Can I move Buttonquail chicks to different mother?

[Murphy_the_Hooligan]

Hi everyone,

I am extremely devastated to announce that my silver male has passed away today. He was paired with my basic brown female. I received them as a gift two years ago, and they were my first pair.

The female, Bonnie, is sitting on a nest of eggs.

From the original pair I’ve hatched a few others, and given most of them away. I did keep another pair in a separate cage, a white male, Winter, and a Red Breasted female, Heather.

Heather and Winter hatched their first clutch last month, with only one baby hatching. I believe they killed the baby because I found it passed away, a little bloody after 2 days of hatching. I saw the male pick it up and throw it once. Heather is sitting on a clutch right now, too. My original plan was the separate the male, Winter, once the babies hatch.

However, can I move Heather’s babies once they hatch in with Bonnie and her babies? Would she mother them too or would she kill them?

Thanks so much.

 

[The Phantom]

 

[Fishkeeper]

I really wouldn't suggest moving them to another mother. Button quail are iffy at best at mothering. Take them out and put them in a little brooder.

 

[JaeG]

It's likely that Winter killed their chick - I had a male (who was raised by his parents so should've been a great father) who went on a killing spree when his partner hatched chicks. I have no idea why. Thankfully I had a broody button hen who willingly adopted the four chicks I was able to save.

Heather should be able to raise her chicks by herself just fine. Keep Winter divided off from them but perhaps still in view to prevent them calling to each other incessantly. Also, restrict the size of the area they are in as in a large area (such as an aviary) the chicks can become lost. As they grow older and more independent they'll be fine in a larger area. A good father is the one who takes care of locating chicks that stray and warming them up so they can make it back to the others, whereas the mother will take care of the majority of the chicks.

If Bonnie has proven herself to be a good mother then she may adopt Heather's babies if they hatch at the same time. But I wouldn't give her too many to look after (maybe 6 at the very most) as, without the help of a partner, she may struggle to keep them all warm enough.

Hope that helps and hopefully there will be a pretty male in the hatchlings you can partner Bonnie up with.

 

[DK newbie]

I second everything JaeG said - max 6 chicks for a lone female and only let her adopt them if they hatch pretty close to her own chicks.
There is a fair chance she'll be able to raise Heathers babies, but be aware of the colors of the chicks too - I had an experienced mother who pecked the chick when I tried to make her adopt a chick with a color she wasn't used to. A first time mother cared for the chick without a problem- she didn't know it looked strange

 

[Murphy_the_Hooligan]

Thank you so much everyone. This is so devastating to me, Bonnie is a great mother and Clyde was an amazing father! Which I’m told isn’t very common. He was my favorite, he had the most personality.

Anyways, Bonnie has hatched a few wild colors herself. I have no idea where these mutations are coming from. So far she’s hatched brown, red breasted, and white, but never any silver. I’d love to have another silver bird.

I will see how many hatch and let you all know what I wind up doing. Bonnie is sitting on 6 eggs and Heather is on 8. (She had 8 last time too and only the one hatched) so if there is 6 or less babies I’ll put them in with Bonnie. Otherwise I’ll just remove Winter.

Thank you all for the support. My animals are my children, they truly are little people

 

[Murphy_the_Hooligan]

Everybody before I separated them. The second basic brown female is Winter’s sister that I gave to a friend who needed a female.

 

[Murphy_the_Hooligan]

Would it be possible to put the two mothers together with all the babies? I used to have Bonnie and Clyde in a cage with Heather and didn’t have an issue. When Bonnie hatched Winter and the other Brown girl they were all kept together. I only moved them into pairs when I realized Winter was male (I was unsure until I saw him mount Heather since it’s difficult to sex a white Buttonquail) and the little brown female that I gave to my friend began attacking him.

Would Bonnie and heather mother the babies together?

 

[DK newbie]

That's.. A very good question. I've never tried it. I've had trios that were used to being together - when one hen hatched chicks, the other one would usually end up helping to care for them whether she was broody or not. On at least one occasion, the mother saw the other hen as a threat and tried to chase her away, but eventually she gave up and they were a happy family. But I've never tried putting them together after the chicks have hatched. I think it all depends on the hens and their hormones - you won't know till you've tried.

 

[Murphy_the_Hooligan]

Well Heather hatched her babies last night. Bonnie’s still haven’t hatched. I removed Winter, but am concerned because ALL 8 OF HER EGGS HATCHED! Wow! Is that too many babies for her to take care of by herself? What should I do?

It looks like 4 Red Breasted and 4 White.