Coturnix hen broods her own chicks pics/vids

[Binki]

Hey guys so it looks like out of the ten marked eggs I put under her (she was initially sitting on infertile ones), 5 hatched and 4 were see through when I candled them.

1 looked like it could be developed so I plopped it in my incubator just in case because she gave up sitting on them and instead focused on sitting near the food and water I put out that was accessible for the tiny chicks - I forgot HOW CUTE THEY ARE haha!

One seems to be a different color than the others although they all came from pharaoh colors. It's more yellow and spotted?

It's pretty chilly these past two days and they're in the garage with lots of big sometimes open windows and as I've seen her trample them as she goes in and out for a dust bath and that she stood up on her hind legs and flapped really hard and it blew three of the chicks away, they rolled away with the force Awww xD so I am pretty sure I'll be moving them inside for their safety.

Also one was stuck in the sandbox when I first discovered them this morning and had gotten cold so I held it for about twenty minutes because initially it was too cold to move itself under the hens feathers. :/ but it seems pretty normal now!

 

[JaeG]

So gorgeous!

 

[DK newbie]

They are adorable

 

[BaJa]

my bobwhite went broody as well. (third time) momma and chicks looks adorable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Binki]

Thanks and good luck to your hen @BaJa

So... My hen started popcorning and flapping around, sometimes landing on babies and bowling them over because they for the most part follow her every move, and then she started to pace, I think at some hens across from her and babies got in the way of that and came back for more so I was like "Aaaaah enough!! I have to do something, she had her chance," so I took the babies out into a quick aquarium brooder and put the mom in there (She was feisty!) and it seems all is well, she's hunkered down on them, talking sweet to them and tidbitting and hasn't been pacing or anything yet.

I wrote this post last night, then my dog was sprayed by a skunk trying to get our chickens haha. Kind of unrelated but a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap chemically neutralizes the skunk oils so after washing the dog in that, he smells almost better than before

We will repeat it later today

So I've been observing the hen and she's being very good to her chicks and not pacing but seems content in the smaller aquarium. Phew!

The chicks enjoy the heatlamp and her cuddles it was a really quick whipped up brooder since I'm already nursing two other species with heat sources haha

 

[Binki]

Update: the five chicks are happy and healthy and when they were about a week old, the broody quail stopped tidbitting for them and wanted to get out. She started doing a pacing/trampling baby thing, sigh

I put her in with an adult group and when she was gone, a baby chirped twice for a few seconds each time then they haven't looked back since

Their dad is super friendly to the point of being neurotic, pacing and tapping the cage with his beak whenever I walk by, demanding hand cuddles so hopefully these babies will be friendly too