Newly hatched Quail

[sega]

Now I have over 300 Quail with these that hatch on Christmas Day. Was down in the 30's last night and thought I would lose some of them due to the cold. Did not lose any to the cold weather. The heat lamps kept the temp in the pen around 100. Had to raise the lights to keep from cooking them this morning.

 

[FenDruadin]

WOW that's a lot of birds. I notice you've got them on a board over wire. What gauge wire is that? I'm building a brooder and used 1/4" hardware cloth for the floor, but am thinking I'll need to put a towel over the wire when I have quail babies because they're so tiny. What do you think?

Pretty birds. Congrats!

 

[sega]

WOW that's a lot of birds. I notice you've got them on a board over wire. What gauge wire is that? I'm building a brooder and used 1/4" hardware cloth for the floor, but am thinking I'll need to put a towel over the wire when I have quail babies because they're so tiny. What do you think?

Pretty birds. Congrats!

The wire came from Lowe's and Tractor Supply. I am not sure what ga it is, but I know the TS wire is a heavier wire than the Lowe's. About 3 feet of the pen is Lowe's wire and it is cheap Chinese wire. The TS wire is a whole lot better. Is anything made in the US anymore?

I wish I had covered the whole bottom of the pen with the plywood until the quail were a few weeks old. Came home today to find about 2 dz of them with not legs. I think one of my wife's cats got them through the wire and pulled their little legs off. The cat was under the pen when I came home. It ran when I approached the pen.
I put more plywood on the bottom of the pen tonight. Hope this stops the cat from getting them.

 

[FenDruadin]

Oh, no! That's so sad. Happened to an adult quail for us once, outdoors--a raccoon got it and ripped the whole thing off. So sad! After that, we added a second layer of just chicken wire, about eight inches below the hardware cloth, so a raccoon would have a hard time grabbing a leg. Seemed to work.

Hope that's the end of casualties for you. I'll definitely add something to mine for quail chicks, to prevent them slipping through. On the good side, there is a drawer beneath the floor, so it wouldn't really be possible for anything to grab their legs. Still, they'll probably appreciate the extra help.