quails and heat lamps

[Just Hatch duck]

hello,
i have a male and female quail and they just laid fertile eggs but i was just wondering do i need to separate them from there dad and do i need a heat lamp if i have the mother to lay on them
thank you

 

[DK newbie]

Depends - what kind of quail are they?
If the mother is taking care of the chicks, you don't need a heat lamp. Sometimes a hen will go broody and hatch chicks but not care for them though, and in that case you need a brooder with a heat lamp.
Is the mother broody already or how do you know the eggs are fertile? If she's not broody, be aware that in some species of quail broodiness is very rare and not something you should expect to happen.

 

[Just Hatch duck]

she's a brown king quail i just got her and a silver male king quail, they have both had chicks before and I'm not sure how good of a mother she is and whether the father will be any good either

 

[Just Hatch duck]

this is a photo of them on the eggs now (what does that mean?)

 

[JaeG]

If they have both had babies before leave them to it and they should raise their babies just fine. Just keep an eye on them in case there are any problems but they are usually very good parents if they have been raised naturally themselves.

 

[Just Hatch duck]

ok will do thank you

 

[DK newbie]

Does she usually cover the eggs? 4 eggs sticking out, two of these completely exposed usually means she has too many eggs. If there are always some sticking out, I'd remove a few once she goes to eat. Otherwise the eggs might go cold and die one after the other.
Keep an eye on them once the chicks hatch, but with buttons aka king quail, in general both parents raise the chicks.
Make sure your cage is chick proof - either extremely small mesh or a board or similar on the bottom 4 inches or so of the cage, no water they can drown in or even get wet in (I usually have my water standing on a brick to keep dirt out until chicks hatch, once I see them I put marbles in the water and remove the brick - the dish is only about ½ inch high), no nooks they can get lost or get stuck in, low food and water dishes they can both get into and get out of and so on.