ok..so i forgot how long it been

[quailraisingMan]

since i hatch my quails, now they can sorta fly out of the pen i made for them. is it time for me to turn off the heat lamp? or do they still need it? and when will the fully be mature? i only got two :\\ since i wasnt so successful with the others ( didnt hatch). they still got fur on there head like baby fur, but there wings and feathers are in. also how can i tell if its a female or male? is the male suppose to be large? cause one is sorta tiny and the other is kinda big. however the smaller one didnt hatch out of the shell itself, i had to assist it in hatching, so does this explain why its still a runt?

thanks

 

[goodheart101]

I left my light on them until they were 6 weeks old. That what was I was told. You can use lower wattage after 3 weeks, to slowly lower the temp for them. Like a breeder told me 99. degrees the first couple of weeks, and at the 3rd to 4th week you can lower the temp like to 95 degrees, the fourth to 5 week to 90 degrees etc. But I just left my temp up the full 6 weeks. Maybe other breeders have other recommendations, but that was what I did. Because the first breeder I talk to told me to leave the light heat on them for the full 6 weeks. Hope this helps.

 

[shelleyd2008]

It helps if you tell us what kind of quail you have

 

[goodheart101]

LOL, You are right, I just raise Button Quails so I don't know, it might be different for other types of quail.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Coturnix (for me) usually lose their light by 3 weeks, and go outside as well. That's if it's warm out. Otherwise, they stay inside with no light, then go outside with a small (60-90 watt) light for a little while, then they lose it. Unless it's super cold, they don't have any light after like 6 weeks at most. Bobwhites are different, I think they need it for more like 8 weeks, but I'm not sure.

 

[canter6]

Quote:
That helps most of all, because at 1 week, of age my coturnix can jump/fly/scale a 1+foot brooder, but they are not ready to face 30 degree temps yet.

It really helps to know what quail you have.