What to do with a Wolf in Quail Clothing........he peeps at the moon.

[LostinQuailLand]

Seems that I started out with five hatchlings (Bobwhites) all of the same birthdate. There was one hatchling that was a bit larger then the rest. I went in one day and four of the five were dead. My assumption is that the larger one had been bullying them and killed them. Now that is just the assumption but Im sure its accurate. Now the bully spends all his time peeping and peeping, which I contribute to loneliness.
I have had ten more babies hatch, which would be about three days behind this one. I wont put them in with Mr. Wolf in Quail clothing.
However, I feel sorry for the lone wolf, any suggestions on what to do to make him not so lonely? I do have chicks a couple of weeks older than the bully.......

 

[tuesdays chicks]

put him so he can see the younger 1s and not touch them

 

[JJMR794]

When You Say Hatchlings How Old Are/ Were They When The 4 Died?

 

[LostinQuailLand]

They were a few days old. There were five all but this one died. Was weird they died one one day then one the next and then one the next until only this one survived. It seems to be doing very well. Lost me. All my other chicks hatched out and hatched out after these are doing quite well.

 

[JJMR794]

Bullying Doesnt Really Happen Until 2-3 Wks Old With Bobs. More Likely You Had Babies That Werent Eating? Its Kind Of Common With These Guys. They Will Instinctively Drink And Seek Out Water, But Have To Learn To Eat. They Drop 1 Or 2 A Day For Up To 5 Days Post Hatch--- These Are Normally The Ones Who Dont Learn To Eat, Are Weak, Or Have Internal Defects. After About 5 Days All The Weak/ Stupid/ Mutant Chicks Die Off And The Strong Normal Healthy Ones Go On. Or Illness/ Environment May Also Have A Role In A Die Off? Hard To Tell For Sure Sometimes.

 

[LostinQuailLand]

Rechecked my quail chart and this group was 6 days old when this started. Ive not had an issue since! Thank you for your advice

 

[JJMR794]

6 Days Is A Bit Old For Starvation, They Usually Dont Make It Past 4 If That Long... May Have Been Illness?? There Are A Few That Are Transmitted Enutero In The Quail World. Sometimes Its Just So Hard To Say For Sure Without Seeing Them And Observing For Yourself If You Understand My Meaning. But 6 Days Is Awful Young For Brooder Deaths From Bullying. Brooder Maybe Too Hot/cold?? Perhaps Something Lacking In Their Diet? Or Maybe Bullying Vs Illness Vs Late Starvation. Unfortunately At This Point And Without Seeing Them It Kinda Falls Under The "god Only Kjnows" Category

I Hope Thats The Last Trouble You Have With Hatchlings. You Say The Next Batch Is Fine?

 

[LostinQuailLand]

I have not done anything different then I did with my very first batch of babies and they are fine healthy semi adults. However, the first go round of eggs from the first covey gave me a fit. Possibly, Im thinking, because it was the very first set of eggs produced from them? Maybe not. However, I did observe the one surviving chick of the set peck the legs and backs of one so that is what made me think bullying.

The newest batch (17) so far are doing well, with the exception of one of those guys. When I watch them via the top of the hatcher, it will peck at the others. Im thinking that he, too, is a Mutant, and a bully gonna be. But who knows.

I have three sets of different age groups of birds, no wait four if you cou nt the very first set. I have my oldest ones in a large pen and they are awaiting my quail house to be completed (soon I hope)

, then the first hatchlings four weeks old (have feathers already) in one brooder, then the Lone Wolf in another ( I feel sorry for it, it peeps ALOT I thnk because it is lonely

and now the newest babies which will go in a brooder by themselves. I have 125 in hatchers and have turned the lights down on the adults so they dont lay as many eggs.

My other question would be: With the eggs is there any way to get them all to hatch around the same time? Meaning, I have eggs hatching every other day because that is the way that I put them into the incubator. I gather eggs, let them sit a day or two and then put them into the incubator so that I didnt have 100 hatching at one time. However, i have learned that this is also equally as crazy as putting them in to hatch out at various days. I will end up with 50 brooders because of the age difference. So I guess my question after all of that ranting is Can I put different aged quail together?

Oh and one more question: Where did you learn all this information about quail? I see you all over the forums and you seem to know what you are doing. I did the floating that you advised and found that to be most helpful and a few of your other tricks of the trade.

 

[Sumatra503]

Was there a full moon any time around the deaths of your quail. This one might be a Werequail. LOL. Sorry, I couldn't resist that one.

Pretty much the only way to get your eggs to hatch at the same time is to set them at the same time. your eggs can be stored for a few days before you place them in the bator. So you can keep theggs until you have enough for a large batch and then set them at the same time.

You can put different aged quail together to an extent. They should not be more than a couple of days apart when they are babies. When the quail are full grown this shouldn't be a problem until breeding season.

As for the knowledge part, there are lots of good websites, like Quail Lady's site, that you can visit to learn a bit more. You can also try searching the forum.

I'm new to quail, but I know quite a bit about chickens. Most of it isn't from any books, I just learned from experience.

 

[JJMR794]

"Oh and one more question: Where did you learn all this information about quail? I see you all over the forums and you seem to know what you are doing. I did the floating that you advised and found that to be most helpful and a few of your other tricks of the trade"

I GOT IT THE OLD FASHIONED WAY--- I EARNED IT!

MOSTLY THROUGH TIME AND EXPERIENCE. I ALSO DID ALOT OF QUESTION ASKING TOO. I BREED/ RAISE MANY TYPE OF GAMEBIRDS, NOT JUST BOBS OR COTURNIX, I ALSO HAVE PHEASANT/ PARTRIDGE/ MIGRATORY WATERFOWL... ALOT OF THESE SPECES HAVE COMMON CHARACTERISTICS WHILE BEING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AT THE SAME TIME--- SOME THINGS YOU JUST LEARN AND RECOGNIZE THE MOMENT YOU SEE IT... OTHERS SNEAK UP ON YOU.

I STARTED LONG LONG AGO IN A GALAXY FAR FAR AWAY (LOL- SORRY) SERIOUSLY THO, I HAVE BEEN FOOLING WITH POULTRY AND GAMEBIRDS FOR A LONG TIME IN 1 CAPACITY OR ANOTHER. I STARTED WITH IT AS A HOBBY AND NOW I HAVE STATE AND FEDERALLY LICENCED GAME FARM. I HATCH THOUSANDS OF EGGS YEAR ROUND, THIS GIVES ME A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE TO DRAW FROM THAT WOULD TAKE THE AVERAGE BACKYARD HOBBYIST 2 OR 3 DECADES TO AMASS. AND LETS FACE IT IN ALOT OF SITUATIONS ITS EASIER SITTING ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN TO SEE THE PROBLEM THAN IT IS WHEN YOU'RE KNEE DEEP IN DIFFICULTY WRESTLING WITH IT ACTIVELY.