December 12th 2007

Quail Chicks Development

The quail chicks are doing well.

  • It only takes quail chicks an hour or so before they start to peck for food and begin to drink.
  • The chicks soon start to scratch the ground and quail have fairly large which allows them to scratch.
  • Within a few days of hatching some of the chicks had already started to call out. I think this may be the males as they were trying to stand up tall as they called out.
  • The male chicks produce a louder call.
  • The female chicks have a quiet cooing type call.
  • After a few days the quail were beginning to try to flutter their wings.
  • Within a week their wing feathers have started to develop.

Did you know?

  • It is only 6 weeks between hatching and laying eggs for quail hens.
  • By week 3 it should be possible to clearly identify the male and female quail chicks.

Click on the image below to visit Amazon.co.uk to find out more about this book or visit one of the Farming Friends Bookshops.

Quail, Past and Present (Gold Cockerel)

 

 

 

Posted in: Game Birds, Quail

7 Comments »

  1. Fascinating information. Actually makes me glad we never ventured into quail rearing - I’d probably have trodden on most and the goats would have done for the rest!

    Comment by Dragonstar — December 15, 2007 @ 3:24 pm

  2. Hi Dragonstar,
    I am glad that you found this interesting. yes they are very small and I will have to be very careful when they move into the hut that my husband is currently building.
    Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
    sara @ farmingfriends

    Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — December 20, 2007 @ 6:32 pm

  3. Thanks for this information on rearing the quail

    I have aquired 7 quail eggs and they look the same as yours

    we are in the process of turning them a few times a day on a heat pad

    whats the next thing we need to look out for?

    Comment by Jim — June 27, 2008 @ 4:16 pm

  4. Hi Jim,
    Thanks very much for visiting my website and leaving such a nice comment.
    If your quail eggs are japanese quail then they take 17 days to hatch out. You need to stop egg turning at day 15 and then watch for signs of the eggs starting to pip (crack open with the chicks beak).
    If the quail are bobwhite quail then the incubation period is 23-24 days and egg rotation should stop on day 21.
    Once egg turning has stopped then you need to be watching out for any cracks in the shell or holes where the chick’s beak has pipped the egg. You may also hear little cheeps as well which is a sure sign that hatching is near to happening.
    Good luck with your eggs and let us know how you get on.
    Kind regards
    Sara @ farmingfriends

    Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — July 9, 2008 @ 6:17 pm

  5. Hi I have just hatched my first japanese quail and your advise came in really handy I have six that hatched out of seven eggs other one was not fertile they are two days old now and calling away. Thanks for your help.

    Comment by Ruth — July 14, 2008 @ 3:09 pm

  6. we tryed to hatch quail eggs in class and when the hatched they all died. we are trying to find out why they died. we know three of them drown, that was our fault but the rest of them just died. do you know what we did wrong? e-mail us back please.

    thanks

    Comment by megan and sydney — November 3, 2008 @ 12:42 pm

  7. Hi Megan and Sydney,
    Your class must be very exciting with hatching quail. I am sorry to hear that they died. You can stop them from drowning by puttng marbles or pebbles in the drinker so that they can still get the water but won’t fall in and drown. They can also die of starve outs or dehydration when they don’t get enough food or water. Did you have heat in the brooder because the quail need to have a heat lamp and litter on the floor such as sawdust or straw to stop them slipping and getting splayed legs. I prefer straw as they don’t try to eat the straw as they can mistake sawdust for food.
    I hope that you have another go at hatching and that you have success as quail are delightful birds. Have you tried ducks as I have found out of guinea fowl, quail and ducks that hatching ducklings was the easiest and that the ducklings are quite hardy.
    Let me know if you do anymore hatching or need anymore help.
    Just to let you know I have a free forum about quail that you may find interesting. http://farmingfriends.com/forums/forum.php?id=4
    Kind regards
    Sara @ farmingfriends

    Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — November 5, 2008 @ 3:33 pm

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