Boy did I mess up...

[jeno99]

Keep us posted

[KP777]

I went home at lunch to check on them and spray some warm water on them... Don't hear anything, don't see anything... Will I be able to see any pipping just looking at them or do I need to candle in order to see this? What temp should they be at now? Thanks all!
-K

[faro]

The temp should be around 98-99 degrees.

 The humidity is very important right now. If they were in an incubator, you would not want to open it until the hatch is over.

Air flow is also important, so keep the pan partially (3/4) covered, and misting will help with humidity.

Try not to take the cover off the pan any more, just shine your light inside, and you will be able to see the pipping, no need to handle them at all now.

[KP777]

Thanks Faro! Will keep everyone posted on what happens. Now that I've felt and seen movement and it's day 24, how long should I wait for some hatching?
(I just have to throw in that this is one of the neatest most exciting things I've ever done and I can't express my appreciation enough of everyone's feedback!!)
-K

[KP777]

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!! Last night I sprayed some water on them and heard some cheaping, this morning I have 3 of 10 that have started pipping. I can hear them again this morning also. I'm continuing to spray with water, keeping them warm and hoping and praying for the best! If they make it I will need to buy another heat lamp probably to move them to a dry area, is that correct? The other 7 haven't done anything else yet... but the day's not over! Thank you all so much for help, advice and just being here!
                                       
-Kristin
Cottonwood,AZ

[topknot1]

yes you will need to get another heat lamp for the brooder area. You can put them in a plastic tub but make sure that you put papertowels or even that new type of shelve liner the kind that is like vinyl for the flooring in the brooder, you will need a waterer but you need to make sure that you put marbles or stones in it to make sure they don't drown in it. You can start by putting their food on the papertowel. Make sure that the tub is big enough that they can have a heated area and a cooler area to escape to much heat. I would give them some mashed hard boiled eggs for the added protein to start, and put a little sugar in the water. Wow this was amazing and I wish you luck with the next steps. Let us know how you do!!!!

[quailfriend]

LOL that is a heck of a miracle. Have you got any chicks yet?
even if they don't hatch this whole thing wasn't in vain. you got pipping out of a home made incubator. thats awsome. great job and congrats

[KP777]

So as I said, 3 had started pipping last Friday morning. By the time late Friday night rolled around, they had not done any more than a small hole. It was obvious they were not going to make it out on their own even as much as they were cheaping and kicking in there.
To sum it up ---- 5 of the 10 eggs quit moving and I could see in a few that they hadn't finished forming. With 5 eggs left, 1 died before it made it out, 1 died shortly after making it out .... but I am thrilled to let you know I have 3 happy, healthy and feisty little babies.      
We had to help all of them break open the shell, my attempt at humidity was not enough, the shells were very hard and even the membrane inside was dry. We used a safety pin starting from the hole the chicks made and carefully chipped off the shell in a circle to make their escape door. Once the top was off, I put some warm water on my finger tip and wet the edges of the shell/membrane to give them some moisture so they could finish getting out by themselves. It was so dry they were stuck in there and couldn't even push the rest of the way out. The warm water around the edges worked like a charm, one actually kicked itself out right in my hand.  :)  
I worked with 2 for hours giving them water and keeping them moving around to want to stay alive. One of them was a real fighter from the beginning, hopping all around, drank on it's own only after a couple times of showing it. We're not sure how to tell (or if you can this early) if they're male or female but 2 of them are more calm compared to the one. It is very aggressive, was pecking at the others when they were trying to nap, it runs all over and it also has spikes of fur/feathers on the very top of it's head when it stands real straight up or gets excited. Could this be a male and the other 2 female?
Well, again thank you all so very much for the feedback, the advice, suggestions and sharing this wonderful experience with me! I want to keep them so I will be back with more questions I'm sure! Actually, I am curious...  If I do have a male and 2 females, will they or can they breed later? Or is this a big No-No since they're from the same hatch? Thanks again!!!
-Kristin

[faro]

Well done Kristen!!!

