Binki
Songster
Here's a copy and paste message I sent someone about my brooder setup stuff 
Definitely use a red incandescent light - baby chicks love red spots like wounds on other chicks and the red light hides this so there will be less picking at each other which can be a danger until they figure out the food and water
Also, a red light allows them to sleep better making less aggressive chicks!
I really recommend a lamp with a clamp but more importantly a dimmer switch - this is so you can simply turn the dial down as the chicks grow instead of raising and lowering the light which can be dangerous and wastes power when the chicks grow a bit and don't need as much heat.
Like this - https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Deluxe-Dimmable-8-5-Inch/dp/B000FTEQCY
If you're interested, here's what I use/do...
You can find a used aquarium super cheap online or at a garage sale - a huge one for like 10-20 dollars, line the bottom with some newspaper, put paper towel on top, put a piece of wood diagonally on a corner and hang the light by the clamp there, that's what I do for the first several days to make sure they're nice and toasty and close to the food and water, I even block off part of it for the first day or so as they can get lost away from the heat lol!!
I use super shallow water dishes at first like plastic juice jug lids and I sprinkle the ground up food around them for the first few days then offer it around a low Tupperware full of food they can hop into and scratch around in without making a terrible mess lol.
Then when they're strong and need more room, I move them to a super cheap and easy but big and clean brooder which is just a big rectangular box essentially with an open top (you don't want to put a hard lid over quail as they can kill themselves if they flush [jump and fly suddenly]).
It cost a sheet of plywood which is about $15 and some screws, it's 18 inches tall, 2 feet wide and 4 feet long, lined a few inches up at the bottom with that plastic flooring from a leftover home renovation - you can pick up some for a few bucks as flooring places have leftovers they sell for cheap which should fit
Then again with newspaper but now I use hay, you can get a huge bale of hay for like 4 or 5 bucks, would last you forever hehe.
I move the wood with the light and put it diagonally in the bigger brooder now. When they start flying out (sooner than you think!) I loosely drape plastic bird betting on top, several dollars for a lot of feet at the hardware store to keep birds off of fruit trees, when they hit it they get slowed down and plop back down in the brooder lol.
It's much safer to do the netting than a hard lid or open where they can get too cold outside of the brooder
Definitely use a red incandescent light - baby chicks love red spots like wounds on other chicks and the red light hides this so there will be less picking at each other which can be a danger until they figure out the food and water
Also, a red light allows them to sleep better making less aggressive chicks!
I really recommend a lamp with a clamp but more importantly a dimmer switch - this is so you can simply turn the dial down as the chicks grow instead of raising and lowering the light which can be dangerous and wastes power when the chicks grow a bit and don't need as much heat.
Like this - https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Deluxe-Dimmable-8-5-Inch/dp/B000FTEQCY
If you're interested, here's what I use/do...
You can find a used aquarium super cheap online or at a garage sale - a huge one for like 10-20 dollars, line the bottom with some newspaper, put paper towel on top, put a piece of wood diagonally on a corner and hang the light by the clamp there, that's what I do for the first several days to make sure they're nice and toasty and close to the food and water, I even block off part of it for the first day or so as they can get lost away from the heat lol!!
I use super shallow water dishes at first like plastic juice jug lids and I sprinkle the ground up food around them for the first few days then offer it around a low Tupperware full of food they can hop into and scratch around in without making a terrible mess lol.
Then when they're strong and need more room, I move them to a super cheap and easy but big and clean brooder which is just a big rectangular box essentially with an open top (you don't want to put a hard lid over quail as they can kill themselves if they flush [jump and fly suddenly]).
It cost a sheet of plywood which is about $15 and some screws, it's 18 inches tall, 2 feet wide and 4 feet long, lined a few inches up at the bottom with that plastic flooring from a leftover home renovation - you can pick up some for a few bucks as flooring places have leftovers they sell for cheap which should fit
Then again with newspaper but now I use hay, you can get a huge bale of hay for like 4 or 5 bucks, would last you forever hehe.
I move the wood with the light and put it diagonally in the bigger brooder now. When they start flying out (sooner than you think!) I loosely drape plastic bird betting on top, several dollars for a lot of feet at the hardware store to keep birds off of fruit trees, when they hit it they get slowed down and plop back down in the brooder lol.
It's much safer to do the netting than a hard lid or open where they can get too cold outside of the brooder
