Hello Everyone! I have a "five step" program going on with my quail and would like to have some input from Bobwhite Fans and Foes. Steps: 1. Eggs in Hova Bator 2. Eggs in Incubator 3. Chicks in Brooder in my spare bedroom. Brooders consist of plastic bins or tubs with tops inverted and wire mess. I use paper towels on the floor during this step. 4. Once feathers begin I move them to pens in my garage. These pens are made of plywood 3/4 inch and wire. The ones that were made first, before I realized that wire floors were oh so much better, have plywood floors. In these I use newspaper and change this twice a day. Its not so bad. 5. Outside pen for those I keep, freedom for those I don't. I noticed a number of people saying that they use pine shavings on the floors of some of their pens. Ive also seen this in photos. First, I thought pine was not good for animals but I could be mistaken. Second, IS pine BETTER than newspaper? Thank you!
Aspen bedding is the way to go. I like pine rather than newspaper to prevent spayed leg. I use aspen bedding mixed with a small amount of corn-cob bedding.
After about 72 hours, coturnix chicks can stand on most surfaces. It's just a matter of what you want to smell.... Quail poo on pine, quail poo on aspen, quail poo on newspaper, etc.
I'm letting my chicks hang in the incubator for a bit to dry off, then will move them to peat moss, b/c I have a lot of it for gardening... not sure on how it'll work, but we'll see
Newspaper is only free if I abscond with it from the free shopper displays around here. Ahem. Oh, wait, there is a limit of one per "customer?" Ah, well, okay, let's see. I'm a customer. My son is a customer. My dog is a customer, my cats are three customers, my birds are... Oh, one per Household? Ah, darnit... (never mind what I use to start my fireplace...)
Oh, I knew what you meant. I don't get a news subscription, though. In fact, most folks I know subscribe online or read online now. I think I only know a couple of people who get the newspaper anymore. I abscond with 3-4 of the shoppers every time I see a stand, though. I need em for the coupons. Oh, wait. They don't HAVE coupons most of the time. Sometimes they do, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it...
