Quail are dying one by one each day

[nychickenman55]

I have quail that are dying every day. I have done everything I know, clean water, clean food, clean pen with room. I thought after while it was the heat lamp but I changed it and put a cooler lamp but they still die. I am down to 5 out of 20 hatched out of 50 eggs. They appear to be healthy if you look at them.

Can anyone give input.

NYchickenman55

 

[abobwhat]

I have quail that are dying every day. I have done everything I know, clean water, clean food, clean pen with room. I thought after while it was the heat lamp but I changed it and put a cooler lamp but they still die. I am down to 5 out of 20 hatched out of 50 eggs. They appear to be healthy if you look at them.

Can anyone give input.

NYchickenman55

feed may be clean but moldy? draft? what brooder temps are you running? what breed of quail?

Need more detail for the peeps to give you good feedback

 

[TwoCrows]

Start with the heat temp. For one week old hatchlings, temp should be around 97 the first week, lowered by 5 degrees each week. Make sure there are no drafts in the brooder. Keep the heat source in the center of the brooder so they can use the heat or get out from under it. Make sure there is enough air in the brooder and you are not using a air tight lid.

Make sure to use a shallow water dish so they do not drown. If they are hatchlings, make sure they know where the food and water is by dipping each beak in the water and sprinkling food around the floor. Make sure food is not moldy or stale.

If they are older than a few days, make sure the water and feed areas are elevated so it is dry and poop free in their water and food bowls.

Check the poop color. If there is any blood in the poop, they may have cocci. It helps to raise quail on wire if you have an outbreak of cocci. (poop falls thru the wire and they have less contact with it). Definitely elevate the water and feed areas with cocci. If you suspect an outbreak, use Corid or switch to a medicated feed.

Do not over crowd them. Some may be getting trampled, can't get to the water or feed. Use 2 brooders if the one you have is too small. Use several feeding and water stations so everybody eats and drinks.

If all this is being done, it could be something that "grew" in the incubator, something passed down into the egg or some sort of virus or bacteria that they contracted.

 

[nychickenman55]

The brooder is a new one out of 1/4 in wire mesh and the walls are 1/2 inch plastic mesh. water is low and food is high protien game starter chick. all droppings fall out of the cage. heat lamp was at a good hight but I was thinking it was too hot so I changed it to a 100 watt bulb now. Cage is 36 by 36 inches with plenty of room with only 5 chicks left. they are in a garage no drafts they seem healthy looking. They seem to die over night not during the day?

NYchickenman55

 

[nychickenman55]

Oh by the way the incubators are more or less sterilized after each use by dishwasher.

NYchickenman55

 

[nychickenman55]

Feed is clean no mold. NO draft, enclosed in a draft free modern garage. I am not sure what the temp was out in the garage but at a foot it runs about 94 F on the Pheasant in the house right now. The bread is Bobwhite Northern quail.

This is more info that one member thought that I should submit so you all could be more informed to help me. I don't think there is any virus or anything like that from my side. Dose not suggest that there is something from the suppler?

Help

NY Chickenman55

 

[jbobs]

I think you said the sides of the cage are 1/2inch mesh? The sides of the cage should be solid to help reflect heat inwards - just having mesh sides on the brooder, ie like a cage, is enough draft to kill baby chicks, even if they are indoors. How old are they now? What do they look like - ie their movements, posture, etc. Do they crowd together? Sit at the edges of the cage? shiver? Hunched backs? Do they call and call incessantly? Have you observed them eating and drinking? What is the nature of their droppings? Runny or solid? Green or brown? A picture of the chicks and the setup would be helpful too.

Hopefully you can get it under control. losing that many chicks is not normal.

 

[nychickenman55]

They are about two weeks old now and can fly short distance. They roam around, they do group around the heat lap, have plenty of water and food which they eat. I also give them lettuce once in a while which they love. They don't shiver that I can see. I have seen them eat.

I took some pictures and their food is medicated.

 

[jensen]

Chickman, I believe you said the deaths were occurring only during the night. This could indicate they are not receiving enough heat or too maybe too much and you might not realize it. It's a funny thing how conditions can change during longer periods where they are not being observed, especially out in a garage. But maybe you've already got that checked out. Have you been out there observing them at night to see how they are behaving? The answers to the questions jbobs asked will tell you a lot...

 

[nychickenman55]

Jensen: that is what I thought so I changed the heat lamp from a red 250 watt to a 150 watt and we still have the same condition?