Hatching Bob Whites as I speak!!!!

[Kindle]

Anybody!!!!
I have babies hatching right now!!  I'm so excited!!!    What do I do next?  When do I feed them?  When I put them in a brooder box do I keep the temp the same (98)?  Will they eat game chow?  They are sooooo cute and tiny.  Have any other advise?   

Kindle

[Kindle]

Well just thought I've give somebody an update.  My babies are doing fine.  I've put them into a brooder box with the temp at 99.5.  They are eating, drinking and even pooping.  Yeah!!!  Six out of 13 have hatched.  I'm going to give the rest until Wed. that will be day 30 if nothing else happens I guess they didn't make it.  However I have 17 waiting for the bator.  Winters can be unpredictable here in Arkansas but they are usually fairly easy.  I am prepared for the worst just in case.  I think my only problem now will be harvesting.  How do you harvest something you've raised from the egg out?  I know this is why I'm doing it I'm just having a hard time wrapping my mind around it    .  My husband calls me Ellie Mae I guess if the shoe fits.......

Kindle (Ellie Mae) in Arkansas

[CharlieHorse]

Congrats!   

I can only assume you figured out what to feed them by the time you read this reply?  Lower temp 5 degrees per week until you reach ambient temperatures.

[Kindle]

Hi CharlieHorse,

Thank you for your reply I so appreciate any response from a veteran quail rancher.  I love my birds and enjoy them so much.  I ended up having only five make it.  One couldn't come out of the shell all the way and I believe that is why I only had five hatch out successfully.  I turned off the turner to soon.  I listened to the wrong advise from another web site and it said to quit using the turner at day 18 (of a 21 day incubation period) so they wouldn't drown.  I think what I've learned since then is that you do it three days before hatching.  My birds hatched out at day 28.  That was a lesson learned!  But they are two months old now and doing great!  I still can't tell if I have male or females; I think I have three females and two males.  If your interested I'll let you know.

I haven't harvested any birds yet my goal is to have about 100 before I do.  I would love to let some out to see if they make it in the wild.  Can captive birds learn to live in the wild?  I had a wild male get into the coop and would sleep next to the wire on top of the water box every night until one day I was able to catch him.  I felt bad for him because he came from the wild so I let him go.  Two months later I was able to catch him again.  This time I kept him in with the others.  He has a mate now; I guess its better to be with his mate than to be free.

One more thing...I think I have some pretty old birds.  They have a very thick beak and look a little taddered.  Is this a sign of old age for a quail?  What is their life span?  I've been told its about 18 months.  Is this correct?  Once again any advise would be great.

Actually I just thought of another question.  What do you know about food grade DE (diatomaceous earth) for mite and lice control for quail?

Thank You so much!!!!  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!   
Kindle (Ellie Mae)