Urgent quail advice needed

14 Jun 2011, 00:34

yes i've done same as monotwine many times , just dont add a color chick the parent dont have or they notice and attack it

14 Jun 2011, 11:23

A good idea that some of the old time quail breeders used was a "Quail box" about half a metre square and 15cms tall. Made of wood with wire over the top. As soon as mum hatches you slip the whole family, including any remaining eggs under it (it has no bottom) and they live there for the 1st week. Or if you have an agressive dad he gets to stay outside the box.
LML

14 Jun 2011, 11:35

Thank you for those replies. Will keep those tips in mind. For now all quail chicks going well, sold one clutch, waiting for the others to colour up fully.

Having learned from experience we now remove each dad once the chicks' body is almost fully feathered but still have downy head. Seems to work so far.

14 Jun 2011, 11:40

Just my opinion but. I never remove a Dad unless he attacks his chicks. And if they are coloured (never mind the head) I remove them not him. He thinks his job is to drive them away when they are old enough so they will find their own territories.
By letting them stay if they are not aggressive they do a better job. Or at least it has worked with mine. But any agressive bird is not kept round here. So I now have a line that is so passive my main pair have 4 fully coloured young still with them.
LML

14 Jun 2011, 11:52

We have had a traumatic experience where dad pecked his young's eyes out and we had to have the chick put down. So we are now terrified of going through the same thing again and don't trust any males... Dad is very doting and attentive, but clearly turns at some point.

14 Jun 2011, 12:26

I have found that if I have only one pair in an avairy they are fine, but if I have another hen or older chicks when new ones hatch there are problems. I have had the father attack the spare hen when the other hen's eggs hatch on one occasion, the older chicks another time, and once the newly hatched chicks rather than the older chicks. Mind you these all happened when I only had one aviary and no holding cages, so no good way to separate them. This was all the same pair. And yet another occasion I had a baby zebra finch fall from a damaged cane nest (I have learnt not to use these when there are parrots in the avairy) and when I went looking for it found it under the hen quail. She was sitting on eggs at the time and thought she would keep this one warm I guess. It was amusing however when I saw the little beak come up chirping for a feed. She didn't know what it wanted so just fluffed herself up more to cover it up.( I took the baby and it's parents inside in a spare cane nest where they finished raising it successfully)

14 Jun 2011, 21:12

I can't count the number of fledgling finches my quail hens have adopted over the years. Very useful to have a nice quiet hen to help them on those little bit too cool for comfort nights. So I have never had a night warming light. How old were the chicks that had their eyes pecked Flap? Biggest problem I have had is if mum hatches a 2nd batch the 1st try to help and can kill their younger sibs pushing them arround. So remove them pronto in these circumstances.
LML

14 Jun 2011, 22:18

HI FB, it was one chick, male, he was fully feathered from memory. So around 4-5wks old maybe?