First hatch questions - Button quail

[Mom 2em All]

I use pine shavings on the floor. I never used any wire on the bottom, those things are like big bumble bees- and I didnt want them to break their legs.

Pine shavings and some fake plants for them to hide in/behind/climb on.

AND very very very important- make sure you use a shallow dish for water and fill it with marbles. They will drink the water between the marbles-and those keep the quail from drowning.

Even though button quail eggs are tiny, I dont think anyone realizes just how tiny the babies are until they actually hatch and you are looking at them face to face!

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

I couldn't believe how tiny they are - like robin eggs!

What did you put on the floor of the incubator though?

 

[Mom 2em All]

I used a tub just like your sister told you about- and added pine shavings. They did fine.

For the coturnix, I put them in a home-made bator, and I have 1/2 inch hardware cloth on two sides- bad bad bad mistake, two of my babies got their heads stuck through that. I have 1/4 inch hardware cloth on the other two ends and on the top..and for the floor I used 1/4 inch plywood, added pine shavings on top of that.
They are doing fantastic in there. They are extra tame, and run to the side of the bator that I am on. Love them, even the loud mouth one.

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

My bator has about 1/4 inch squares in the grid, maybe a little smaller. Are you saying to put shavings in there? I'm just worried about their little legs falling through the holes when they are hatching.

 

[Mom 2em All]

OH! I am so sorry- its late and my brain fell asleep...No, you can pick up rubber-type no slip shelf liner from the dollar store.
Line your grid in the bator with that. WOrks like a charm.

sorry...I didnt mean to confuse you.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
Man, I learned that the hard way, too... came down to 4 hatched bobwhites, and 2 had their heads firmly stuck in the wire. Had to cut one out... they were all fine.

I keep my baby buttons in an aquarium with the rubber shelf liner in there until they're about 3-4 weeks old. Now they're on 1/4" hardware cloth until I can get a more natural pen made. (Still working on it!).
Here's one of my Button babies, just a day old...

Still in the hatcher...so tired!

I had read about their "popcorn" stage, but didn't really think anything about it until I found one of my girls with a skinned head. I really need to get them in a taller pen...

I have a dozen mixed that I'm keeping for myself for eggs/chicks. I took 26 coturnix to the local feed store, only to find out that they had been sold already and the guy was coming to pick them up that afternoon. I wonder what the markup on them was...

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

Thank you both for the info and the baby is adorable!!! Can't wait!!!! I see the non-slip liner in the one pic. Do you put that over the whole grid or leave the eggs on the grid and put the liner off to the side? That's how the pic looks so I just want to be sure I do this right.

 

[coffeemama]

I always cover the whole bottom with the shelf liner and it's been very sucessful thus far. Good luck with the hatch!

 

[Mrs MIA]

I usually do too... for some reason that time I forgot to put it down before putting the egg in the hatcher, so I quickly put a small piece on the open area for the chicks. I didn't want to mosve the eggs while they were hatching.
Their brooder has it covering the whole bottom.

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

Thank you again!!!! Will definitely get that put in before Saturday.