Raising baby quail inside for the first time.

[Erkenstein]

You need to wait until they're about three weeks old to be able to tell if they're males or females. If you have standard (brown) quail, the females will have a spotted breast and the males will develop a rust-colored breast. If you have other colors, the males will start crowing at about four weeks old.

 

[mdees88]

That 50 gallon aquarium is plenty big and will make a great brooder. You could easily brood 15 birds to 3 weeks of age in it. For permanent housing it is recommended to have at least 1 Sq ft per bird.

My males end up being meat birds that I usually cull at 6 weeks of age. I have kept them at 2 birds per Sq ft before and they did just fine. My laying hens get 1-1.5 Sq ft per bird.

 

[MamaBear228]

Thank you! Im thinking of going up to 6-8 quails, they are for egg laying and am currently building a larger outdoor and indoor cage once they are out of the chick stage.

 

[wildone]

advice? okay, you SHOULD NOT USE A HEATING PAD FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER!!!
sorry, I lost four that way, so just beware.

 

[MamaBear228]

A heating pad? As in something for them to stand on? Sounds painful for their little feet.

 

[wildone]

no, on its side. I can't really figure out how they died, but they where laying in a corner smashed up against the wall.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Chicken wire is useless. Quail squeeze out and predators reach or tear in. When you build the outdoor enclosure, use hardware cloth, predators can't tear through it. Your aquarium will be a fine brooder for now.

Chicks of all species that are too cold will cluster against heat sources, which can smush the ones at the bottom.

 

[MamaBear228]

Thank you I will definitely keep that in mind! I had chicken wire on my list of supplies! I lost my first 2 baby quails due to them not being at the correct temperature and I couldn't figure out why they kept clustering together and laying on top of eachother. I now have a stronger heat bulb and a thermometer for the tank!

 

[cholland]

advice? okay, you SHOULD NOT USE A HEATING PAD FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER!!!
sorry, I lost four that way, so just beware.

I was just going to suggest using a heating pad. I've never raised quail, but use it all the time for chickens.
I use the MHP style. Heating pad, like a plate on legs. Heats them from above.
I drape an old towel over it to close it in, but don't block up the sides much so no one gets squished if they push into a huddle or something.

 

[wildone]

okay so I figured out how they might have died. I was thinking about it and I remembered that their mom, (yes I got her to look after them) was walking all around the heating pad, and could have stepped on it when the chicks were underneath.