Cute Button Quail Chick

[MageofMist]

The floof squad, already getting their pins! And indeed they love hunting the little beetles.

Also I hope for good hatches! It is adorable to watch the little ones follow after their parents and snuggling under them.

 

[BantyChooks]

You guys are not helping me resist the 'get quail' impulse.

 

[MageofMist]

My babies somehow got very mucky feet this morning... I only put a teeni bit of warm water in the sink to soften up the debries for easier removal, not even enough to go over their toes, yet somehow they completely soaked themselves in seconds!

Now I have clean, yet also grumpy wet babies drying off and fluffing out in my hands by the electric fire.

 

[JaeG]

Looks who's helping out again! I gave Whistler (the silver) two chicks that hatched yesterday in my incubator. I snuck them under her last night and she seemed pleased. They were going to yell all night if I didn't. This morning I found Spicey helping out. She's not even fully feathered yet!

I have three more chicks I can give her (them!) this morning. In total there are three silvers and two cinnamons. I put Whistlers eggs in the incubator as she'll be up and about with the chicks soon, and a couple look like they are still alive. One had internally pipped so should come out and meet us soon. How many chicks can a Button look after in one go I wonder? I'd much rather they brooded the chicks than me having to.

 

[DK newbie]

The first few days, they can cover about 10. Once the chicks get a bit bigger, they won't fit so if you want her to have that many (or even more) you might want to add a heat lamp. If Spicey keeps helping out though, they should be able to handle 10 between them

 

[JaeG]

The first few days, they can cover about 10. Once the chicks get a bit bitter, they won't fit so if you want her to have that many (or even more) you might want to add a heat lamp. If Spicey keeps helping out though, they should be able to handle 10 between them

Thank you! I tried searching for just that information but couldn't find the answer. Spicey has ended up being left to babysit a few times. It's very cute! I've got one more egg that's pipped in the incubator but the other three look a couple of days behind, so I might be brooding the later ones depending on how long they take/how many make it to hatch. I think Whistler's mother kept adding to the clutch!

I kept checking on the little family and at one point could only see 4 under them. I searched for the 5th and found it had lost its way. I thought the poor little thing was dead when I picked it up. But I brought it inside and warmed it by the fire and it soon perked up. I checked just before dark and they were all together. That's one disadvantage of having them in the aviary. It's a lot of space where it's easy to get lost.

 

[MageofMist]

Thank you! I tried searching for just that information but couldn't find the answer. Spicey has ended up being left to babysit a few times. It's very cute! I've got one more egg that's pipped in the incubator but the other three look a couple of days behind, so I might be brooding the later ones depending on how long they take/how many make it to hatch. I think Whistler's mother kept adding to the clutch!

I kept checking on the little family and at one point could only see 4 under them. I searched for the 5th and found it had lost its way. I thought the poor little thing was dead when I picked it up. But I brought it inside and warmed it by the fire and it soon perked up. I checked just before dark and they were all together. That's one disadvantage of having them in the aviary. It's a lot of space where it's easy to get lost.

Even in a cage the babies can wander out of the nest and get lost, for the first few days I had to keep putting the babies back in the nest with the mother or else they'd get chilled. Once the mother was done with the hatching though and the babies were more steady on their legs, she was out and about with the babies who followed after her and learn about their home and not get lost... As much.

 

[DK newbie]

Yeah, they can be very bad at getting lost. Having no gaps and things to hide behind helps, but I think a good daddy is also one of the main elements to success. It seems to me mommy is more likely to stay put on whatever chicks are below her, whereas daddy is more likely to respond to distress calls from stray chicks.

 

[MageofMist]

One of my youngest female quail has gone broody, a blue-faced hen who is in the cage with her sisters, mother and father... So far all she does is yell at them when they get close, and Rex just led the rest of the hens to lay their eggs in another nestbox so they won't pester the broody.

I noticed the other day when I collected the eggs that she fluffed up at me and ran at my hand, this time instead of attacking, she stays put and yells at my hand when it got close. I decided to let her sit on the eggs instead of gathering them and see what happens.

Edit: To make things stranger, I think she bonded with the diamond dove I have. The dove used to have a mate, a female, but sadly she passed away from a prolapse months ago and my dad doesn't want to go through that again. I see him do his bow-dance to her and I even heard him mating earlier, but didn't see who he was mounting, but my guess was the Blue-Faced hen.

My dad is joking we may get dove/quail hybrids, but I doubt it.

 

[DK newbie]

Yeah, pretty sure you won't see any hybrids
Interesting though, that they bonded. But strange things happen. I saw a program recently where a female giraffe and some kind of gazelle had bonded At least the proportions are somewhat more equal with a dove and a quail ^^'

Good luck to her and you! And to the dove as well, I guess.