New arrivals

[mike1501]

9 new arrivals this morning.

 

[mike1501]

 

[DK newbie]

Oww, that's great! Good luck with all your babies.

 

[mike1501]

Thanks. 14 little ones now running around. 3rd nest has 15 eggs so we should see more in 2 weeks.

 

[Binki]

Hehe grats, so cute

 

[mike1501]

Unfortunately 3 didn't make it more than a couple hours after hatching. im left scratching my head because all the babies have split and some are under the first mum and the others with the new mum. This also goes for the chicks that hatched last week. Maybe their versions of sleepovers!

 

[DK newbie]

The babies can't tell one quail from another - at least not if they are the same color. Mine even chase around non-broody females until they tire of running away from the chicks and accept being extra moms. It's kind of interesting - I've had several batches of chicks do this. They seem to be able to awaken the broody instinct in the other hens. Only once have I had to separate a non-broody female because she was too curious and pecking at the toes of the newborns. I released her a week later and the chicks chased her until she let them sleep under her And even though she was still interested in their toes, at that point they were big enough to just back away (to see what she had found under them) when she did it.

 

[mike1501]

Thanks for the feedback. It's interesting to watch it though because they tolerate it haha.