Need advice on a single hatcher!

[RubyNala97]

I have one single cortunix quail baby that hatched. I'm worried about him/her being alone. Do they do ok alone?? I could only find 3wk old button quail (nys state law says I have to buy 6). I'm going to see if the seller will "donate" me 2 or 3. Would it be better to put him with the button quail or leave him being alone? Any ideas where to find baby quail besides craigslist??
Any suggestions welcome!! Thank you!

 

[Shellybean02]

Congrats on the quail! I have heard of situations where people have had a single coturnix quail. It really depends on what you plan on doing with them and their gender. If you treat it as a pet, it should be fine alone since it has you. You could also have two of the same gender. I have two females and they do fine together. In order to do this you have to know their genders. Otherwise they could breed, and in some cases be stressed about it. So you shouldn't really get others if you aren't sure of the quails' genders. Good luck!

 

[RubyNala97]

Ok, thank you! Maybe I'll just keep this little one then. The kids stand in front of the brooder and play with him a lot. But I can't seem to teach him to drink and he's getting dehydrated. I am putting little drops of electrolytes on the side of his tiny beak, trying to avoid his nostrils and the trachea in the center of his throat. Any tips to teach him?

 

[Shellybean02]

If the quail sees you as it's mother, it will learn from you. You could dip your fingers in the water and the quail might try to do the same with its beak. Or try to dip the end of his or her beak into the water. They like to peck at shiny things, so having a water container with marbles or something similar inside might encourage the quail to drink. If the quail doesn't drink water frequently you might need to consult an avian vet. They drink a lot of water for their size! How can you tell that he/she is dehydrated?