New to BYC hatching quail

[Oilytoe90]

Hi. Just to introduce myself. I live in the UK and am starting my own flock of coturnix quail. I previously started by seeing if I could hatch store brought eggs but failed, so I brought from a breeder and had 6 out of 12 hatch but all died, I think it was due to my warming plate not being low enough (lesson learned) I'm now on my 3rd attempt and have 12 coturnix on day 12 of incubation. New equipment and a better warming plate and much more knowledge. Anyone have any tips for me? Thanks

 

[MystOpal]

Hi! Nice to meet you
I'm quite new as well, but I would say when it comes to the heating after they hatch always follow how they feel. As long as it's in the range and the chicks are fine, don't worry too much about it. You probably already know this, but if they hate going next to the brooder they are definitely too hot, and if they aren't willing to go out to eat (you generally want to keep the food a little bit away from the heat so they aren't forced to stay hot if they don't want to) they are too cold. As long as they move around the area and don't make too much noise they are happy. If they are cheeping a bunch (if it happens you'll see what I mean) something is wrong. It's like a little alarm. Also, they are going to grow so fast! The first couple of weeks are the most uncertain, but any that survive after that will probably do fine. I thinks it's similar to the whole ''animals that have a bunch of offspring tend to die early and survive well once they reach maturity biology theory'' situation. I had two die in my first two weeks but after that they all seem fine.
The info here is great, and there are many people more knowledgeable about quails than me, so it's wonderful to be part of the BYC.
Hope everything goes well with your flock!
Also, if you don't mind, what sort of incubator do you have?

 

[Oilytoe90]

Hi. Thanks for your response. Yeah they were so noisy last time but I just thought it's what they do. The incubator i have is one off amazon ill post a picture. But I really like it, it's perfect for what I need x

 

[MystOpal]

Hi. Thanks for your response. Yeah they were so noisy last time but I just thought it's what they do. The incubator i have is one off amazon ill post a picture. But I really like it, it's perfect for what I need x

No I completely agree with having one from Amazon. Especially if you're hatching just for yourself and don't need that many. I got one too that honestly may look nicer than it functions but fingers crossed.

Yeah they'll be a bit noisy regardless but if they are consistently cheeping it means something is up. I had one quail which I thought was fine but was cheeping a bunch when the others weren't and that one ended up dying. The noises they make when content are a little different than the upset sound, but it's something you'll figure out after hearing them. Some might just be loud but it's a different feeling. You'll definitely figure it out though.

Have you figured out a setup once they get past four weeks? If not I've done a bunch of research on sizing and stuff if you want. If you've already decided/built what you want I don't want to reiterate what you already know

 

[Nabiki]

Since you're new to new to quail, I would recommend that you check out the articles in the learning center. The link is below:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/quail.32/

 

[Oilytoe90]

No I completely agree with having one from Amazon. Especially if you're hatching just for yourself and don't need that many. I got one too that honestly may look nicer than it functions but fingers crossed.

Yeah they'll be a bit noisy regardless but if they are consistently cheeping it means something is up. I had one quail which I thought was fine but was cheeping a bunch when the others weren't and that one ended up dying. The noises they make when content are a little different than the upset sound, but it's something you'll figure out after hearing them. Some might just be loud but it's a different feeling. You'll definitely figure it out though.

Have you figured out a setup once they get past four weeks? If not I've done a bunch of research on sizing and stuff if you want. If you've already decided/built what you want I don't want to reiterate what you already know

Yeah I will deffo be keeping an ear out for them. We have brought a second hand double rabbit hutch and 4 foot wide. We r gonna tweak it a bit and try and predator proof as much as possible. I'm just hoping I don't end up with loads of males

 

[MystOpal]

Yeah I will deffo be keeping an ear out for them. We have brought a second hand double rabbit hutch and 4 foot wide. We r gonna tweak it a bit and try and predator proof as much as possible. I'm just hoping I don't end up with loads of males

Oh, I feel you. I'm on the edge of my seat every day looking at my quails to see if any more start crowing. One has done it a couple of times but his colors already were clearly male. Yeah if you haven't decided on a bottom for the quails, I had some pretty good success the past couple of weeks with pine pellets. I've had parakeets in the past and the poop was so annoying, even through a wire grate but the pine pellets dry the poop out pretty well and even though it still smells a bit it's not too bad and I think the quails like the solid ground a bit more than not. Then again, it's not always doable to have pellet flooring so whatever you've decided will be fine.

 

[Oilytoe90]

We have barley straw atm which i believe is fine but recommendations r welcome. Do the males actually crow like a rooster?

 

[muddy75]

 

[MystOpal]

We have barley straw atm which i believe is fine but recommendations r welcome. Do the males actually crow like a rooster?

I haven't used barely straw, but I've heard the problem with straw in general is that it doesn't dry out enough and may hold mites. I think the reason some people use pine pellets (people use it as cat litter) is that it dries out the poop so it isn't super moist, and if you leave it relatively unwet at first it's in the pellet form so it doesn't spread as much. Also I've found mixing it up to get the poop not on the top is easy, and you could put more pellets on top. It doesn't completely get rid of the smell but I haven't had to clean it in the last three ish weeks since it dries the poop so it's not getting on the quails feet too much. Honestly though you could use the barely and then if you don't like it just add another substrate in on top later. It also depends on what you want to do with the substrate, I'm hoping to do a deep litter method so I want to have a substrate that works with that and it's indoor so not having as much mess.

Having some straw for them to pick at and have fun might also work, I actually put some lemongrass pieces that were dried out and it's already been spread around the cage so I guess they found it interesting, so if maybe you did some sort of combined straw and another substrate if you decided to switch but still had straw left over.

Sorry I kinda love blabbing about info!

For the crowing, it doesn't really sound like a rooster, but they do crow. It's louder than what they usually sound like, but not anything crazy. It's kind of a warble I feel like. I was so excited when I first heard it but then he didn't do it again until the next day. If I had caught it on video I'd send it to you. Actually, the guy that crowed seemed to have a deeper voice than the other ones, when he complained as I picked him up it was a more throaty sound than a cheep. Might be bias since I already knew he was a guy from the coloring but I thought I'd share that with you.