HELP! our baby quail are dying.

[wildmountainboy]

This was our first time and we incubated 70 Pharaoh and 12 bob white. 14 of the Pharaoh hatched 6 days ago. 3 did not live long enough to make it to the brooder. and one by one they have been dying we only have 5 left.

We have marbles in their water dish and are feeding them regular chick feed from the feed store but grinding it in a coffee grinder. We add some freeze dried meal worms (Aqua Culture brand) to the mix as a protein supplement before we grind. They all drink and eat vigorously and seem pretty healthy and active until we find them dead.

Our Brooder is a 10gal aquarium with a gripy foam cabinet liner. A plant light is clipped to the rim in one corner facing from the inside out and the temp fluctuates from 94* to 96* directly under the light.

9 our Bob white eggs hatched today and are almost ready for the brooder, I need to know if we are doing something wrong. or is this a normal mortality rate for quail? Any tips or advise is welcome.

Thank you.

 

[mnferalkitty]

I think your brooder is to hot, I hatched quail last week and my brooder is not that hot, I don't think they can get away from the heat in a 10 gallon aquarium. my brooder is smaller wood one and what I did instead of a light I used a people heating pad on low(one that doesn't shut off) in the brooder so they can lay on the heat pad or get off of it. Aquariums get pretty hot because they are glass/plexiglass and even with a screen top they can hold in to much heat and do not have good ventilation

 

[Peacerose]

Only the Pharaohs are dying? Separate them from the bobwhites. Leave out the meal worms. They have most likely been gut-loaded with vitamins and minerals that are meant for fish/reptiles. Not so good for birds.

 

[SSTupperware]

x2

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes...as said above, ace the meal worms until they are adults. A glass aquarium is going to get too hot for the quail, especially being only 10 gallon. You need something AT LEAST twice that size, something made of cardboard or a plastic tote will do. Use a screen over the top for maximum air and heat exchange.

Use a thermometer in the brooder until you are comfortable with how quail act when they are too hot or too cold. Put the heat source in the middle of the brooder and the food and water on the outside of the heat. Offer them places to get out of the heat completely. Keep the thermometer under the heat source so you know exactly how hot the hottest part of the brooder is. Bobs need to be started a bit warmer than Cots...Cots at 95 or 96 degrees, Bobs at 97 degrees. Lower the temp by 5 degrees each week until room temp is reached.

Bobs can and will get very aggressive in the brooder if they are cramped and or too warm. Give them a TON of room and if they are still aggressive, lower the temp a few degrees and work the temp down from there. NEVER give baby Bobs meal worms. They are notorious for toe picking and will kill each other, literally, thinking the toes of others are meal worms.

Quail need gamebird food or turkey starter. You can use medicated feed if you are worried about cocci. Quail are highly suseptable to cocci. You can always raise them on wire instead of medicated feed. If you use bedding, keep it very dry. On the day you move the babies into the brooder, use paper towels on the floor and sprinkle food around so they can find it. Dip their beaks in the water as you put them in the brooder so they know where it is.

 

[wildmountainboy]

Thanks for All the info. We have moved the brooder into a more ventilated area, and have placed another thermometer in the cadge to monitor the cool side also.
We nixed the meal worms we were adding before grinding the chick feed, and are going to try to find a feed store that carries game bird starter and if we have no luck we will get a turkey starter tomorrow. They seem to be doing much better now we haven't lost any of the bobs.

 

[fireflyhatchery]

Another thing you can do to introduce them to food easier is to just take some corn meal and add water until it resembles pancake batter mix. It is a good chick treat but not for use as sole nutrient. Good luck