Rescued Quail Nestling ~ HELP!~

Sewsia

Hatching
Jun 26, 2016
6
0
9
Soap Lake, Washington
Help! I'm not equipped for brooding Nestling quail.

I found this guy in the middle of a parking lot. No quail visit this area. I assume the baby was caught and lost by a predator.

I've had him for about 30 hours now. I almost lost him last night. I woke up to finding him near death. I actually thought he was dead at first. I quickly cuddled him, rubbing lightly to stimulate his body and got some warm honey water in his system. He came out of it, and has been happy hanging out in my bra all day. I put him here for warmth. Figured my body heat would keep him warm until I can figure something out.

So, here it is bed time for me and I can't find my heating pad! Right now he's cuddled up to my rice bear that I heat in the microwave. I'm aware that he should be at a consistent temp of 90°, but I don't have the tools to provide that.

If I need to make a run to Walmart, what should I get? That's the only store open at this hour. It's almost 3am.

I use to raise parakeets.The hand reared ones I fed them Latter Exact, which is 22% crude protein. I have tried getting him to eat some of this. He's gotten a little in, by me holding a spoonful up to his beak. I also grabbed some Purina Start & Grow for chicken chicks, 18% crude protein.

I ground up the feed to powder and tossed it around and put some broccoli flowerettes in.

Please advise me. Right now it looks like I'm putting in an all nighter just keeping him warm.
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I only know what I've read on here about brooding, as I don't do that myself.. But first of all: are you sure it's a quail chick? I'm not saying it's not, but in that picture it looks like something strange is going on around the beak..
Provided it is a quail chick: don't give it the chicken feed, it's too low in protein. Give it hard boiled chicken eggs instead, that's about the best thing you can feed it. Just make sure you make small batches as it spoils quickly when stored outside the fridge.
A regular light bulb placed near him might be able to provide some of the heat he needs for now - place a thermometer below the bulb and see how high you can get it, I believe you should be aiming for 95 degrees with a chick this small. Otherwise, a heat lamp is probably the way to go. Adjust the position of the lamp so the temp is correct right below the lamp, while allowing the chick to move to slightly cooler areas.
 
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It's a baby quail for sure. What you saw in the first picture is just ruffled chick fuzz.

There are no visible blemishes or injuries on him. He doesn't even have any grass mites or avian lice. That I was quite happy with!

He's doing well this morning. He slept 3 hours in his box snuggled up to a warmed rice bear. I found my heating pad, placed it under the box. I just reheated the bear a moment ago, and while I was doing that he went and got some water on his own. I keep his water warm by also microwaving the rocks. It helps the water stay warmer longer. For now his box is beside me so I can keep a close eye on him.

After watching a few videos, I've seen how to build a brood, so that's what I'll do here after I get some coffee in me.

Thanks for your input! I truly appreciate your time and thoughts.
 
UniqueQuail,

I certainly hope I do. But if at any point someone has something to add, I certainly would appreciate it. I have him in a tub with a bulb above. One side warm, other cool. He's eating and drinking.

Tomorrow I'm going to go post up flyers seeking Quail breeders. I just can't imagine keeping him as a pet! .. lol

Again, thank you everyone. I do need minds to bounce off of.
 
oww its so cute but it looks like its really young I think it will need more than a bulb over a tub but if u got some hay and things like that and made it into a nest shape it would help
yippiechickie.gif
 

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