I have quail! -- Thanks to YOU!

[danielatc81]

Hello BYCers!

I have been "lurking" on these forums for a few weeks in preparation for the raising of coturnix quail. I listened to a TSP podcast featuring BYC's own MoonValley Prepper. From that day I set my eye on raising quail.

That podcast in conjunction with the AWESOME advice posted on this forum made for the successful arrival of new baby quail as of yesterday.

11/30 - eBay eggs (9 didn't develop -infertile) hatched on day 18. One hatched today and another pipped (Day 19). I'm afraid one unzipped but may have perished. Incubator temperature adjustment took some getting used to but humidy was a non-issue.
The hatched birds are doing wonderful.

Total as of right now - 12/30

I am learning more from all of your experiences and recommendations everyday. This site is an invaluable resource and I am grateful to you all for taking the time to provide guidance.

As I am on my mobile I am limited to what I have available to show you concerning my operation - I will post pics as soon as practical. I value your input snd look forward to posting what i have established so you can provide advice on how to maximize my system whilst maintaining a healthy "covey". Again, THANK YOU ALL very much. Cheers to great hatches and healthy birds!

One last question - Can I raise quail in the same pen as chickens?


........kidding! LOL

More to follow soon...

 

[Silkies~Polishes]

Haha that last question got me.
Congratulations on your good hatch! I just hatched some button quail yesterday and they are just the cutest things!

 

[danielatc81]

Haha that last question got me.
Congratulations on your good hatch! I just hatched some button quail yesterday and they are just the cutest things!

Thanks and congrats to you as well!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello BYCers!

I have been "lurking" on these forums for a few weeks in preparation for the raising of coturnix quail. I listened to a TSP podcast featuring BYC's own MoonValley Prepper. From that day I set my eye on raising quail.

That podcast in conjunction with the AWESOME advice posted on this forum made for the successful arrival of new baby quail as of yesterday.

11/30 - eBay eggs (9 didn't develop -infertile) hatched on day 18. One hatched today and another pipped (Day 19). I'm afraid one unzipped but may have perished. Incubator temperature adjustment took some getting used to but humidy was a non-issue.
The hatched birds are doing wonderful.

Total as of right now - 12/30

I am learning more from all of your experiences and recommendations everyday. This site is an invaluable resource and I am grateful to you all for taking the time to provide guidance.

As I am on my mobile I am limited to what I have available to show you concerning my operation - I will post pics as soon as practical. I value your input snd look forward to posting what i have established so you can provide advice on how to maximize my system whilst maintaining a healthy "covey". Again, THANK YOU ALL very much. Cheers to great hatches and healthy birds!

One last question - Can I raise quail in the same pen as chickens?


........kidding! LOL

More to follow soon...

Welcome to BYC and the Quail forums! Great to have you aboard the quail train. Pull up a chair, chat awhile and enjoy the show.

 

[James the Bald]

... One last question - Can I raise quail in the same pen as chickens?


........kidding! LOL

More to follow soon...

Arghhhhhhh!

 

[Silkies~Polishes]

Oh yes welcome! Didn't notice you were new!
I have to say that everyone on these forums all are so nice, helpful, and patient! Just have to say that because other forums I've been on for chickens, other pets, or anywhere else, people just aren't as nice, and can be really rude. Maybe it's just the chicken community, I don't know, lol.

 

[danielatc81]

Indeed I am brand new. Thank you for the warm welcome!

Real quick, I have an update on my quail situation -

I hatched 14/21 viable eggs. A 15th egg zipped but did not make the escape. An "egg-topsy" revealed the expulsion of innards from the back end. I thought it was the yolk sack but closer inspection appears that it was more than that. As a "newbie" I am not fully certain. The other eggs appeared to have failed at different periods throughout the incubation period. As I am now more familiar with the tweaking of my Hovabator 1602n + turner, I am hopeful that future hatching will be more successful. I am still very satisfied with this hatching.



Left - First born -- Middle and Right - This is Day 18's first 11 quail. The other 3 were in the incubator.


Here is the food available at my local TSC - Any objections? (24% Crude Protein)





Left - Quail cage under construction -- Right - Added a 5-gallon watering system using red chicken watering nipples.
Metal on level 2 will hold newspaper that waste will fall on and then go to a compost bin.



