My baby quail keep dying...help

[Plain_View_Farm]

What is the temperature of the brooder you have them in???????
If your using a red heat lamp it is quite possible it is too high.
They should be at a temperature of no higher than 95 degrees and still have room to move to
a cooler spot in the brooder if they choose.

David

 

[rarebreedeggs4u]

I agree with David. If you are using a heat lamp, the temps are probably far too high. A quick and easy temp check (for me) is to put your hand on the floor of the brooder directly under the lamp. It should feel warm (higher than body temp), but not HOT. If I have babies inside during the summer, I'm using a 40 watt white bulb about 14" above the floor of the brooder and it's plenty. Of course, our mudroom goes 70-90 degrees this time of year.

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

Yup this time of hear I start out with a 60 w bulb the first week. The second week a 40 w and depending if their buttons I drop down then to a 25 w
If your using a 250 w Heat Lamp, that is most likely way too hot unless it is a few feet above them in a LARGE brooder.

David

 

[rhymn001]

You didn't mention whether or not your chicks are drinking water. This may be a possibility that they are dehydrated.

As soon as our chicks are born and out of the incubator (4-5 hrs) they get their little beaks dipped in their waterer.

Dehydration will kill them quicker than anything.

Hope your luck turns around.

 

[Dogfish]

Did you grind up the feed a bit to make it smaller and easier to eat?

 

[JJMR794]

Dehydration Kills In 24 Hrs Or So....

What Your Likely Experiencing Is The Die Off From Chicks Not Eating. Quail As Babies Arent The Brightest Crayons In The Box... They Will Instinctively Seek Water And Drink, But They Have To Learn To Eat.

 

[chickchick2010]

Ok, I'm having a similar issue with the coturnix quail. I have them in the brooder box and they seem to be eating and drinking but they are slowly all dying. It's as if they can't get up and walk. They don't have the spraddle leg, I have seen that and had several die from that but these just seem as if their legs won't carry them and then the next morning, they are laying in there dead. I hatched out 80 and I am down to 20. Please help!

 

[darkfur]

If something has gone wrong during incubation or hatching, or if the babies are genetically messed up, it often takes several days before they start to die. This is because they hatch with a food supply (yolk) in their tummies which can carry them over for a while, and so they don't die immediately but when this food supply runs out. In my experience day 3 or 4 is when chick mortality peaks. Without being able to see, I would hazard a guess at omphalitis (mushy navel) caused by high humidity during incubation.

 

[shesaredroan]

After following this conversation, I don't think I've learned what KIND of feed is being given to these baby quail. My bitty quail hatched Sunday June 27, the next day I made my usual run to the feed store to get chick starter, horse feed, dog food and the new one, game bird/turkey food for the bitty quail; when I got home I realized I'd forgotten the new feed on my list, game/turkey feed.....called the feed store and was told it was best to start quail off with chick start & grow until they were at least 3 weeks old. I use the medicated start & grow and my bitty quail have done fine. It was BYC that taught me to grind up the food, 'cause quail bitties are so tiny.
I hatched them out in my spare bathroom and moved them to a 60 watt heated cardboard box for a brooder right next to the 'bator. Now the little guys are jumping like pop corn and ready to go to a pen in the hen house. They will be 3 weeks old tomorrow and our mid day temps are hitting 100 degrees. Good luck, it's all a learning experience. : )

 

[chickchick2010]

Ok, first of all I started them off on the 24% protein chick, turkey and quail starter. This is all that Tractor Supply had that was higher in protein. When I bought the quail chicks, this is what I was told to feed them. These chicks are doing fine but the ones I hatched myself have done really bad. They were fine for a few days and then started dying and 1 or 2 a day are still dying. I started with 82 babies and now I have 6 left.

I have since changed the food to a higher protein food from the local co-op for game birds. I don't know what else to do. That's why I'm reaching out in hopes someone else has had this happen or knows what I'm doing wrong.