Thanks for letting us share in the "fun". You made us wait wayyyy to long though :lol:  It is still exciting for me to watch them hatch!

You will have to wait till they get their adult feathering before you can tell male from female. Usually about 7-8 weeks, they will begin to get their coloring. The males will start to get black on their faces, and a little rusty colored patch on top of his head. Both will have the topknot, so that is not an indication of sex.

You should not breed siblings, this is called inbreeding, and not a good idea, but if they are just for pets, it won't hurt anything.

Good luck with the babies!

[KP777]

Thank you Faro! I'm pretty proud of myself  :lol: !! Sorry to keep everyone waiting so long for the updates!  :)  My internet is down at home so I can only sneak on here from work Mon through Fri  8) . When they finally hatched last Friday night I wanted to jump on here soooo bad to tell everyone! The weekend wouldn't go by fast enough, I was so excited to update you guys!  
The chicks are still doing very well, very active, alert, eating and drinking plenty, they think I'm their mom  :lol: . I've read a couple things on here though that some chicks will be doing fine for a week or 2 or even 3, but then all of a sudden they die....    I do not want this to happen!!! Is this very common? Is it more common with a bunch of chicks as opposed to just a few? Is there any way to prevent this?
Also... my husband says he thinks they're doing so well we should build a pen for them outside and take them out during the day this weekend when it's warm out.... I say NO it's WAY too soon to be doing that, they need to stay in the brooder... How many weeks on average should they be in the brooder? I'm not positive what kind of quail they are, I've read that makes a difference. The consensus is that they are Gambles or Gambels (spelling?).....
Once again, MANY THANKS!!!!!!      
-Kristin
Cottonwood, AZ

[faro]

Kristen...I had no idea you were wanting to update us just as bad as we wanted an update!  :roll:   I really thought none had hatched, and you were still waiting...I'm glad it turned out so well!

Quail chicks are very delicate...and you are right to wait a while till they are older to put them outside for the day. They do have a tendency to "die for no apparent reason!" But with the wild quail, hopefully this will not be a problem...I believe that alot of the problems we have with chicks, is caused from the breeding stock....not the chicks "will to die". The wild quail should stand a better chance of survival.

You should know that they will be able to fly out of a box at about 3 weeks, so you will need a cover of some type on your brooder. They will be able to go outside, without heat, at about 6-7 weeks, when they are fully feathered out. Make sure you prepare them for this by lowering the temp every week about 5 degrees till they are off the heat for a week or two before they go out .

You should be feeding them a gamebird or turkey starter, which is about 28-30% protein. I use a medicated feed, but some do not.

Hope you have great luck with them....and keep us posted on their progress.....maybe pics??? :lol:

[KP777]

Thank you again Faro! I have been feeding them a gamebird starter we got at the feed store and also some mashed up hard boiled egg a couple times a day (seems really cannibalistic to me but they love it). I have a leopard gecko also and I gave the chicks a meal worm torn in half and squashed a bit --- THEY ATTACKED IT!! I'm out of worms right now, will have to get some more.. My husband says they need to have some greenery to eat too, we tossed a little lettuce in there last night and they were VERY interested, like "what the heck is this stuff???" they pecked it a bit then fought a little over some of it. Any thoughts on greenery? They've all been following my finger and pecking at the food and eating but yesterday at lunch time one of them started scratching at the ground/food with it's feet so I guess that means they're getting the idea.  

