Help advice for baby quail

34kolb

Hatching
Jun 1, 2023
3
3
8
Hi so I have a weird situation, I keep quail in my backyard and everything I have read online says they don’t go broody in captivity and they don’t hatch babies out. One of my hens was broody last year, so qthis year i decided to let her try to hatch her eggs out.

Well I just got home and she has successfully managed to hatch out three babies. I didn’t think she would really be able to manage it so I didn’t prepare for this situation and I can’t find any help online. Two of the babies are dead and I think the rooster had something to do with it because The hen attacked the rooster pretty bad. I separated them and she has shown no aggression to the other hen or the single baby. I’ve been observing them for an hour and she seems to be doing everything a mother should. But now I don’t know what to do with the single baby . Should I let her keep it and rehouse the rooster while they grow. Should I take the baby and the rest of the eggs and try to incubate them inside. Should I bring the baby and the mama inside together? And try to incubate the rest? I have hatched quails out before but just never in This scenario and I know chicks don’t do well on their own. The reason I’m hesitant to remove the baby is I have read the quail don’t react well to new quail and only tend to accept them when they grow up together. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
I would take the rooster out and let the hen keep her baby rather than take the baby to put into a brooder. It may be a single chick, but as long as it has its mother with it, it won't be lonely. If she has abandoned the nest, put the rest of the eggs into an incubator and hope for hatchmates. If the mother isn't taking care of the baby, you may have to put it into a brooder.
 
I would take the rooster out and let the hen keep her baby rather than take the baby to put into a brooder. It may be a single chick, but as long as it has its mother with it, it won't be lonely. If she has abandoned the nest, put the rest of the eggs into an incubator and hope for hatchmates. If the mother isn't taking care of the baby, you may have to put it into a brooder.
Thank you, This is what I was thinking of too. I took the other eggs already and put them in an incubator because she was not paying any attention to them anymore. I cleaned the rooster up and moved him into a separate enclosure .Do you think it will mess with the mom if I moved her and the baby inside together? Or just leave them in her normal coop? I also am not sure if the baby needs a heat lamp if the mom is with them?
 
The chick shouldn't need a heat lamp because it will be warm under the hen. That is, if the hen is taking care of the chick properly. It might, it might not, so keep an eye on them. The hen might reject the chick if you move them, but it might be worth the risk.

If she's a good mother, I would let her mother some chicks regularly. I had a hen that I called Grandma that I regularly put in with chicks. I brought her inside to be culled because she was getting old when I had a brooder full of chicks and the power went out. I put her in with the chicks to see if she would keep them warm, and she did. She spread herself out over as many chicks as she could and they took turns under her and all survived. She lived the rest of her life taking care of chicks when I hatched them.
 
The chick shouldn't need a heat lamp because it will be warm under the hen. That is, if the hen is taking care of the chick properly. It might, it might not, so keep an eye on them. The hen might reject the chick if you move them, but it might be worth the risk.

If she's a good mother, I would let her mother some chicks regularly. I had a hen that I called Grandma that I regularly put in with chicks. I brought her inside to be culled because she was getting old when I had a brooder full of chicks and the power went out. I put her in with the chicks to see if she would keep them warm, and she did. She spread herself out over as many chicks as she could and they took turns under her and all survived. She lived the rest of her life taking care of chicks when I hatched them.
That makes sense for the light , I’ve just never used a mother to hatch them before and wasn’t positive. I moved them and she seems to be okay with that, she is still caring for and keeping the chick warm . I think this hen might be similar to your “
Grandmother” she seems to really want babies and so far I’ve only seen her be gentle and attentive to her chick. I will definitely keep an eye on them. Thank you for the advice , I just couldnt find anything in the internet for this situation.
 
That makes sense for the light , I’ve just never used a mother to hatch them before and wasn’t positive. I moved them and she seems to be okay with that, she is still caring for and keeping the chick warm . I think this hen might be similar to your “
Grandmother” she seems to really want babies and so far I’ve only seen her be gentle and attentive to her chick. I will definitely keep an eye on them. Thank you for the advice , I just couldnt find anything in the internet for this situation.
That's great that you have a good mother there. I would encourage her to care for chicks and let her hatch her own as much as possible. Apparently chicks raised by a hen have a greater chance to go broody themselves.
 

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