Help! My wild quail chicks won't eat or drink!!!

[Birdyfriend]

I have just saved two quail chicks from a cat and don't have a heat lamp but have put them in a ice-block box on top of a hot water bottle and they were doing fine until i realized they weren't eating or drinking... have had them for a few days now and i know their not surposed to eat or drink much for the first few days but they haven't ate or drank at all and are getting very thin, please help!

 

[Chip76]

What kind of quail are they? What food do you have available? Is it ground up small enough?

You could try tapping the food with your finger. My quail come running and try to eat whatever is under my finger when I tap. I also simulate drinking the water with my finger, in the same way quail drink.

If they are injured, they may not eat or drink until they feel better. When Pedro got hurt, she didn't eat or drink for about half a day.

For heat, I used a regular lamp with a thermometer and kept the temp around 95 and gradually decreased it. I also didn't have a set up since I didn't expect to rescue quail. Mine were abandoned as eggs ten days before they hatched. The nest was outside my office window at home and I watched the female sit on them everyday for a few weeks before she disappeared. (They also hatched just fine in a shoe box with the lamp at 100 degrees.)

My quail are all grown up now and most of them have joined the neighborhood covey. They still come by and visit me sometimes. Mine are the ones that run toward me when I go outside... The others run away. I still have Pedro though.

I hope your quail babies are ok! They are super fun and adorable to have around, and they have so much personality! I really enjoy mine.

 

[Quailobsessed]

just to clarify, are these native birds? In Australia it is illegal to take native birds from the wild. Rescuing baby birds and raising them counts as taking them from the wild therefore it's illegal, though lots of people do it. Here we have a wildlife rescue organisation called WIRES who looks after native animals including baby animals and prepares them for release again. Would you have anything like that you could take them to if they are natives.

On the raising side, the above comment is helpful.

Sorry to get technical, may sound like a weird thing to bring up. Just thinking of what's best for the birds - being in the wild if they are natives would be best. Hope they do okay.

 

[Quailobsessed]

just to clarify, are these native birds? In Australia it is illegal to take native birds from the wild. Rescuing baby birds and raising them counts as taking them from the wild therefore it's illegal, though lots of people do it. Here we have a wildlife rescue organisation called WIRES who looks after native animals including baby animals and prepares them for release again. Would you have anything like that you could take them to if they are natives.

On the raising side, the above comment is helpful.

Sorry to get technical, may sound like a weird thing to bring up. Just thinking of what's best for the birds - being in the wild if they are natives would be best. Hope they do okay.

It was good that you saved them.

 

[Birdyfriend]

just to clarify, are these native birds? In Australia it is illegal to take native birds from the wild. Rescuing baby birds and raising them counts as taking them from the wild therefore it's illegal, though lots of people do it. Here we have a wildlife rescue organisation called WIRES who looks after native animals including baby animals and prepares them for release again. Would you have anything like that you could take them to if they are natives.

On the raising side, the above comment is helpful.

Sorry to get technical, may sound like a weird thing to bring up. Just thinking of what's best for the birds - being in the wild if they are natives would be best. Hope they do okay.

I'm in New Zealand, they are not native, i have named them Courage and Bravery, It helps with the hoping.

 

[Quailobsessed]

I'm in New Zealand, they are not native, i have named them Courage and Bravery, It helps with the hoping.

Okay, just checking.

Can you post a picture of the brooder?
What bedding have you put down?

 

[Birdyfriend]

What kind of quail are they? What food do you have available? Is it ground up small enough?

You could try tapping the food with your finger. My quail come running and try to eat whatever is under my finger when I tap. I also simulate drinking the water with my finger, in the same way quail drink.

If they are injured, they may not eat or drink until they feel better. When Pedro got hurt, she didn't eat or drink for about half a day.

For heat, I used a regular lamp with a thermometer and kept the temp around 95 and gradually decreased it. I also didn't have a set up since I didn't expect to rescue quail. Mine were abandoned as eggs ten days before they hatched. The nest was outside my office window at home and I watched the female sit on them everyday for a few weeks before she disappeared. (They also hatched just fine in a shoe box with the lamp at 100 degrees.)

My quail are all grown up now and most of them have joined the neighborhood covey. They still come by and visit me sometimes. Mine are the ones that run toward me when I go outside... The others run away. I still have Pedro though.

I hope your quail babies are ok! They are super fun and adorable to have around, and they have so much personality! I really enjoy mine.

I'm feeding them meatbird Crumble watered down a bit, they are not injured. I also just recently found theyre only a few days old so i hope they will eat tomorrow maybe

 

[Birdyfriend]

Okay, just checking.

Can you post a picture of the brooder?
What bedding have you put down?

I don't have a brooder but am using a small mouse cage, the hot water bottle only just fits, then i have a tea towel on that and then theyre in a ice-block box and inside that is some sheeps wool for bedding

 

[Quailobsessed]

I don't have a brooder but am using a small mouse cage, the hot water bottle only just fits, then i have a tea towel on that and then theyre in a ice-block box and inside that is some sheeps wool for bedding

For bedding I would use paper towels. it is soft but a flat surface and they can see the food really well. I would do the tapping the food thing @Chip76 mentioned and see if they eat then.

 

[Nabiki]

I'm in New Zealand, they are not native, i have named them Courage and Bravery, It helps with the hoping.

I'm guessing that they're California quail? I was in New Zealand in April, and I found it odd seeing California quail almost everywhere that I went. I also visited a grove of redwoods and felt right at home!

I second @Chip76 's suggestion of tapping at the food and water. That's how I teach my coturnix chicks how to eat and drink. Once one figures it out, the others follow.