Is this brooder set-up okay? (Pics)

[TRN79_2]

Just got 25 bobwhite chicks, currently 6 days old. This is my first time raising quail and I want to make sure I'm doing everything right so far.

My set-up is two totes side-by-side, with a cut-out area in between them for the quail to go back and forth between the two. The feed is on the right side and the water is on the left.

These are the measurements

This is the opening between the two totes

A look in without the lids

Another look in. The bottoms of both totes are lined with paper towels and on top of them is the material from those non-slip pads that are put under rugs.

Is this set-up alright? Is there anything I should change or could improve? In the 12 hours that I've had them there haven't been any major issues so far, however I do have two concerns. First, I haven't seen any of them eat any of the feed or drink any of the water, but I've only been watching them for a few periods of 10 to 20 minutes or so, so I'm not sure if I'm just missing it. The other concern is that a few (three or four) of the chicks are over sleeping on the left side, which the heat lamp doesn't reach. I figure they would just go over to the warm side if they got too cold but I'm not sure if maybe they're not smart enough to realize that.
Thanks for any help!

 

[First To Hatch]

You should have dipped all their beaks in the water and you poke the feed in the dish that kind of helps. I'm wonderinf if the ones huddled up all on top of each other are really cold or trying to get away from the warmth but don't know how to reach the other side. As far as the one that are sleeping not under the light just pick them up and put them under the light and see what they do.

 

[TRN79_2]

Quote:
The chicks in the corner were all there because they were frightened and trying to get away from me, I believe. I left the room and came back about a half hour later and there were only one or two in the corner, with the rest of them laying in the center of the warmer tote, circled around the food dish. I tried to pick them up and dip their beaks in the water but getting a hold of them and getting their beaks into the waterer, which is a quail waterer and has a very narrow opening, seemed to be an impossible task. I'll give it another try, though. Another question: the feed is specifically game bird feed for young chicks, but the pieces seem like they'd be too big for them to eat. Should I crush it up into smaller pieces or is it fine as is?

 

[adriano]

You can crush up the chick stater into smaller pieces, try feeding them finely chopped up boiled egg first, mine loved it them mix it with the chick starter crumb afterwards.
Took this pic a few ago to show you.

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[TRN79_2]

I put down a small plate of finely chopped pieces of hard boiled egg into the brooder but they ignored it. I think this might be just because they were scurrying around and jumping so much at the time that they didn't feel much like eating, though. I tried again to pick them up and dip their beaks in the water but catching one, holding it without it getting away, and getting it into that tiny space with the water is a futile effort I've decided. I sat there and watched them for a while to see if they'd eat or drink but once they'd calmed down and stopped running and flying around everywhere they just stood still and stared at me. I ended up putting a camera in the room, pointing it towards the brooder, hitting record and then leaving. I let it film for about 30 minutes, then went and reviewed the tape; it took them about 8 minutes after I left, but they did eventually go and start pecking around at the food and water once I had left. I also put the feed in a blender and blended it 'til it was smaller so hopefully they'll like that better.

Unrelated question: is it normal for them to freak out and fly around so much whenever I take the lid off the brooder or put my hand inside? I'm kind of concerned about them getting injured since they really go nuts if I adjust the brooder in any way...they'll all go to the corners and jump/fly up trying to get out or pile on top of each other and so on. Second question: is there any way to tame them at all? I see that the chick in adriano's photo looks pretty content, whereas mine will crazily struggle to get away the second I pick one up...although I'm not sure if the chick in that photo is a bobwhite or not.

 

[chickenwhisperer]

Everything sounds pretty normal to me.
If you dont want them to be so flighty, you should put them in a more open brooder.
I use big, wire rodent cages with 1/2" bar spacing.

A better way to water small quail chicks, imo, is to use a rodent bottle.
They will naturally start pecking at it and learn very quickly to drink from it.
If you squeeze out a few drops, they should attack it . . .
If they get even a bit wet from running thru water dish, they may die from it(trust me, I know

).

The best thing I found to get small food particles for baby quail is those old-school flour sifters that look like a small coffee can with a screen and handle, ya know what I mean???
Just scoop, sift, and dump- gets the small pieces out for the babies and the bigg stuff gets ground a little and/or dumped for bigger birds.
My blender turns feed to powder, and seems like a waste of time.

 

[shelleyd2008]

You need to put your thermometer down lower so that the bottom of it is at the same level as the chicks, other than that it looks okay

 

[JJMR794]

IT IS NOT NECESSARY AND ILL ADVISED TO "DIP THEIR BEAKS IN WATER" WITH BOBS. THEY WILL INSTINCTIVELY SEAK WATER TO DRINK. THEY ARE SKITISH IN NATURE AND WILL SPAZ IF YOU TRY TO FOOL WITH THEM IN ANY WAY, SO THE DIPPING IN WATER AND FINGERING OF FOOD ARE ACTUALLY COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE WITH THESE GUYS. THEY'LL FIND WATER ON THEIR OWN, NOW FEED.... A NICE SHINEY DIME OR NICKLE ON TOP..... GLISTENING IN THE PRETTY RED LIGHT..... THATS AN ATTRACTION THERE!

YOUR BROODER SET UP LOOKS GREAT, DONT CHANGE A THING AND YOU WILL HAVE GOOD RESULTS.

 

[berkeleysprings]

i dip my finger in water and they peeck at it for there first drink
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[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Other than the too-high thermometer