Quail Questions?

[Birds Buns and Pigs]

Hello, I have lots of questions which I hope you can help me with

Firstly, My quail eggs have been in my homemade incubator for about 16 days now, I candled them for the last time yesterday, out of eleven eggs 9 are light, I can see the yolk, 1 is half dark, and 1 is fully dark I can barely see anything. Which ones do you think will hatch?

I know there is a chance none of these eggs will hatch but I want to be prepared if they do.

Will the chicks be ok on covered hot water bottles, instead of having a heat lamp? (I am at home all day so I can change water bottles when needed)

What do I feed the chicks? I did some research and came up with this homemade food: Oats, Sesame seeds, Green split peas, Shredded wheat (cereal) & Sunflower seeds, made into a small crumbs, with some egg and veg (diced very small) Would this be ok? (I have never had quail before so I may be totally wrong)

 

[Birds Buns and Pigs]

Another question..
How likely is it the quail will hatch (if any do hatch) on there due date? (Saturday)

 

[igorsMistress]

Hi there BBP

The fully dark egg may hatch, did you see any movement when you candled?

Not sure about your food research, mine have been on turkey start since the beginning. They need quite a lot of protein because they grow very fast. I think mine had 27% to start with.

Quail like places to hide so if you use hot water bottles you might try putting a box over them to hold in warmth and provide a cozy place to hide.

When my quail were tiny they would run for the heat plate when they were scared about something and they still hide under plants and boxes in their aviary.

Good luck on your hatch.

ETA if you give any seeds be sure to provide some chick grit, they'll need it.

 

[Birds Buns and Pigs]

Hi there BBP

The fully dark egg may hatch, did you see any movement when you candled?

Not sure about your food research, mine have been on turkey start since the beginning. They need quite a lot of protein because they grow very fast. I think mine had 27% to start with.

Quail like places to hide so if you use hot water bottles you might try putting a box over them to hold in warmth and provide a cozy place to hide.

When my quail were tiny they would run for the heat plate when they were scared about something and they still hide under plants and boxes in their aviary.

Good luck on your hatch.

ETA if you give any seeds be sure to provide some chick grit, they'll need it.

Hi, thanks that's very helpful

I tried to see if I could see any movement in the dark egg but my hands were shaky so I couldn't tell.

 

[Birds Buns and Pigs]

Another Question...
Is there a way to tell if chicks are male or female or will I just have to wait and see if they lay eggs or not?

 

[CoturnixComplex]

Another Question...
Is there a way to tell if chicks are male or female or will I just have to wait and see if they lay eggs or not?

Wild-type birds can be sexed at about three weeks. The females will have spotted chests and the males will have solid red chests. If you have fancy colored ones, sometimes you have to wait until they are about 6 weeks old and vent-sex them (squeeze their cloaca gently, if foam comes out it's a boy). Boys will also usually start crowing and mounting hens (well, and other boys) by then.

 

[CoturnixComplex]

As for feeding, formulating your own is a pain. You certainly can but you need to make sure they're getting at LEAST 25% protein. Much easier to just buy a purpose-milled gamebird feed and supplement them with treats. I personally use the Purina startena 30% protein.

 

[Sara L]

I highly recommend using gamebird or turkey starter crumbles. Quail need high protein and specific vitamins/minerals to grow properly. I'm not saying it can't be done using a homemade feed, but it will be a lot harder than it needs to be.

 

[Crazydoglady99]

Hopefully more than 1 hatch, so you don't have 1 very lonely quail.

Can you source insects (powdered, dried or fresh)? I like crickets and mealworms, they are the easiest for me. But if you can get them, please add them to your feed formulation (roughly 1/5th of their total food based on your post).They are very high in protein & calcium, more importantly the specific amino acids young birds need to develop properly.
Hemp powder mashed with boiled eggs?

Mine love carrots, wheatgrass, apple, corn, cucumber, whatever. I put it in food processor to chop it.

 

[Birds Buns and Pigs]

So what do you think of this...

1kg Porridge Oats - 75p - Protein 3.4%

100g Sesame Seeds - 85p - Protein 3.7%

500g Green Split Peas - 64p - Protein 9.3%

360g Shredded Wheat - £1 - Protein 3.5%

150g Sunflower Seeds - £1 - Protein 3.9%

200g Redskin Peanuts - 75p - Protein 4.9%


TOTAL:

Price: £4.99

Protein: 28.7%

I will mix it together and crush it into crumbs. I will also feed mealworms, veg and egg. I wasn't sure how to work out the protein thing so I may have got it completely wrong lol.

What do you think?