Farming Friends

Sara has sent me some more photos of her quail.

Hi Sara,  Just a few photos of the quail.  2 very odd coloured ones!!

Put them out today as so mild. 

This is the piebald one.

This one is a complete mystery. 

It is interesting to see and hear about sara’s quail as I learn so much from other people’s experiences.

If anyone knows what type of quail the unusual white quail is then we would be interested to know.

I was wondering if anyone could help me. One of my japanese quail is having trouble standing up. She is feeding and drinking well but she cannot stand and support her body. She cannot seem to easily get her legs underneath her and will shuffle along.
I wondered what was causing this could it be the feed?
I am providing my quail with pellets that has 18% protein. Do they need more greens?
Could it be due to male activity?
It has only happened to one of the females.
They are on a concrete floor with wood shavings in an avairy. Could the joints be affected because of the concrete. The quail in question does not like to be placed on the bricks that I have the feeder and drinker on but she is happy sitting on the wood shavings.
Any advice about leg problems in japanese quail would be great.

Prolapse is when the insides of the laying quail comes out of the vent area. This can be treated and the quail can survive, although sometimes the prolapse is so bad that the only answer is to cull the bird.

If a quail gets a prolapse it is important to wash the area and check that the insides have not been pecked at by the other birds. Once clean, you need to push the insides back into the bird using your little finger. It is important to make sure that your fingers are clean as well as the area and insides of the quail. When pushed back inside keep you finger their for about 20 seconds and then slowly pull out. Hopeful the insides will stay inside but if they do not repeat the procedure. Sometimes the quail will continue to get a prolapse over a number of days and this is said to be not uncommon. I have read that someone had to repeat the process over 10 days but then the bird was fine.

If you are concerned about your bird then you may wish to seek veterinary advice.

I had a quail with a small prolapse today and the quail hen is now ok.

One of my readers nils, who is a quail breeder, emailed me some information about quail layers mini pellets which I thought was useful information.

“Hi all,
I am a quail breeder based in Hampshire and have become aware of some feed that quails are fed that disallow their feathers to develop fully amongst other things. This is due to the low protein content in some of the feeds therefore please if you have any quail please ensure your protein feed is above 18% to reduce this problem.

Also now available are Quail Layers Mini Pellets which are specifically made for quail as the Poultry layers are simply too big for them.
These quail layers mini pellets can only be purchased via Marriages however you have to check on their website to see who the nearest stockist is. I also buy in bulk as I am a breeder and sell quail and egg to my buyers so I also sell on e-bay (ID: nilsuk) for 99p per 750g or you can collect - as I have been aware that many people cannot purchase directly from Marriages.

These quail pellets are not medicated as its for birds that are laying eggs. Any feed fed to any birds who lay eggs for production for consumption should be medicated.

Also for your info some suppliers sell poultry chicken crumb to quail buyers as there is no specialised quail crumb BUT the protein has to be 18% or their baby feathers do not develop fully and it gets inflamed and often cases of no feather growing. The size in quail fed on low protein and protein over 18% is quite obvious too.

The recommended feed guide for quail:

Chicken Crumb - 0 - 3 wks (but grind it for them for first couple of days)
Growers Pellets 3 - 6wks (Turkey are best as they have a high protein content of approx 22% but also once again not always available - only avail July to Dec as most suppliers stock them for turkeys)
Quail Layers Mini Pellets - 6wk onwards” Nils

Thanks Nils for this useful informtion about quail layers mini pellets.

I now have over a hundred laying quail on the farm and as you can imagine I am really busy at the moment looking after the quail, collecting the eggs and trying to sell all the quail eggs.

My husband, Steve and I are really pleased with the packaging we have designed and the name Hugo House is after my husband’s Grandfather who was a butcher and farmer and lived on the farm that we now live on. Unfortunately I never got to meet Steve’s Grandad but I am sure that I would have loved him and wish that he could be here now to see all the animals that I have returned to the farm.

My brother-in-law thinks it’s funny how they spent years slowly getting rid of the animals his Grandad had and now I am bringing them back to the farm, he often wonders what animal will return next!

I am beginning to supply farmshops and delicatessens with my quail eggs as well as some pubs and restaurants.

Today I also managed to organise a pitch at a local Farmer’s Market so the third Saturday in September I will be calling out, “Roll up, roll up, get yer Hugo House Quail Eggs here!”

Danielle contacted me about the quail eggs in her incubator:

Hi, I am incubating some Japanese quail for the first time, although I have hatched ducks before. It is now day 24, 3 chicks hatched 2 days ago and another 1 began to hatch yesterday but hasn’t come out yet so I started to take some of the shell off, but the membrane inside has bled a little so I have left it alone.

I know they are already really late and I don’t know whether to open the other eggs yet or what to do with the one that is hatching, any advice?

