UNBELIEVABLE quail deaths- drowning!!!I have no idea what to do next

[AHappychick]

Ok so I had heard that quail can drown in their waterers but had never had it happen until yesterday and I have raised 100's

Ok I removed the one that somehow managed to squeeze its entire body into the waterer (now this is a Quail based water with mason jar style one so not wide at all) and blew dried the other 4 that were soked to the bone. water had flooded the brooder so I changed everything, changed waterer and filled with little rocks up to the very top so that it could not happen again.

well I just found them 8 dead and every last one soaked to the bone and dying. How can this be???? the brooder and paper towels are soaked and the waterer which was full last night at 12 am (when I last checked and all were fine.

So how with the rocks filling the entire based of the quail waterer did the all manage to soak themselves and die? why are rthey doing this??? Nothing has changed brooder is the same same water systems, same paper towel over shavings for the brooder floor (first few days the paper towels are removed) same everything. temp is good so they are not cold.

WHY ARE THEY SO DUMB!!!!

I just finished drying off survivers although I am certain some wont make it through after the chill they got.

But how do I stop it from happening over and over again? I cant fit any more rocks in the water base as it is there is only a mm of water at the very top between the stones, I just cant figure it out.

Any advice is needed. For now they are in a new clean brooder with no water or food so they can just rest but obviously I need to figure this out soon.

I will take pics now.

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

Sorry to hear of your losses and troubles....
We use puppy piddle pads in our brooder boxes but I'm guessing it would be about the same with paper towel. If just a little corner of the pad gets in the water it can wick all the water out of the bottle.
Did you find even a corner of the paper towels in the water?

David

 

[Chickiechick]

I'm sorry for your losses.
A photo of your set-up would be helpful ( I know you are working on it ) .

Double check your waterer. I did have a faulty one which didn't seal correctly. It would very, very slowly overflow the trough portion and leak into the bedding soaking everything including chicks.
New waterer and problem solved.

Hope your dried chickies make it !

 

[Southernbelle]

My first quail hatch I lost 2 to drowning, even with the quail waterer - I was so upset! I tried monarc's technique of using poly-fil batting in the water trough, but they kept pulling it out and it would wick water to the bedding - urg.

I had the waterer backed into a corner and when they got upset, they would hide behind the waterer, getting soaked. I figured that's how the 2 drowned. I moved the waterer to the center of the brooder and I didn't lose any more.

The quail you sent me are doing great! I'm getting eggs

The rumpless chick is strong and healthy and so are the Ameraucanas

 

[monarc23]

To me it does sound lke someting is wrong with your waterer. Since my brooder is outdoors and on a slight slant in the yard the brooder is on a slight slant. everyday wheni fill up their water i have to make sure the waterers opening is facing AWAY from the slant...otherwise it will leak out continously until empty. Never had a chick die from it but i have had sme grumpy slightly wet chicks.

If the waterer is completley away from the heat, and isn't faulty and they are doing this, i have no answer for you.

I always make sure my waterer is way from my heat so they aren't communing near it for warmth

 

[AHappychick]

waterer was in corner. camera battery did so I am charging it. will put it in the middle.

no paper towel was in the waterer to wick out the water. I switched bases and jars after the first incident because I was concerened about it being faulty in some way. the second waterer was fine. It is the strangest thing.

Since the waterer was 1/2 ful and not empty I know it was not leaking and hole was pointed towards the slight upslope.

Really I have never seen anything like it, infact now that I think about it the first waterer was in the center of the brooer (I normally do that so they dont get stuck in the corners) but moved the new one last night to a corner with out thinking about it.

I am going to watch them for a while when I put it back in and try to add more rocks (although I dont know if that is possible.)

My brooder is a large plastic bin with a ceramic heat bulb over it I have used it countless times.

each bird was soaked though and I dont think it was because they got wet from the paper towel I thik it was the other way around, they got themselves wet somehow and then moved around soaking the paper towels as they went.

so freaking weird!!!!

Oh southernbelle I am so glad they are all doing well

 

[quailbrain]

I'm so sorry. Chicks do learn from watching others so maybe that is why they all have been doing this. So very odd to me. I can't even remember ever having problem like this. I did have someone tell me they had bought a bunch of bob white eggs they thought were highley imbreed and they all drowned themselves. That wasn't me though just a rumor I heard.

 

[AHappychick]

well I was just saying how dumb could this hatch be lol. but I have been breeding the same cages as always and there are 4 differnt blood lines in there.

I did set it up differently now though and they seem to be ok. I put a circular paver under the waterer and shavings to elevate it a bit so there beaks can reach but its garder to get into it. I could not really fit any more stones in the base but piled a few extra ones in where I could and have it here in the kitchen where I am baking and will be all day to make sure they dont try mass suicide again.

really it was the strangest thing ever in my quail raising.

 

[saddina]

I was certain mine first group was sucidial with the soakings, so I bought these, and attached them to the wall with sticky velcro (so they can't knock it over). They can get thier beaks in but nothing more, so no soakings.

http://www.petdiscounters.com/c53/Combination-Water-Fountain-or-Feeder-p7660.html

 

[Highland Moongazer]

I've also had one manage to force all of its fat little self into the waterer, and even jam half his beak up under where it comes out of the jar.
Have you tried elevating it? I will make a little mound with the shavings and then put a cheap steeply-angled plate on top, then the waterer. It keeps them from being able to jump up there, since they just slide down the sides of the plate, and they can still get a drink. Heck of a lot less poo in there too.

Sorry you lost your chicks... but maybe it was a blessing! If they were that dumb as babies, they might've been even stupider as adults, hehe.