Why do my Quail babies keep dying? UPDATED WITH PICS!

[msteresaann]

How long did you incubate? Bobwhites take seven days longer than button quail. Quail eggs are all small but you would definitely see a difference between bobwhites and buttons. I have never hatched coturnix quail but I would assume they would be similar in size and hatch time as bobwhites.

 

[msteresaann]

The aggressive problems don't usually start until they are a little older. It can happen all of a sudden and without any apparent reason. They can be vicious little buggers. I take any trouble makers out and put them in a separate cage for a few days. I find it funny that the bullies will than huddle together in their isolation. When I put them back with the group, they behave themselves. At least, that's how it's worked for me. Just watch them close and often.

 

[BjsBestGirl]

they all took 18 days to pip and were hatched by day 20. we had LOTS that were not hatched in the end. i didnt know they take longer! there might have been GOOD babies in there! all the eggs were the same general size. but they were wierd. like some of the eggs litterally looked like halc cutornix half button. for example, half one egg was white with brown spots and the other half of the egg was VERY dark with very dark spots. it was funny. one of the posts on here shows a comparison of eggs and myne were half and half. they were very pretty. like painting an egg for easter nd you dip one half in pne color and the other half in another. thats a good example of how some eggs were colored. good example, one chick weighs 1.12 oz , and another only weighs 0.51 oz but were born together. i say the .51 is a button and the 1.12 is a cutornix. the .51 is white and the other is brown and tiger striped. we have other white ones that are the same size as the 1.12.

p.s. i cant believe its only been a week and theyre already trying to fly! they have their flight feathers too!

 

[msteresaann]

Buttons hatch in 16 days but can take up to 18 or 19. Bobwhites hatch in 23 days and can also take a day or two longer. Mine have always hatched on schedule with an occasional straggler. I took a quick look on the net and it said coturnix hatch in 17 days. My bobwhite eggs are all white and my button's are light to dark brown with some being speckled. I even have one button that lays green eggs with no spots. I sometimes get those two tone eggs when they start laying.
If I had to guess, I think you either have coturnix or buttons. I am leaning towards coturnix based on incubating time. Could you tell by David's (Plain_View_Farm) Picture what size eggs you had. Size would tell, more so than color between buttons and coturnix.
Have you had one crow yet? I had one not two days old, standing on its tippy toes crowing the night away. They were in the room that is off our bedroom; yep, it didn't make DH too happy. eheheh! I thought it was too cute.

 

[BjsBestGirl]

the eggs were all different sizes. we also has 5 all white eggs. i dont think they have "Crowed" yet. i have been hearing weird noises, thougth. can i tell the sex baced on wing feathers like with chicken?

 

[JJMR794]

post pix and we'll tell you what they are...

 

[Quail_Cottage]

Quote:
I hatched 21 this time, they were mixed coturnix and I've been weighing them since hatch. They are 2 weeks old today. 14 (2/3 of total) hatched on day 18 with the remaining 7 on day 19. So some are technically 1 day younger (and it makes a big difference). The tibetans were all hatched on the second day along with 2 white and 2 browns.

At 1 day old they were between 7g and 12g.

At one week they were between 22g and 50g.

At 2 weeks they are between 54g and 108g.

The last born, a white is the 54g and the largest is a brown, maybe a jumbo, is double the size of the baby.

I have 9 whites who all average 71g (54g-85g),
9 browns average 91g (80g-108g)
3 tibetan 64g, 65g & 70g.

So you may have all coturnix, they grow at dramatically different rates.

 

[BjsBestGirl]

How do i add pictures?

 

[BjsBestGirl]

Ok, here are some pictures. Theyre fighsty little buggers. They kept moving. P.S. I dont have any more tiny ones. The last one died lastnight. Not sure why. It was all by itself in a corner; maybe it got too cold.



My red one ^ with gray "eyebrows"



Another of my red one ^



Fatty- the biggest one ^ Cutornix?



The back of Fatty ^



White/Yellow mini one ^



Mini again wants to be a parrot ^



Mini just didnt want to stay still ^



Silver ^



Another that looks like Fatty ^



Half the lot ^



the other half -3 ^



Silver ^



Red face ^



Mini ^



size comparison of Fatty and mini ^

I didnt get a pic, but some white/yellow ones have brown spots on their head and sre the same size as Fatty. the super mini ones were 25% SMALLER than mini!

 

[Quail_Cottage]

well I am not at all an expert on colors, but it looks like you have either English white or Texas A&M (from what I understand larger white birds), some regular brown coturnix, redish ones look like tibetans ( I have some which I thought were going to be tuxedos until I posted pics and was corrected), and the lighter striped are goldens (?) I didn't get any that color. My whites are starting to get a few brown feathers on the top of their heads and their backs too. I have two darker chestnut colored tibetans and one more cinammon color, but they all had the same lighter eyebrows. Hope that helps, sorry that small one didn't make it. How many did you end up with?