I am new at quail brooding and I have two week old quail babies. Today I switched the crumbles from a small shallow bowl to a round feeder with holes since they were dumping the crumbles constantly out if the bowl - now they won't eat from the feeder, instead they're digging through two inches of shavings to get the dumped stuff. Any suggestions?
Quail, especially coturnix, hate anything new..... They have to work it all out for themselves. Any thing new always triggers the "OMG ITS GONNA EAT ME" response first. But their natural curiosity, boredom and constant drive to feed will work to your advantage..... I would almost bet they have started to make friends with the new feeder already..... BTW, this trend will continue the rest of there life. new pen, new pen mates, new lights, new feed, ect... will always be met with distrust and loathing.... once they become breeding age they will go on strike with simple changes and either lay abnormal eggs or none at all. Its their little act of civil disobedience...;-) Good luck with your birds. Bill