Coturnix Chick Questions

[Dandichook]

Hello!

We have a whole mess of quail chicks in a brooder in our living room (which, in hindsight, wasn't a great decision, as they are messy!) and I have a few questions! These are our first chicks of any kind, so it's a bit of an adventure for us.

1. At just under 2 weeks old almost all of them are nearly fully feathered except for their heads. That seems fast to me! Is that normal?

2. Some of them have been sleeping in a pile together out from under their heat plate since something like day 3. Why? Is that normal? Should I just not worry about it?

3. Holy cow they fly so well already. I can't open the brooder without at least 2 flying out. I didn't expect it so soon. At what age should we plan to clip wings? Would it be safe to do that when they get transferred to their grow out pen at 3 weeks old?

4. They were so friendly and chill with being handled during the first week, but this week have been getting VERY flighty. I assume this is a normal developmental phase, but I hope they will calm down. Handling them (for leg banding and to examine them for any issues, moving them to clean the pen, etc.) is a bit of a pain right now. Is there anything we can do to tame them down a bit better? Or at least to make handling less stressful for them?

5. Chick grit. Home Depot only has play sand (a no-no), pool filter sand(???), paver sand (seems really fine), and something called "paver base", which I will attach pics of. I have a feeling it isn't quite right either. Will it be safe for them? Everyone mentions construction sand, but I can't find anything labeled that way.

6. On the Chick forum people talk about grabbing chunks of dirt/grass out of their yard and providing it to (chicken) chicks early on for exposure to coccidia. Is that a good idea for quail chicks? Can/should I do that now? They will be on the ground when they go to grow-out pens.

Thank you for all your help!

 

[John Browning]

Chicks can fly from my brooder in 2 weeks. Can fly 100' in 3 weeks. Clip wings at 3 weeks if you are going to do that. Leave birds in brooder through 4 week for sure. Birds will tell you when they are cold. They will also tell you when they are too hot. Pay attention to them, feed starter quail feed from feed mill, for the rest of there life. No need for any grit at all on these birds if you are feeding them mill quail feed. Everything they need is in the feed. Mill feed is also medicated, they need nothing more than that.

 

[Tre3hugger]

1. Totally normal
2. If they have already been doing it this long, I wouldn't worry about it.
3. I never clipped mine's wings. Does the grow out open have a ceiling? How high is the ceiling if it has one?
4. After a year my birds are pretty calm when I am around. They don't ever really fully tame down. The few times I have had to catch them all for this or that, it has been relatively easy due to the close confines of their pen (8 feet by 3 feet ground pen, 6.5 foot roof)
5. If you give them a hunk of dirt from outside (I recommend) they do not need additional grit. The tiny rocks in the dirt will do it.
6. I do this for all my species of birds. I see zero harm in it, it provides grit, stimulation, and the beginning of a region specific immune system.

 

[Kiki]

Do you have cages ready to go for the mount side?
If so I would get them out immediately.
I put quail chicks outside with no added heat in way cooler temperatures than it is currently with no issues.

The more you mess with your quail each day the calmer they will be when they're full grown.
They are at the age where they are still nutty... They will come down in a few more weeks.

I have no idea what that paver stones stuff is but I highly recommend using peat moss in quail cages. Plain dirt works well too.

 

[Nabiki]

1. Yes, perfectly normal. They start getting their first wing feathers at 3 days.
2. Yes, also normal. If they're inside, you can probably take them off of heat entirely now.
3. I've never clipped my quail's wings, but I do keep a butterfly net handy, just in case.
4. They can get a bit flighty, but just having them in the living room and handling them on a regular basis will calm them down. They'll never be super calm, but they should get to the point where they don't try to fly off in a panic every time they see you.
5. No need for grit if they're on standard milled feed. If you're keeping them outside on the ground (in a predator proof enclosure), they'll find their own, along with insects and plants to eat.
6. I wouldn't deliberately expose your birds to any disease. If they happen to get coccidia or coccidiosis, it can be pretty bad.

Good luck on your quail journey!

 

[Whiskybear]

I’m only into my second summer at this, but I’ll help where I can…
#1– normal.
#2– don’t worry about it.
#3– yup. They turn into feathery popcorn about that age. I haven’t clipped wings on quail, but I have on all sorts of cage birds; anytime after their flight feathers have fully grown in, they can be clipped back. Be careful to stay beyond the blood vein (easier to see from the bottom) and keep some stiptic powder handy in case ya miss.
#4– they get really skittish and just downright hyper about that age. I’ve lost a few to the daily morning stampede in the brooder.that seems to happen just for an over abundance of energy shortly after they wake up. Don’t know to tell ya to do about their anxiety and exuberance during that stage… good luck!
#5– call a landscape or masonry place, ask them about their coarsest grit sand. They probably deal with several poultry keepers already.
#6– no idea. Someone else will have to address that one for ya.

 

[Whiskybear]

"I've never clipped my quail's wings, but I do keep a butterfly net handy, just in case."
THIS!

You may think you’ll never need the net. It’s ok to laugh at yourself when you think that.