3potatoes
In the Brooder
- Jan 5, 2017
- 9
- 1
- 11
Brought home eight Coturnix chicks today (so exciting!!) - they're 5 days old. We turned a cardboard box into a brooder - lined with a couple inches of pine shavings. Have a quail waterer with jar from Tractor Supply, a chick feeder with 28% protein turkey/gamebird starter, and a Brinsea Ecoglow 20 brooder that's keeping the area right under the unit nice and toasty warm
That's where our question is though - will they ever come out to eat - or at least to drink???
The chicks have been here for about 3 hours now. When we put them in the brooder, we put them up near the food and water, so they'd know where those were - and they ran around peeping a bit and pecking at things before they found their way under the Ecoglow, at which point that was that - that's where they've stayed. We moved it once after they'd been under there for quite a while, and gently brought them over to the food and water - one chick took a sip, a couple ran around the food (but didn't eat) and then they went back and snuggled into the heat.
If we peek under there (using phone camera to see them since the heater thing isn't see-through), we can see that they're in a couple piles, snuggling together. Sometimes they peep quietly under there, sometimes we can see from the side that they're rearranging themselves as a head or rear-end will be visible for a second - the rest of the time they're quiet and seem to be napping.
Will they come out and eat and drink when they're ready, or do we need to bring them out to encourage them?
Probably just being paranoid first time quail-parents, but just in case not, wanted to ask. Thanks in advance for any help - and for any hints anyone'd like to share!
Photo of one of the little ones just before we first popped him/her into the brooder - because we're dying of the cute!!!!

That's where our question is though - will they ever come out to eat - or at least to drink???

The chicks have been here for about 3 hours now. When we put them in the brooder, we put them up near the food and water, so they'd know where those were - and they ran around peeping a bit and pecking at things before they found their way under the Ecoglow, at which point that was that - that's where they've stayed. We moved it once after they'd been under there for quite a while, and gently brought them over to the food and water - one chick took a sip, a couple ran around the food (but didn't eat) and then they went back and snuggled into the heat.
If we peek under there (using phone camera to see them since the heater thing isn't see-through), we can see that they're in a couple piles, snuggling together. Sometimes they peep quietly under there, sometimes we can see from the side that they're rearranging themselves as a head or rear-end will be visible for a second - the rest of the time they're quiet and seem to be napping.
Will they come out and eat and drink when they're ready, or do we need to bring them out to encourage them?
Probably just being paranoid first time quail-parents, but just in case not, wanted to ask. Thanks in advance for any help - and for any hints anyone'd like to share!
Photo of one of the little ones just before we first popped him/her into the brooder - because we're dying of the cute!!!!
