Light on baby quail at night

[JulieTGA]

I have a heat lamp, do I leave this lamp on at night and come up with an alternative hear source.
I am unsure if consistent light stresses baby bird as it is unnatural - how do other monitor this? Thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[Nabiki]

They will often cry all night if they don't get some dark. I use ceramic reptile bulbs in my heat lamp. This produces heat, but no light.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KLDKDDD/

 

[FloorCandy]

I use ceramic bulbs also, they seem to last far longer than regular or reptile bulbs. I bought new red reptile bulbs several months ago because I dropped my light and broke one, I put the new bulb in, and my husband woke me at like 5 am that the chicks didn’t look good, I went and checked and they looked half dead, because the brand new light had burned out!

I’ve noticed with the ceramic bulb, the chicks act more normally, they do a lot of early jumping and flight training, that I didn’t see when I was using red bulbs. I also have a heat plate that they can get under, but I only use it in emergencies because I like to be able to see the chicks and how they’re progressing, nothing is worse than lifting the heater and finding a dead chick that I could have helped if I had noticed it was having trouble.

The chicks will need a night light in most cases tho. Without a faint light, I’ve found they get lost and wander from the heat, or cry all night because they can’t see. I have a hall light that I leave on for my kids, in case they get up to use the bathroom, the chicks are in a bin that gets a faint light from around the corner, and the heat is over the side closest to the light. For chicks I’ve raised in other rooms, I have a small desk lamp with a dimmer that I put on for them at the end that has the heat light, that way they can wander toward the heat and find the warm side. I’ve previously had a situation where one chick wandered away from the heat, there was no night light, and it called for the others, instead of replying to the call, the rest of the chicks got up and went to the crybaby, and I found them all shivering in a pile, away from the heat, screaming, at 2 am.

 

[007Sean]

Contrary to 'popular belief', a light (heat source) does not stress out baby chicks.
Birds do not perceive red light as daylight. A white light (heat source) will stress them out, if any wounds are present from pecking (blood) or in newly hatched chicks if the umbilical cord is still attached, the blood or red color of the umbilical cord is easily seen under white light...a red light heat source will camouflage blood or a wound.

Red light is soothing to baby chicks. They are able to see their way around in the brooder, ie; find feed and water. They are also able to see their brooder mates and not as likely to cheep continuously.

Abruptly turning a light off will cause the chicks to panic, plus if a alternate heat source is not used when the lights are off, they will 'pile up', and become chilled, some chicks(the weaker ones) will get smothered or injured by their more aggressive or larger brooder mates huddling together for shared heat.

If using a ceramic heat source, I would recommend using a low wattage (night light) preferably red, so the chicks are still able to see and move about in the brooder. Newly hatched chicks need to be able to find feed and water at all times....if the weaker chicks are unable to find feed and water they will develop what most people refer to as 'failure to thrive' syndrome. They get weaker and dehydrated and this further weakens an already weak immune system.
HTH

 

[GhostKeeper]

I have a heat lamp, do I leave this lamp on at night and come up with an alternative hear source.
I am unsure if consistent light stresses baby bird as it is unnatural - how do other monitor this? Thank you in advance for any advice.

I read a study that too much light for the babies can make for aggressive males. I had some in my first batch that were extraordinarily hostile, and some that were very sweet, so maybe that's just luck of the draw? But I use ceramic bulbs, and a timed light that dims down over an hour. I noticed the babies are afraid of the dark like any child, so I just give them that extra hour of dim light to doze off and not even notice the dark.

 

[Lilyofsalen]

I've noticed that they really don't like complete darkness at least in the first week or two. They cry a lot when the lights go out and keeping a small light on really seems to calm them down. I'm working on getting a small LED to keep on them all night as I use a CHE as my heat source. Maybe a cheap string of red Christmas lights will work.

I think they get so upset because they lose track of the heat, food, water, and their friends.

 

[GhostKeeper]

I've noticed that they really don't like complete darkness at least in the first week or two. They cry a lot when the lights go out and keeping a small light on really seems to calm them down. I'm working on getting a small LED to keep on them all night as I use a CHE as my heat source. Maybe a cheap string of red Christmas lights will work.

I think they get so upset because they lose track of the heat, food, water, and their friends.

I've been studying their reactions to different lights and whatnot. I've found a string of red LEDs with a dimmer is plenty, can find them on amazon.