Mike Cutler
08-03-2009, 4:44 PM
Well, this outta be pretty much way off topic but I know that there is a wide diversity of folks here on the board. Hopefully I can get a little knowledge as I've never raised quail, or chickens in my life:eek:.
A little background;
I bought 100, 1 day old quail chicks by mail a few weeks back to train my new Vizsla this fall. Three weeks ago to be exact. They are in a brooding chamber of a design I got from a Quail Forum. The brooder is 5' long 19" tall and 15" wide and divided into two equal size compartments. They are being brooded with a 250 watt brooder lamp from Tractor supply, hooked up to a programable thermostat. They have been on medicated layer crumbles since I got them. Water and litter are cleaned daily. They are kept in my shop right now, which is very quiet, and has only a small amount of ambient light.
Everything was going great for the first 3 or 4 days and then all of the sudden I started to lose chicks, 6-10 a night for about 4 days. (By my estimate I'm at about 60 quail right now.). It stopped as suddenly as it started,and I've only lost a couple since then. The ones I have brooded to this point appear to be pretty healthy and are trying to fly in the brooder right now. They seemed to run around in frenzy and trample each other during this time.
In the next few weeks they will be transferred to a 16'x20' pole barn on my property I have never used, sort of a giant, permanent "Johnny House", along with 10 other quail I have had in there for a few months.
My questions, finally, are. What could be the cause of the mortality rate of the chicks in days 4-7, and what can I do to prevent it next time? Secondly, how should I best go about introducing them to their new environment so as to not stress them and possibly begin to lose chicks again? Third, is it possible to winter over quail in southern New England in my barn, and how should I set it up?
I hope no one is offended that I intend to shoot these birds while training my dog.
It's a lot of work for birds I do intend to shoot someday, but a young pointer needs birds right?
TIA
Mike.
A little background;
I bought 100, 1 day old quail chicks by mail a few weeks back to train my new Vizsla this fall. Three weeks ago to be exact. They are in a brooding chamber of a design I got from a Quail Forum. The brooder is 5' long 19" tall and 15" wide and divided into two equal size compartments. They are being brooded with a 250 watt brooder lamp from Tractor supply, hooked up to a programable thermostat. They have been on medicated layer crumbles since I got them. Water and litter are cleaned daily. They are kept in my shop right now, which is very quiet, and has only a small amount of ambient light.
Everything was going great for the first 3 or 4 days and then all of the sudden I started to lose chicks, 6-10 a night for about 4 days. (By my estimate I'm at about 60 quail right now.). It stopped as suddenly as it started,and I've only lost a couple since then. The ones I have brooded to this point appear to be pretty healthy and are trying to fly in the brooder right now. They seemed to run around in frenzy and trample each other during this time.
In the next few weeks they will be transferred to a 16'x20' pole barn on my property I have never used, sort of a giant, permanent "Johnny House", along with 10 other quail I have had in there for a few months.
My questions, finally, are. What could be the cause of the mortality rate of the chicks in days 4-7, and what can I do to prevent it next time? Secondly, how should I best go about introducing them to their new environment so as to not stress them and possibly begin to lose chicks again? Third, is it possible to winter over quail in southern New England in my barn, and how should I set it up?
I hope no one is offended that I intend to shoot these birds while training my dog.
It's a lot of work for birds I do intend to shoot someday, but a young pointer needs birds right?
TIA
Mike.