Is there anything wrong with adding a small tray of water and some food when you set Button Quail eg

[CondoCountryBoy]

I am glad I did not go with Bob Whites. I thought about it assuming I could just release them up in Central Florida somewhere, but then I found out it was illegal and that they probably would not survive anyway, which is surprising because most articles say they are wild and do not make good pets. I would assume that would be enough for them to learn to fend for themselves, but I guess not

 

[CondoCountryBoy]

we have two boxes full of healthy babies now. I think we have 18 or 19 or those little guys running around. Tomorrow we will prepare a larger box and try combining them. We just need to be careful one of the "day older" babies was being a bit of bully on the younger ones so we separated them into 2 groups. The younger ones all seem strong now so they can probably stand up for themselves but we will watch closely over the weekend. We have watched these little guys almost non stop! Now I know what it feels like to be a parent and get up several times a night to check on things. We nursed back the one that had the hard birth. The mark on his back seems to be getting covered the one that was acting splayed leg seems to be getting around fine on shelf liner. All are eating all day! This is so much fun, I just not sure what to do with so many when they no longer fit 10 to a box!

 

[Quaillvr]

I am hatching for the first time and a generous member gave me about 40 Button Quail eggs to get me started. I am due to set the eggs on Saturday. I have been told Button Quail need water faster than the other Quail breeds and should be taken out of the incubator within 6 hours. My concern is that I work and with my luck the birds will start to pip right after I leave for the day. I was thinking of adding a small tray water, filled with marbles, in with the eggs when I set them and maybe even a paper towel with some fine food sprinkled on it. I will turn the temperature down a little from 37.5 when I set the eggs and was thinking if there was a water source in the incubator with the chicks they would be able to survive a few hours longer, at least until I get home that evening. Any thoughts?

I made the mistake of putting food in the incubator, the babies loved it but it turned out to be a disaster. The high humidity made the food goopy and it stuck to some of the babies, it was a mess. I did put in a tiny cap of water that they could not fall in or drown in and it worked fine but I was right there to fill it with a straw when it was empty.