Last night was a big concern... I'm keeping them in an aquarium in my bedroom with the door shut at all times (my daughter has a cat). When we went to bed last night I spent a few minutes pecking at the food with the chicks and then got in bed. One of them started freaking out, running/pacing back and forth, back and forth the side of the aquarium and cheaping VERY loud with it's neck crooned way up..... like it was looking for me??? My husband said I shouldn't let them start doing that pacing thing because they'll drive themselves crazy. He suggested putting the cage on the floor so they could get a different view of things. I tried that and the little guy still kept pacing and cheaping. I was worried about a draft down there so I moved them back up on the table. I stuck my hand back in there and it immediately stopped pacing and cheaping... When I took my hand back out, it started again. I decided to just leave it alone and see if it would stop and finally within about 7 minutes it stopped and went to sleep. This morning it seemed fine and didn't do any more pacing and cheaping. Should I be concerned about this?  Maybe a larger brooder would be better for more running around space?    I don't want it to go crazy or hurt itself or anything.

My husband used to raise ALL kinds of birds when he was growing up and says if the birds started pacing like that in the pens and wouldn't stop they would rub themselves raw on the fence... I don't think the chicks can hurt themselves in the aquarium but it was moving soooo fast and freaking out sooo much I was scared it was gonna have a little heart attack or something. Any feedback is MUCH appreciated!!!!  

Also, the temp they're at right now I am not able to keep constant/steady... It ranges from about 95-100, they don't seem to mind. The heat lamp is pointed towards one side of the tank and it's cooler on the other side, they go to both sides for sleeping. Will work on getting some pics of course!!! Have been kicking myself since they were still eggs that I don't have a camera ready!!!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!  

[pocketsierra]

I believe the pacing and running around is fairly normal for quail chicks. I have some valley chicks just out of the incubator that run around like crazy. I'd like to say, hey, there's the food, and there's the water, and there's the warm spot but they don't listen. I wouldn't be too worried if they do stop like you've said.

The straining neck and cheaping loud is a signal that they have become lost from the rest of the covey. When they are small, their brains haven't developed very far. So all they have to do is turn around and they think they are lost.

The other things you toss in are treats, but the gamebird starter has all the nutrition they need.

Some very basic things you can do to maximize health:
Floor: make sure it is rough and not smooth for the first week - use shelf liner, rough paper, etc.
Water that they can't drown in. Put some marbles or rocks in there if there is more than a half inch of space.
Food: gamebird starter or turkey starter.
Change water often at first even if they haven't drank it all, because they mess it up. Soon enough, they'll drink it fast enough that thet wont' be a concern.
Temperature: Warm spot at 95 deg or so, reduced by 5 degrees a week. This is not an exact temperature like with an incubator. Turn off the heat for a while and see what sound they make. That's what they'll say if they are too cold.  And they won't get too warm as long as they can get away from the heat.

It takes them a few days to take to the food and water. I've had a few hatches, and every time I wonder if they will ever eat or drink. And they do.


Nathan

[KP777]

Thank you Nathan! I have their water in a coaster (you know, to set your drink on  :lol: ) I have a couple marbles in it also and they are all drinking from it fine. They also like to run through it and yes, it gets very messy so I clean it out and put fresh water in it morning, noon and a couple times at night. I'm thinking maybe I should find some kind of other watering system? I don't know if the floor is "rough" enough... I have lined the bottom with layered paper towels, bumpy side up... Is this not rough enough? Why do they need a rough floor? Also, my husband says they need to have some dirt, they need to eat little rocks or something for their gizzard? Should I put some sand/dirt in there with them?
Thx!
Kristin

[topknot1]

Kristen
I think its great that you had this wonderful experience and that you have shared it with all of us here. I think all the information has been a great help to all. I don't think the meal worms is such a great idea at this point in time only do to the fact that at this young age they will start to look for them on the ground and begin to pick at each others toes thinking they are meal worms, this could cause some problems in the future. As far as the greenery this I believe is good for them in case you are ever thinking of letting them back into the wild. Gambles are fairly hard to raise , I would suggest you add some vitamins and electrolytes to their water for the first couple of weeks. You can purchase this at the feed store. They sell it in a package that says vitamins and electrolytes souble for poultry. This can't hurt. Thanks again for this wonderful experience, it gives hope to all. Congrats!!!!!!