HELP please! Brooder is not ready!

[quaileypotato]

Yes, I know, you are supposed to have the brooder up and running before the baby hatches, but I do not feel safe having a 250 watt heat lamp hovering over my baby and I am worried about the heating pad's thermostat breaking and starting a fire. Sounds like I'm quite worrisome huh? Well, I am...
The quail chick hatched today and so far I am keeping it in the incubator for the night. Is that okay? I've read about people leaving them in there for 24 hours sooooo is that right? I live in Arizona and outside is always about 95-104 and my indoors is 81 degrees at night. Do I need a brooder? If so, what is the best option?

Thanks,

 

[JaeG]

You'll definitely need a brooder no matter the temperature of the room and quail chicks need light if you are using a heating pad because they are very good at wandering off and not being able to get back to the warmth if they can't see. I'd really confine them if you want to use a heating pad so that they are never far from the heat source, at least until they have figured out where to go to warm up. Quail chicks can chill very quickly.

Baby should be fine to stay in the incubator overnight (and that will reduce its lonely peeping plus have the added benefit of encouraging the others to hurry up) but it will need to be fed in the morning. Quail chicks are designed to hatch quick and move/start to feed quickly. They are much busier than chicken chicks. My Buttons usually hatch under their mother in the afternoon and spend the night with her before venturing out in the morning to have a feed, so your little one will be just fine until morning.

Can you get a smaller bulb as 250W is what you'd use out in a shed rather than what's needed indoors. I've used a 75W incandescent bulb before and reduced the wattage as they grow. Heat is really important for quail chicks and I start mine with a very warm hot spot (up to 104F) with lots of space to get away from the heat. That hot spot is always popular though. You'll have to play around with how close the bulb will need to be as it will depend on your set-up (and how the ambient air temperature changes) but you can get fittings that you can cable tie to the sides of the brooder or get one that will clip securely onto the side and bend so that you can adjust the height. Or you can sit the light on a piece of wire securely set on top of the brooder so that there's no way the light can fall in. Their behaviour will tell you if they are too hot or too cold (if they are peeping a lot in a distressed way they are cold).

Hope that helps and I hope you have lots of little cuties to cluck over. They are adorable babies.

 

[BlueBaby]

Hi, I'm in Az. too! I have no experience with quail, but I wish you good luck with yours!

 

[quaileypotato]

TYSM!! I just put up the heating pad and he's loving it! Just finally stopped chirping lol. Can you tell me how many days I need to keep it on until he can live with room temp? (80-82 Fahrenheit)

 

[JaeG]

If they are coturnix/japanese slowly wean them off the heat by raising up your heating pad a little at the end of each week and by 3 weeks old they'll be fine without heat as they are pretty much fully feathered by then. Enjoy them - they are very sweet and cuddly in that first week, and very curious as they grow.

Last year I hatched a few with some Button quail who are very wild and the Buttons were definitely calmer with their bigger buddies who weren't scared of us. Not friendly but at least they didn't freak out when we had to feed and water them.

 

[quaileypotato]

So today another chicky hatched! (Yay ) but it keeps on chirping at night but stops making sounds when I say something or when it heard me. Is this a problem or is it just sad to see me go?

 

[JaeG]

So today another chicky hatched! (Yay ) but it keeps on chirping at night but stops making sounds when I say something or when it heard me. Is this a problem or is it just sad to see me go?

You do get the occasional one that doesn't recover from hatching and they will stand with their eyes closed, chirping almost constantly and they won't follow the others to feed and drink. Once you get to day 4 you can relax as any that aren't strong enough will unfortunately die within those first few days. That's always the hard bit especially when it's one that the kids have chosen as their favourite!

But sometimes they are looking for a parent to snuggle with (quail are much needier than chicken chicks) and they do enjoy snuggling in your hands if you let them. It could also be its feeling a bit cold perhaps so just keep an eye on it. Or maybe it can hear other eggs cheeping in the incubator and are giving them the hurry up.

Sprinkle food everywhere initially so that wherever they pick at they'll find food. After a couple of days they'll have figured out where the food bowl is and subsequent chicks will follow their lead.

 

[Erkenstein]

A 250W bulb is fine as long as the chicks can get away from it to regulate their own temperature. Just keep it a couple of feet above the floor.

For a quick brooder, get a plastic tote and put pine shavings on the bottom. Use a waterer with a quail base or put marbles in the chicken one so they don't get wet. They can eat off a yogurt lid or something for the first few days, and then get them to use a quart chicken feeder. Grind up food for the first several days since they sometimes have problems with the full size crumble.

 

[007Sean]

I agree with both @JaeG and @Erkenstein
I use either Sure-lite or Rubbermaid totes of 40 to 50 quart size. I use hardwood shavings but pine shavings is fine. I use 250W heat lamps.
You will want to adjust the lamp to a height above the bedding so that the temperature will be 98 to 100°F when you first put them in the brooder (measured with a thermometer laying on top of the bedding) on one end of the tote. The other end will be the cool end. Place the waterer and feeder at the cool end. As both mentioned, I
spread ground up crumbles place on paper towels on the bottom of the tote for the first few days. As @Erkenstein said, I use a coffee can lid filled with ground crumbles for the first 2 or 3 days, until they figure out what and where the feeder is.
I don't use the heating pad method, so I'm no help with that method.
Lastly, you will want to raise the lamp or make adjustments to the lamp so that the temperature is reduced by 5°F each week until they are fully feathered or the ambient temperature is such that a heat source is no longer needed. HTH

 

[For my girl]

I use 40 gallon totes from Lowes and start out with a 150w bulb, then after a few days switch them to a 50w. I use the ceramic heater bulbs - not light bulbs. When I put them into the brooder I put them right under it - they never have a problem finding the heat. Don't bother with a thermostat - if they are all huddled together they are too cold, if there is an empty area under the heater then it's too hot. After a couple of days they avoid the middle of the heat so I switch to the smaller wattage. I used to try to follow a formula for this temperature this day - but it's better to just let the birds tell you what they want. When they are fairly spread out in the brooder with a clump under the heater then they are perfect. They need to be able to escape the heater - so only put it on one side and the water on the other. I live in Central Texas. When the summer nights don't get below 80 then they are outside as soon as they have some feathers on their backs. I hatch 80 at a time, If it isn't warm enough then you can lose a lot of them because they will pile together to stay warm and suffocate. I set myself up to hatch 120 at a time - but after a few death piles I cut back to 80.