Hatched 40 suicidal coturnix quail!

[ldrchickens]

Hey guys! So yesterday I hatched about 40 coturnix quail chicks. Everything was going fine, but then tragedy struck! I went to check on them and they were running around, chirping, having a good ol time. I went out side to tend to the chickens,then to my surprise I found a baby chick I was not expecting already. Well I am glad I did! I ran inside to put it in the brooder, and after only being gone for 30 min to 45 min tops. I walk in to find nearly all 40 of the baby quail piled on top of their water dish!!! All sopen wet and screaming. Sadly 9 were already dead and the others were soaked. None of them looked very well so I was fearing the worse! Before leaving work it looks like they all made a recovery just still snuggling up under the heat lamp after their cold swim. I am so thank full I found that chick in the yard because who knows how much longer it would have been for me to go back and check on them! Has anybody else experienced this with quail? Out of my last batch of chicks and quail for a total of 50 birds not a single bird got even their feathers wet and now this only being 24 hours old?!?! What could have caused this? Has anyone experience this before?

 

[2 many chickens]

That's quail for you. They are pretty dumb.
You should be using a quail water or at least have marbles in your water dish. They think they are fish when born and do try to swim.

 

[cleoandtheflock]

Yes you may want to buy a quail waterer

 

[Rammy]

That's quail for you. They are pretty dumb.
You should be using a quail water or at least have marbles in your water dish. They think they are fish when born and do try to swim.

I agree. They make bases for waterers that are very small just for quaill or similar fowl.

 

[2 many chickens]

I agree. They make bases for waterers that are very small just for quaill or similar fowl.

Yeah, that's all I use for my buttons when hatched. It's so small I don't even need marbles.

 

[Rammy]

I actually use those for my bantys for a couple weeks just to be safe. Even some of my standard breed chicks sometimes decide they are ducks and try to go swimming. Gives them room to get water but not enough for skinny dipping!

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

Even the ones labeled quail waterers at tractor supply I add marbles to. They are little dunder-heads! But so very cute

 

[mixedbreeds]

They are stange I hatched a few and had a one quart waterer, it has a pretty small area for them to drink but first thing they did was all jump in the water and did not jump out. They would have stayed in there till death and they did not have to they could have got out. I put rocks in there and stopped it. If I hadn’t been watching them it would have been all over.

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

Yeah I wonder what causes it. The first time I hatched quail, i needed extra humidity, was having alot of trouble, so i added a small plastic saucer full of marbles and just barely put water ,not even covering them, but almost, and i had 2 that got in and somehow drowned. I think they hadnt gotten hang of their legs yet. I felt so bad because I knew they were dumb about water from reading , but thought marbles was good enough. I use the flat marbles they sell by the fake flowers now, not the round ones. They dont slip on them like the rounds and the flat marbles don't make so many spaces between for "deep" water. They only need a few days of careful monitoring. They grow so fast.

 

[Fishkeeper]

I think baby quail might just be drawn to water, so they'll drink and don't die of dehydration. Makes me wonder how wild ones don't all drown if they hatch near a puddle. Maybe the mother can keep them out of trouble.

Congrats on the surprise chicken-chick. I wouldn't suggest putting it in with the quail, though, it's so much bigger than them and could badly hurt them without trying.