! they are heart-thieves!
Especially those darn little buttons!
Mine are three weeks old and are smaller than my bantams that hatched today!!!
Some thingas about quail babies
They need food within 12 hours of hatching, and water too. They need to be shown what eating/drinking are, so dunk their beaks gently into each.
For the waterer..place marbles or something similare in the water...they can drown in anything deeper than 1/8 inch depth. Thats right... 1/4 inch can drown a baby quail.
They cannot have medicated feed. The doses in medicated feed are for much larger birs...think adult size medications for children under 1 year old...not good.
they will eat a lot (for their size), due to MUCH higher metabolisms...so game bird starter is best. The higher the protein the better...28% if you can find it, turkey starter if you cannot. If you cannot find turkey starter, feed smashed boiled eggs and/or unsweetened yogurt twice daily. 5 lbs of feed will keep you going for more than a month with up to 5-6 dozen quail.
They have a VERY high ammonia count to their dropping...so keep your clean up routine cheap and easy. Paper towels for the first week or two, then move on.
Baby quail feet are TINY and will slip right through 1/2 " hardware cloth, and some even through the 1/4 inch cloth. paper towels or shelf liners (the quilted non-stick type for drawers) seems to do well with them.
Have an enclosure/brooder HOT for when they get out. Quail are very active very quickly and will damage other eggs if left in the hatcher too long. As soon as they are walking/jumping well they need to go to an already heated brooder.
It is VERY important to not lett them get chilled. They get chilled more easily than other birds due to their size.
Speaking of jumping, they WILL jump out and try to escape anything as high as six inches in their first week. Chasing something the size of a small marble through your house is NOT fun. I learned this from experience. Twice. Half their size is pure fluff and they can squeeze through holes the width of two quarters (thin sides together) and dash off to places unknown.
Secure overhead netting is necessary at the first signs of jumping, or sooner. Needs to be soft, as they startle upwards first, then run like crazy.
They stay wild from birth on.
Congrats on your eggies, may the hatch force be with you!
How long does it take button quail to hatch out? I think the lady who is giving them to me said 16-18 days.... Is that right? She said they would be smaller than a bumblebee. I will be scared to move them from the bator to the brooder!
