New baby Gambels quail

[Accidental Daddy]

Hi all,
I accidently became a new daddy today when I disrupted a quail nest in my garage.  Not knowing what cycle the eggs were in I set them outside on a rock for the Ravens and lo and behold one of the babies hatched out in the sunshine!  So HOW do I take care of this new little addition to my family?  I have five more eggs and it sounds like at least one is peeping and will hatch.. so I'm also an expectant father and don't have a clue.  I just read in one of the posts that quail don't feed their young?  I can see me now walking through the desert with five baby quail following me around so they can have their feeding time!    

I've put the hatchling and eggs in a box with a towel inside for the time being with a heating pad (on low) underneath.. but I can't regulate the heat any better than that.  Any help would be appreciated.. or if you know of anyone in northern AZ who would be interested in adopting a small family of quail!  Thanks!
All the best,
Jon

[faro]

Well the chicks will need a feed of 28-30% protein...turkey starter will work fine. You cannot just take a walk with the new chicks thru the desert and expect them to feed... lol They also need 95 degress heat the first week and 5 degrees less each week. A 75-100 watt bulb works great for this. After they are fully feathered (6 weeks) they can go outside providing the temps are mild.

 You can try spritzing the eggs with water, 2 or 3 times a day....the eggs need humidity to hatch, so the one that hatched was probably ready to hatch right then....any others probably will not hatch due to drying of the egg membrane.


Good luck finding a new home for the chick....there should be alot of people in your area that can raise the chick.   Otherwise....they make cute pets!!!

[Accidental Daddy]

Thanks for the help Faro.  I ended up with three out of five eggs hatching and they're doing fine so far.  I think it was the lack of moisture that kept a fourth from hatching because it started but the little one died in the process.  I discovered that mama laid a blank egg and the last of the six broke when it fell from the nest initially, but I figure under the circumstances three out of five isn't bad.  I created a natural habitat for them with soil and plants from outside and put it in a large rectangular tub with a heating pad underneath for warmth.  I've also been griding meal for them and giving them some of my organic greens to eat and they like that so much they fight over it.  Mom did come back the next day to check on her nest, but unfortunately I didn't know she was in the garage when I opened the door and she flew out and I haven't seen her since.  So I've decided I'm going to keep them until they feather out and then set them free near a covey.  Thanks again for all of your help.. I appreciate it.
Jon