Button Quail Chick Care

Egg Care

Button Quail eggs only take 16 to 18 days to hatch. I incubate mine at 90 degrees and the humidity is kept between 85-87. I use the Turn-X incubator with the automatic turner which can be bought at this link: www.lyonelectric.com/mtx.htm . If you turn the eggs by hand turn them at least 2 times a day or the embryos will die. I stop turning the eggs at day 14 because at this time the chicks will get into the hatching position. Don't help the chick unless you can clearly see that the chick is having great difficulty. You must leave the chicks in the incubator until their baby down is completely dry or they will chill and die.

Feeding Your Chicks

I feed my chicks 22% Kaytee Exact handfeeding formula sprinkled dry on the bottom of their cage and in a small easy to reach food dish. I also give them a small amount of hardboiled chicken egg, yoke and all. I start offering them dried mealworms and adult food at 3 weeks old. By the time they are 5 weeks old they're completely weaned off the handfeeding formula.

Giving Your Chicks Water

If the chicks get wet they will chill very quickly and will die. The best thing to use is a water silo, as seen in the picture, that lets out a small amount of water and they can still drink easily. It can be bought at any pet store or it can be ordered at this link: www.thefind.com/pets/info-clean-water-silo

Heat

The chicks need heat. I use an infared bulb because it's alot easier on their eyes. On week one the heat needs to be at 95 degrees, on week two it needs to be at 90, week 3 at 85 and so on until the chicks are at room temperature.

Housing The Chicks

I use a 10g tank with rough paper towels as bedding. If you put them on anything that's soft or smooth they could slip and get splayed legs which is hard to correct. Don't give them anything to hide under or they could forget to warm themselves and will die.