Help! Just found a baby quail in my driveway.

[dawnr]

I need some help. I just picked up a baby quail from my driveway (we are rural). I did not realize it was a quail or I would have left it for a little while and come back to check on it, because I know that quail are ground dwellers. Anyway, I can't undo that so now I have a baby quail on my hands. I can't be sure of its age but due to size I'm guessing maybe a couple weeks, not newborn (?). My husband and I went looking for a nest but couldn't find one. I need some guidance to keep it alive overnight, then we'll get it to a rescue organization. I have no experience rescuing birds, so anything is helpful. Thanks!

 

[Everlong]

Good Luck !



https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1117014/rescued-quail-nestling-help

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...e-guy-in-my-driveway-thought-it-was-a-chicken

 

[lehouseofdog]

so cute! and it's not a couple of weeks, it's a couple of days maybe. At two weeks it should have feathers. They are fully feathered by about 4 weeks. Did you find out what kind?

 

[Sill]

I need some help. I just picked up a baby quail from my driveway (we are rural). I did not realize it was a quail or I would have left it for a little while and come back to check on it, because I know that quail are ground dwellers. Anyway, I can't undo that so now I have a baby quail on my hands. I can't be sure of its age but due to size I'm guessing maybe a couple weeks, not newborn (?). My husband and I went looking for a nest but couldn't find one. I need some guidance to keep it alive overnight, then we'll get it to a rescue organization. I have no experience rescuing birds, so anything is helpful. Thanks!

That's a day old, maybe two or three. You can give it finely chopped cooked egg for now until the rescue people get it. Or if there is a feed store nearby that will sell small amounts of feed you can give it game bird starter but you will have to grind the crumbles to powder for such a baby. Don't give bird seed, it's too low in protein and the baby would need grit to be able to digest it. Good luck!

 

[dawnr]

Thanks everyone! Especially the tip about the age. We thought it was "completely feathered"! Shows you what we know about baby birds! So glad I posted the picture! Anyway, we've been keeping him warm and a friend babysat him while we were at work today. He's quite wobbly and doesn't seem to be eating much, but he does peck. He has a new home to go to tomorrow, a lady who has raised baby birds before, but this is her first quail. She's very excited and I think she'll do a great job. It's nice that there's such an awesome community out here to reach out to. My things are cats and airplanes - lots of forums about those! I never thought about there being a forum for chickens and ducks and quail and etc!

We are rural and might in the future keep chickens or guineas. I'll be checking back here when we do!

Best,
Dawn

 

[Pineapple]

Quail are precocial, which means that they are hatched more highly developed than birds which require parental care (altricial). It's a tradeoff--if you hatch more developed, you develop in less time and thus often aren't as intelligent or sentient as many altricial birds. This is why altricial birds have many fewer offspring than precocial birds. But the distinction between precocial and altricial itself is really a false dichotomy insofar as it exists on a continuum and not as discreet sets.

The only birds which are truly hatched fully feathered (and able to fly) are the megapodes.

 

[dawnr]

So we're starting to worry about this baby. He can't seem to stand very well or even stay upright most of the time. When I first found him, it seems like he was much more stable and not quite as wobbly. He also appears to have a tow that is bent in the wrong direction. Is there anything we can do to help him? I'm beginning to wonder if this is why we found him on his own. I'm afraid he's just going downhill.

 

[isaacearlg]

Go to a local feed store, ask them if they have any game feed, crush it up a lil bit ,
Leave him water in like a bottle cap
Poke your finger like a peck at the food and water and itll learn what it needs to eat and drink, baby chicks need heat so you need to find a lamp or something to keep it at around 95-98 degrees at least. Its been years since i raised quail but the newborns that arent very active are better off cull'd. They tend to have weak immune systems and get sick easily.

 

[tarrantredford]

I need some help. I just picked up a baby quail from my driveway (we are rural). I did not realize it was a quail or I would have left it for a little while and come back to check on it, because I know that quail are ground dwellers. Anyway, I can't undo that so now I have a baby quail on my hands. I can't be sure of its age but due to size I'm guessing maybe a couple weeks, not newborn (?). My husband and I went looking for a nest but couldn't find one. I need some guidance to keep it alive overnight, then we'll get it to a rescue organization. I have no experience rescuing birds, so anything is helpful. Thanks!

hey dawn! i just wanted to let you know that that is one cuteee quail.

 

[Nabiki]

hey dawn! i just wanted to let you know that that is one cuteee quail.

FYI, this thread is 7 years old and the person you're replying to hasn't been seen since 2016.