Feeders are 4" PVC that hang outside the cage (causing quail to reach through expanded holes in the cage to access the food -- reducing spillage)
** This is an experimental idea so any input/advice is appreciated **

 

[TwoCrows]

Everything looks pretty good. Just a few thoughts on things here...you need to crush up some of that feed for new hatchlings. It is too big to be eaten. Next, you need to sprinkle it on the floor around the feeder so they know where to get food. Quail are incredibly dumb at first and still carry that instinct of momma needing to showing them where the food is. So since you are the only "momma" around, you must do this or they will starve to death. Even if some of them figure it out, there will be some that don't.

Next, your quail cage looks good. However you may have trouble with those tiny holes in which the quail need to stick their heads in to get the food. Quail don't like sticking their heads in anything dark or scary looking in fear of predators and they may not want to put their heads in, no matter how hungry they are. So you may need cut an entire slot all the way across. They shouldn't be going thru chicken wire either. Big heads can get stuck. The feeder being on the outside and exposed may cause a critter problem as well.

If this is an outdoor cage, that chicken wire is not going to be predator proof. Night time critters can rip and chew right thru that stuff. So you will need 1/4 or 1/2 inch hardware cloth to cover the outside. All around. Make sure to make a baffle underneath as well so the things in the night can not grab toes and claws from underneath while they are sleeping.

The hatching issues may have stemmed from too high of temps in the incubator or too much humidity at the end. Both of these can cause navel issues.

All this being said, these are the steps we take to learn along the way. And as time goes on, you will get all these things figured out.

Enjoy the new babies and your quail adventures!

 

[danielatc81]

Thanks for the advice TwoCrows!

I did indeed crush up the food, shortly after taking those pictures. They have been eating and drinking very well. Messy little creatures for sure. Lol

As for the cage, it is indoors (garage) so predators should not be an issue. I will reconfigure the feeder and go a different route. I really like the "no waste" feeder posted on the forum but I'm trying to maximize room inside the enclosure while repurposing my surplus PVC.

Since I've got a few weeks, I'll keep perusing forums and sites for more viable options. Or I may do as you suggest and widen the mouth of the current setup to be more trough-like.

In the meantime, back to the drawing board. )

As for the eggs, I will continue to take steps to stabilize the incubator as well. Like many others, I would run into issues here and there. When something came up, I'd Google search and it ALWAYS led me back to BYC. That made me feel like I was not alone. I was able to make the adjustments and drive on. I found that our guest bedroom is the most stable room. Eventually, I'd like to invest in an incubator that isn't so finicky about the environment temp - if they exist. The still-air Hovabator caused me to spend A LOT of time adjusting temp -- I kept a log of adjustments compared to inside temp, outside/room temp, and thermostat knob positioning. A couple days of that helped me dial everything in but it was very time consuming. I'd just stare at the light and note when it would come on and go off. I also made a funnel/straw apparatus to add water to trays when necessary (once or twice).
Prior to lockdown I filled the #1 tray and middle trays - humidy spiked into 90's, which appears to reinforce your humidy = egg loss comment. It leveled off at 77% by the following day and maintained that until first hatch, then spiked to 81% for a couple hours. Perhaps I should add the water gradually next time? (via straw/funnel)

Okay, I'm getting wordy. Thanks for advice. I'll post up as soon as I get the feeder situated so I may get further input/advice.

Thanks again!

V/R,

Dan

 

[TwoCrows]

Yeah, it takes a while to get used to your incubator. Of course many times the more you spend on one or go with a big brand name, the better they are at holding temps and humidity levels. But this is not always true either. After you have used the one you have more, you will get the hang of how to get it to perform better.

High humidity levels at the end can cause the navels to not heal over which is what it sounds like you had going. If this set of babies makes it past the 2 week mark with no deformaties or other weird issues, then I would say the heat level in the incubator was not much of an issue. Short spikes with heat or humidity are never a problem. It is the ones that last for hours and hours at a time.

Since you are keeping the quail pen in the garage, you should do just fine with the way you have it built. You may not have to adjust the feeder ports yet, however just be aware that quail are leary of sticking their heads thru things to eat and you may need to wide them a bit.

The amount of knowledge floating around on BYC is incredible. There are so many folks that have been doing the poultry thing for so long and googling will always lead you right back here. LOL

Good luck and great to have you here in the quail forums!