- May 7, 2014
- 56
- 5
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Hi all -- sorry to jump right in with a thread and question/s before I've even introduced myself, but ....
I have a 2-week old baby Gambel's Quail chick. Have been keeping it in a glass tank with screen top, using a heating pad set on Medium for warmth as well as a 60-watt bulb/lamp. It took a few days for me to get some Game Bird Startena, had to order it online, so for the first few days I fed mashed up egg yolk, chicken crumble (that I could get locally) and small bugs. Since receiving the Startena, I have been feeding that (some of it crushed up to smaller bits) as well as some mashed egg.
Baby quail is on a couple thicknesses of paper towel, and has a little stuffed duck to snuggle with for extra warmth.
It has been coming along just fine, and is feathering out.
My question is, what should normal baby quail poops look like? Up until yesterday, the poops were small like a parakeet's and looked similar, i.e, some dark and some white in them, I would say more white than dark. Yesterday, I started seeing poops that were just dark brown "blotches" on the paper -- it's definitely dark brown and not bloody, but it's not "formed". I'm also seeing poops that ARE "formed", when fresh they look soft and light brown with some white, but when dried they are mostly dark brown with only a small amount of white.
Baby quail has plenty of energy, eating fine, no changes in behavior. I did do some reading on here and mixed up a bit of water with ACV, gave that last night just in case, but as of this morning the poops are still of concern (still seeing some that are just dark flat blotches, and some formed as described in paragraph above).
I don't know what caused the change, possibly going to the Startena but that was several days ago. Or maybe baby quail is just eating more as it is older now and what I am seeing is normal. I have no way of knowing.
Also -- should I put in some sand or something for a dust bath at this point, or not until later?
Any help appreciated!
I have a 2-week old baby Gambel's Quail chick. Have been keeping it in a glass tank with screen top, using a heating pad set on Medium for warmth as well as a 60-watt bulb/lamp. It took a few days for me to get some Game Bird Startena, had to order it online, so for the first few days I fed mashed up egg yolk, chicken crumble (that I could get locally) and small bugs. Since receiving the Startena, I have been feeding that (some of it crushed up to smaller bits) as well as some mashed egg.
Baby quail is on a couple thicknesses of paper towel, and has a little stuffed duck to snuggle with for extra warmth.
It has been coming along just fine, and is feathering out.
My question is, what should normal baby quail poops look like? Up until yesterday, the poops were small like a parakeet's and looked similar, i.e, some dark and some white in them, I would say more white than dark. Yesterday, I started seeing poops that were just dark brown "blotches" on the paper -- it's definitely dark brown and not bloody, but it's not "formed". I'm also seeing poops that ARE "formed", when fresh they look soft and light brown with some white, but when dried they are mostly dark brown with only a small amount of white.
Baby quail has plenty of energy, eating fine, no changes in behavior. I did do some reading on here and mixed up a bit of water with ACV, gave that last night just in case, but as of this morning the poops are still of concern (still seeing some that are just dark flat blotches, and some formed as described in paragraph above).
I don't know what caused the change, possibly going to the Startena but that was several days ago. Or maybe baby quail is just eating more as it is older now and what I am seeing is normal. I have no way of knowing.
Also -- should I put in some sand or something for a dust bath at this point, or not until later?
Any help appreciated!