Also 2 of the chicks that have hatched are having a lot of trouble with standing up, although they can push quite hard against my hand, they don’t seem able to balance and fall onto their backs each time. Does anyone know what the problem could be because the other chick is fine so far? Danielle

I sent this reply;

Hi Danielle,
I hope that a few more of the eggs have hatched for you since you sent this comment. I am sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you.
Sometimes I help the chicks if the egg has been pipped for a while. Whilst you have to work fast you also have to be careful that they don’t bleed which is not easy when you are trying to keep them warm as well. I hope that this chick survived. I know that when I help the chicks hatch it is best to try to remove as much of the inner membrane as possible so that when the egg & chick are placed back in the incubator the membrane does not dry onto the chick making it even more difficult for the chick to hatch. I have also found that the best thing is to try to remove as much of the egg shell except around the bottom and then the membrane until their is just a cup shaped shell left where the chick will still be attached. i try to make sure that the head and legs are out of the shell making it easier for the chick to get out of the remaining egg when it is placed back in the incubator.
If I have opened the incubator I will sometimes top up the water to help the humidity as this can sometimes help a few more eggs to hatch.
When eggs go past the hatching date I tend to leave them in the incubator and don’t open the eggs unless one pips and is taking a long time to hatch.
The 2 chicks that are having trouble standing up. Do they have splayed legs? If they do then use a bandaid to straighten their legs again and this should help them to stand up. Here is a link http://www.farmingfriends.com/splayed-legs-in-quail/
Again I am sorry for the delay with this reply.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends

I was delighted when Danielle got back to me:

Hi
Thanks for your reply. I got the chick out of it’s shell, unfortunately it died today, maybe because it’s toes never opened out and it seemed quite week and wobbly. The other 2 chicks with problems walking also died. I now only have 1 chick, this one appears to be health, it is eating, drinking and running around, It has grown quite a lot and hasn’t had any problems yet, so hopefully this one will survive.
I would really like to try hatching quail again, but hopefully with much more success. If you could give me any tips or suggestions on how to improve I would really appreciate it. Also will the remaining chick be ok on it’s own for a while or does it need urgent company?
Thank you for your advice.

Again I replied:

Hi Danielle,
I am so sorry that 3 of your quail chicks didn’t make it. It is always sad when they have such a hard time getting out into the world.
I hope that your survivor is doing well. Quail chicks love lettuce shredded up.I wonder whether the 2 quail that had problems walking may have had splayed legs which can sometimes happen if they slip on a surface. I don’t know what you have on the floor of the brooder but a litter such as corrugated cardboard with straw on the top or carpet is good so that they don’t slide around. I tend not to use sawdust straight away as they can sometimes mistake the sawdust for food.
I place marbles in the drinker so that they don’t fall into the water but it also allows me to have a big drinker in the brooder so that they don’t get dehydrated.
You asked if your chick needs company. Quail are quite territorial birds so I think that if it is possible to get some young quail or to hatch some more eggs then I would do this sooner rather than later so that they are more likely to mix together and your lone chick doesn’t become too dominant.
I look forward to hearing about your little quail. If you have any photos then I would love to see them.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends

Hi, thanks for your reply. The remaining quail chick is still doing fine and beginning to get a few feathers coming around it’s wings.

I kept the chicks on paper kitchen towel from hatching, I thought this would be ok as it was quite bumpy, not the flat slippy stuff. I then changed it to a teatowel just incase that would help. The chick is now on woodshavings as its bigger and doesn’t look quite so lost.

I have attached a couple of pics of the chick from about 2 days ago. Danielle

Here are the pictures of Danielle’s lovely 2 day old quail chick.

I look forward to following the progress of Danielle’s quail.

If you have a hatching story and photos that you would like to share with farmingfriends then please leave a comment. Thanks.

hey i have recently hatched some partridge and after 2 days on the brooder that is homemade they have started to die. i have no idea why, they all started feeding and drinking once put in the brooder. they just seem to lack strength. do you have any tips to raising partridge from a day old? i have done ducks and pheasants before and they were all successfull in to adulthood.

Hi Michael,
I had a partridge chick placed in my guinea fowl keet brooder by my father-in-law when I was at work. http://www.farmingfriends.com/theres-an-impostor-in-the-brooder/ The brooder had carpet on the floor so that the chick and keets didn’t get splayed legs. I fed them chick crumbs and gave them shredded lettuce. I placed marbles in the drinker so that the chicks could still have a drink but wouldn’t fall into the water.
I would avoid sawdust/shavings on the floor to begin with as the chicks can often peck the shavings mistaking them for food.
I think that the best litter for the floor is corrugated cardboard with straw on the top.
I hope you find this information useful, if you have any specific questions then let me know. I look forward to hearing more about your partridge.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends