My baby quail keep dying...help

[Little-Farmer]

Thank you! Just what I needed!

 

[drkraver]

All baby chicks are born with a sterile gut and have to get their normal flora from the food they eat and the environment. Bad bacteria are all over the place, namely Mycoplasma (lung) and certain strains of Escherichia coli (gut). They have to have heat for about a week or two post hatching (90-100 F). Electrolytes and probiotics are good to start the chick off with to hydration and populate their intestines with good bacteria. However, as I said, bad bacteria are everywhere. It is essential to change the water 2-3 time per day (especially if you have a water tower or bowl). Also grinding up the food in a coffee grinder (magic bullet) to a very small grind (powder) using a good quality turkey or pheasant feed, powdered vitamin (violate), freeze dried mealworms, dried parrot fruit pellets, finch seed AND chlortetracycline type C (aureomycin) will usually do the trick. Continue the aureomycin granules in the feed as they transition to the outside (bad bacteria are everywhere!).

 

[dc3085]

The diet you are suggesting would require quail to also be fed digestive grit for proper digestion. Please be sure to include that info when explaining a diet to other members.

Brooding for two weeks is insufficient for most climates. At two weeks old quail can niether generate sufficient body heat or retain it. Brooding for only two weeks will change their physical development. They will feather much faster but youre trading faster feathering for proper weight gain.

 

[Fat Daddy]

All baby chicks are born with a sterile gut and have to get their normal flora from the food they eat and the environment. Bad bacteria are all over the place, namely Mycoplasma (lung) and certain strains of Escherichia coli (gut). They have to have heat for about a week or two post hatching (90-100 F). Electrolytes and probiotics are good to start the chick off with to hydration and populate their intestines with good bacteria. However, as I said, bad bacteria are everywhere. It is essential to change the water 2-3 time per day (especially if you have a water tower or bowl). Also grinding up the food in a coffee grinder (magic bullet) to a very small grind (powder) using a good quality turkey or pheasant feed, powdered vitamin (violate), freeze dried mealworms, dried parrot fruit pellets, finch seed AND chlortetracycline type C (aureomycin) will usually do the trick. Continue the aureomycin granules in the feed as they transition to the outside (bad bacteria are everywhere!).

WOW! I guess I need to finish my Google PHD, because most of this is completely new to me .... Silly me, I have raised 1000's of chicks on Game bird starter and water! Of course I was always careless enough to never grind the feed EVER. Only changed their water when they are out or its dirty. Have never given a electrolyte, probiotic, powdered vitamin, mealworm of any kind, parrot pellet, finch seed, Chlortracycline, or auremycin in granules or otherwise!!! How bout we try to just keep'em warm for the first 5 or 6 weeks. Feed'em the Game bird starter that was custom developed to raise quail on. And keep clean water in front of them.... They'll almost raise them selves if we dont screw any of those three up! Save the parrot food for parrots, cat food for cats, thistle seed for finches, and all that other junk for someone silly enough to think you need any of it to raise quail!!! Maybe I just should have just said " I disagree"...... Never mind.....

 

[CrazyChickLady7]

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.

we had this problem, and it was dehydration we did the dip the beak thing and they stopped dying.

 

[lauradrake21]

WOW! I guess I need to finish my Google PHD, because most of this is completely new to me .... Silly me, I have raised 1000's of chicks on Game bird starter and water! Of course I was always careless enough to never grind the feed EVER. Only changed their water when they are out or its dirty. Have never given a electrolyte, probiotic, powdered vitamin, mealworm of any kind, parrot pellet, finch seed, Chlortracycline, or auremycin in granules or otherwise!!! How bout we try to just keep'em warm for the first 5 or 6 weeks. Feed'em the Game bird starter that was custom developed to raise quail on. And keep clean water in front of them.... They'll almost raise them selves if we dont screw any of those three up! Save the parrot food for parrots, cat food for cats, thistle seed for finches, and all that other junk for someone silly enough to think you need any of it to raise quail!!! Maybe I just should have just said " I disagree"...... Never mind.....

I just have the basics too, am new to quail and no deaths plus all 7 of mine learnt to eat and drink by themselves. Am only worried now as found out the protein content of my feed is only 13% !! So have been giving mashed egg white in shell which they love to stab at. Maybe mine have good genes. Am goING to go buy higher protein starter crumb tomorrow. Mine are now 8 days old so want to make sure no late deaths due to lack of protein.

 

[Fat Daddy]

After re reading this thread, I regret the wording in my post above..... I was needlessly sarcastic and chose my words carelessly. While I was born an A**, I usually try to hide it better than this.... For this I apologize....

 

[Badluck]

I am having the same problem with the same symptoms. Check the chicks rear end that die. Mine have a hard dried vent. Can't figure it out. Never had this before.

 

[dragon quail]

Hey, i have tried raising 2 quail chicks now, the first one died and the second one is showing the same symptoms. I raised them at different times, so they did not pass it on to the other little guy
The first chick was perfectly fine up until the 3rd or 4th morning. He couldnt lift his head. He moved his feet just fine, but it was like his neck was just limp. He died a few hours latereven when i tried handfeeding him.
Now the same thing is happening to my other chick altho he is a bit stronger so far, but i dont know what to do. He cant walk.

 

[Nina Cruise]

My beautiful quails were in and out from under the heat plate and eating and drinking within hours of hatching, a neighbour had baby quail dying on him so he raised the heat lamp and is now having more success, if the babies are in your bathroom maybe they are too warm with the heating on as well, we put food and water in with them from the start and in a few days they had learned to feed very well and scratch at their food.

I hope we have helped you on the road to success
Good luck