Quail Noob Help Needed!

[Coturnix Quail]

Hi everyone! Just wanted to ask if anyone had any tips for me because I'm getting Coturnix Quail soon.... So any advice? Thanks!

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC...you might want to ask a specific question you are concerned about.

 

[eHuman]

Check out the thread labeled "Coturnix quail basics". The 1st couple pages has great info the rest is good conversation.

 

[Everlong]

Yeahh, get a tea, coffee, beer, or a KitKat, and do some reading its all here

 

[Pineapple]

Yeahh, get a tea, coffee, beer, or a KitKat, and do some reading its all here

Fair warning: that thread has become less-helpful as it has gotten larger, since it is now very difficult to wade through for those of us who speak English as a second language, have slow connections, do not have the time to read through hundres of pages, have neurological problems with attentional capacity, or who are just mean old witches (like me, haha).

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Well... Thanks for the help! The specific things I would like to ask is.....
1. When can i move them outside?
2. Where can I buy their food as chicks?
3. Is Loudounberry Farm and Garden a good place to buy them?
4. Where can i get a heat lamp, not too expensive. (not over $30)
5. Can I use bunny/rabbit bedding for them when their babies?
6 Could I use a normal desk lamp (the bendy ones) for the heat source?
7. How Tall does it have to be?
8. To feed them on the first day I have to dip their beaks in water? And they will learn how to eat by themselves?
9. How often do I have to change the bedding?
10. Is there any way I can make the pen for when their older predator repellent, because I have foxes here....
Thanks!

 

[Pineapple]

Well... Thanks for the help!

---You're welcome!

The specific things I would like to ask is.....
1. When can i move them outside?
---I have moved gamebirds out at around 5 weeks but I've heard of it being done earlier in warmer climes.

2. Where can I buy their food as chicks?
---This depends on where you live. In some places that you can only find chick starter crumble that is meant for chickens. This will not do. You need to gamebird crumble.


3. Is Loudounberry Farm and Garden a good place to buy them?
---I am not familiar with that place.

4. Where can i get a heat lamp, not too expensive. (not over $30)
---I got my lab reflector at Walmart for $11. I don't remember exactly how much the bulb cost, but I got it in a pack of four.


5. Can I use bunny/rabbit bedding for them when their babies?
---No. Chicks will peck at bedding and possibly eat it, getting compaction. I use newspaper.

6 Could I use a normal desk lamp (the bendy ones) for the heat source?
---yes. No matter what you use though, you will need a thermometer.

7. How Tall does it have to be?
--- Do you mean the enclosure? It needs to be under 14 inches tall or over 5 feet tall. Anything in the middle is at risk for blinking their heads and breaking their necks.

8. To feed them on the first day I have to dip their beaks in water? And they will learn how to eat by themselves?
---They are precocial, so they are hatched knowing exactly what to do. Otherwise, they would die. That's what being precocial means.

9. How often do I have to change the bedding?
---As chicks, every single day. Brooders get extremely ammoniafied and the ammonia can easily hurt our young birds upper respiratory system. Very often when this happens we don't even notice it because their systems are so delicate to start with.

10. Is there any way I can make the pen for when their older predator repellent, because I have foxes here....
---There are a lot of ways, but all of them involve using barriers such as wire mesh, which is also called hardware cloth. It has to be applied tightly and with lots and lots of reinforcements. Remember that mice and rats in particular can get through openings that are only half an inch wide. If their whiskers can fit, their whole bodies can fit. And they will kill and eat quail, especially young and small ones.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Thank you! Could I possibly use pebbles for the bedding? Like the fish tank ones? For the food I live near Ulster County, Albany, Kingston, or Middle Town. (all in NY). I'll be setting up the brooder in a 30 gallon fish tank. Would the light on the fish tank work? Would I have to dig more underground so the fox still cant enter? And should I make it double floors and make individual little boxes per 2 quail? I have a lot of space I think I could build big. When can they start to fly? Thank you!