Whats the difference? Because apparently there is one.

[Whitehouse Quail]

What's the difference between quail and chicken brooding? I can raise numerous hatches of chickens, but once I hatch out quail, they die after the first week. I even had chickens and quail hatch at the same time, and all the chicks lived to adulthood, while all the quail died. Any advice?

 

[jelmer]

if you hatch them in a incubator i think they need difrent temperature and humididty then chickens do

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

They actually hatched fine, but about 4 days, when they all look healthy, they start dropping like flies.

 

[farmin'chick]

When I have baby quail, I feed them sporting bird starter, (medicated) and I grind it up in a food processor for the first week. Are your babies eating, drinking, pooping? I also lower the temperature in the brooder every 4 days or so instead of every week like chickens.

Also, you need to be sure you are using quail waterers, or that you have filled the water tray with rocks or marbles -- they drown very easily. I buy the quail size waterer tray that attaches to a quart jar, and put beads in it.

They also really REALLY need to be kept out of a draft for the first couple of weeks. Out of my last hatch of 13/14 I lost one baby to head boinking (bashing his head on the screen top) and one to "failure to thrive..." I missed it when he quit eating when I switched them off ground food to regular food.

Success to you in your future efforts.

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

Thanks for the advice. They have a heatlamp that I just lowered, and they seemed to need that, but they have no drafts, and they do have a quail waterer, and they are eating/drinking/pooping. I hope it is getting better; it seems to be!

 

[kwynn's birds Alaska]

I was having the same prob with my quail before I lost them all to irresponsible neighbors. I found that the quail did much better with a higher protein feed.