OMG...I'm a quail killer! What am I doing wrong!

[possumhunter]

I hatched 15 quail on Sunday night and today they've started dropping like flies. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. This is the second time I've raised newly hatched coturnix. I never lost any the first time around. I lost 2 last night and 5 more this afternoon. They start shivering and wobbling and then look like they are sweating then fall over and die. The only thing i can even think that i've done differently is used the pellet bedding and I accidently put a little bit of chick starter in yesterday when I was feeding the chicks (forgot who I was feeding). Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong? I feel terrible! I have 4 more that are wobbling right now. And that will leave me just a couple.

 

[pringle]

Are they gettings into the water and freezing?If so put some marbles in and they wont check the temp to see how warm it is.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Is there a lid on the brooder? Could be condensation from their waterer.

 

[Doubletap]

Not to change the subject but I love your name Possumhunter

 

[possumhunter]

There is no lid on the brooder...I think some of the water wicked out onto the bedding. I don't know how to keep water in there in a small dish that they can't drown in that won't wick up moisture. I'm not sure if that's the problem or not. I am down to 8 from 15 and 2 are still wobbly. I took out all the bedding and put down a paper towel so the moisture won't wick out so easily. I don't know, I'm just so discouraged....

 

[UmbraVulpis]

Trying lining the bottom with paper towels or shelf liner instead of loose bedding, they'll find a way to put anything loose in the water dish. The only waterers I've had work for chicks are the one specifically for quail chicks or a normal one with marbles.

 

[possumhunter]

Well it looks like they are all doing fine now...So as far as I can tell, the pine pellets were getting wet and expanding and then wicking the moisture out into the rest of the bedding, making it all damp. So I think they got too damp/cold...I feel so bad for not figuring that out sooner. I'm going to stick to the papertowel liner for a couple of weeks and then try the bedding when they are a bit bigger.

 

[rarebreedeggs4u]

Quote:
Could they have been eeating the bedding? Since the pelleted bedding turns into a damp sawdust when wet (I love the stuff) could they have been gorging on the bedding? I keep my chicks on paper towels until 3-7 days old, then they go straight to the wood pellets.

 

[possumhunter]

I thought of that afterward. I definitely will be keeping my itty bitty quail on papertowel for the first few days from now on. I never even thought of that being a problem before hand. I don't know. It would either have been that or getting wet from the damp bedding. Either way, it was a probelm with using the pellet bedding with the way I had my water set-up.

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

Could it be temp? Or the bedding, that sounds fishy.