Japanese quails

Faye · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2011 6:16 pm

Day 20 About 8 hatched out, hard to count as they are a bit like fish really don't keep still and floudering around a lot hehehehe.

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With oh so many hatched out and not wanting them to starve we decided to move them to the "Brooder". This is made from an esky, red with white lid and obviously insulated. The base is lined with newspaper, topped with sawdust and then a layer of paper towel to stop them slipping and sliding. They have feed which is the same as a chick starter and a water cap with blue metal to stop them from drowning. the heat lamp provides a balmy 37 degrees or there abouts.

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Faye · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2011 6:17 pm

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Faye · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2011 6:26 pm

Day 21

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We have to be very careful to put the esky lid on at night as the Jandakot temps drop quite a lot. Apparently the quails were not moving much this morning as the temp plummeted below the optimum and was well below 30 degrees. Wouldn't that be heartbreaking?
Some of them look lifeless at times and one still struggles with its legs either side of its body, very weak. We just lost one, no idea, maybe he was the one the others used as a step to get up into the feed bowl as well as down again lol.

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Peasants · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 9:04 am

They look fantastic! :thumb:

Faye · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 1:40 pm

Two more hatched over night and have been transferred to the brooder. There are feathers and feet sticking out of a couple of eggs and one chick left to egg them all on to come out and play.
Not sure how many days this will go on for and I assume that the number of times the lid gets moved probably lessens the chances of more hatching. We have mixed dozens of chook eggs lined up, being turned daily ready to go in to the brooder.

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Faye · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 2:30 pm

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Faye · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 11:43 pm

The one with its foot sticking out of the shell, unfortunately was found upside down in the water bowl. It was transferred back to IQU (Incubator Quail Unit), but later was found dead.
This breeding animal thing is not for the faint hearted.

Faye · **Posted:** Sat Sep 10, 2011 12:12 pm

Well we are up to day 23 and it looks like we have 10 healthy chicks. The ones still in the incubator are struggling to get out of their shell and one is pictured upside down, I think they are probably no longer viable, which is unfortunate. Looking for a much greater success rate next time round.

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The overnight temps seem to be under control as the air conditioner in the office goes off and we just put the llid of the esky over more. Their water was dry this morning so me need to upgrade to a second one as they get bigger, drink more and are under heat there is also evaporation to consider.

Faye · **Posted:** Sat Oct 01, 2011 5:10 pm

Well the quails outgrew the esky pretty quickly and the smell in the office wasn't that great. They need constant feeding and water top ups and have now been moved to the brooder with clear view display. They have feathered up nicely and will shortly, very shortly be relocated to "Quailitry Towers".

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Faye · **Posted:** Sat Oct 01, 2011 5:13 pm

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Well they are nearly a month old and at 35 days could possibly start laying eggs :shock:

SmallFry · **Posted:** Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:19 pm

They do stink don't they - put 120 eggs in the incubator last year expecting about a 25% hatch rate... imagine my shock when I had just 96 hatch. The smell was overpowering! Had some lovely quail wrapped in bacon for Xmas BBQ though

Faye · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 4:04 pm

The quails are now 5 weeks old or 35 days old. Apparently it is the time that they should start laying eggs if they are female. They have been moved to the Quail Towers and have settled in nicely.
They have grown pretty quickly to adults.

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Snags · **Joined:** Wed Jul 07, 2010 10:52 pm **Posts:** 234

looking good
how many did you get?
Do they still need a light for heat?
For how long?
When do the boys start getting crispy fried?

Faye · **Posted:** Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:54 pm

Snags wrote:

looking good
how many did you get?
Do they still need a light for heat?
For how long?
When do the boys start getting crispy fried?

We ended up with a total of 8 out of 60, which is not great, but it has been a quite a learning curve.
They have plenty of feathers now but we are keeping the light on to prevent fox attack. It seems to be working, as they are all still present and accounted for.
I asked Joel if he had sexed the quails? :inspect:

and he promised me that he hadn't even gone near them. :ohdear:

I only wanted to know which were the males and females, will save that for another time soon. No plans have been made for their future at this point. Quail wrapped in bacon does sound mouthwatering though. Well done Smallfry! Most things wrapped in bacon or topped with cheese are pretty good. :thunbs:

earthbound · **Posted:** Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:14 pm

The things Faye accuses me of some times..... I don;t know..... :lol:

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Japanese quails

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