COTURNIX QUAIL
(Page 3 of 6)
Domestic quail have lost the brooding instinct ...thus their eggs must be either hatched artificially or set by a hen of another species. (Banties are very accommodating in this respect.) Choose a lightweight bird for setting, preferably one without feathers on her legs that might harbor lice. Every effort should be made, in fact; to use hens that are free from disease and parasites of any kind. Even bantam chickens that appear to be healthy might transmit diseases to delicate quail chicks.
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If you opt for hatching your eggs with a hen, get a nest box and put it in a shaded, protected location. Arrange the dirt inside the box in a bowl shape, and line the depression with fine straw or hay. Finally, fill the nest with culled or dummy eggs. At dusk, select your already broody feathered foster mother and put her on the nest. After you're sure that she's intent on setting, wait until she's left the nest to feed and then replace the dummy eggs with 16 to 20 fertile ones. Check the clutch each morning while the hen is eating breakfast, and remove any broken eggs or droppings. On the sixteenth day of incubation, the eggs should hatch ...resist the temptation to peek, though, since the hen should be left alone during that time.
You can either allow the bantam to care for the chicks or simply put them in a brooder. If you want the hen to do the honors, though, confine the tiny babies with her in order to give them an opportunity to learn her language.
On the other hand, if you use an artificial incubator, don't assume that you know how to use the product ...read the manufacturer's instructions. Then allow the incubator to run for a day or two before you put in the eggs. Once they're in place, turn them every four hours or at least four times each day-but do not disturb them after the fifteenth day. Throughout the incubation period, keep still-air incubator temperatures at 102 to 103°F. Forced-air incubator temperatures should be a little lower, around 99 to 100°F. In both types, the humidity should be kept at 60%. During hatching you'll need to lower the temperature 1/2 to 1°F and increase the humidity by 10%.
It may seem cruel to do so, but resist the temptation to help weak chicks from the shell. Such birds generally die in the brooder, or-if they survive-develop into sickly, inferior adult quail. Those chicks that do peck their way successfully into the world should be allowed to fluff out and dry before being put in the brooder.
Finally, the incubator must be cleaned thoroughly after each hatch. (Remember, the best way to control disease is to prevent it! )
CHICK CARE
Newborn quail need at least ten square inches of brooding pen space each. If a heat lamp is used, it should be placed 18 inches from the floor and covered with wire mesh to prevent the litter from touching the bulb and igniting. Connect the heat source a day before the quail are due to hatch in order to have the brooder area warm and ready. Then, for their first hour or so, keep the little fluffies confined under the heat unit. (Later on, the best indication that all is well in your brooder is a good distribution of baby birds over the floor.)
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