Brooding Problems When Raising Quail

By Gary Ortlieb

Chick's dying during the Brooding Process of Raising Quail is not necessarily your fault or caused by you doing anything wrong. If the eggs that the chicks came from were purchased quail eggs. There could have been a problem with the breeder's that produced these eggs.

The Breeder Quail may not be sick themselves but are carrying a disease. If they are carrying a disease this could be passed along to the chicks. It could cause them either not to hatch at all, or have very short lives. There is absolutely nothing you can do about this.

Another problem the Breeder Quail could have is not receiving the proper nutrition. This also will cause problems with the chicks. This is why your breeder's should be put on a breeder quail diet starting at least several weeks before breeding season. They should be kept on this diet through out the quail breeding season.

Then there are problems that you may be able to prevent. The quail chicks also need to be properly fed. I personally like to use a medicated quail starter food. This will help in preventing Coccidiosis, this disease will usually attack your chicks at the age of 2 weeks to 6 weeks of age. The medicated food is made to help prevent this.

Coccidiosis is found more in chicks being brooded on the ground or litter. You can help prevent this disease by maintaining a clean pen. Usually the cause of this disease is from the chicks eating droppings off of the floor. As you well know that is about all they do, so you have to do the best you can to keep their area clean.

Picking is always a potential problem when raising quail. During the brooding stage chicks are very prone to picking, toes, nose, back and tail feathers. This picking can and will result in death, if not controlled.

There are various solutions to this problem. One solution is using colored lights, blue is highly suggested although red will also work. The general thought on this, is just give them enough light to find their food and water. Another possible solution is to give them something to pick on other than each other. You could put in a small, leafy tightly bale of hay, this will sometimes help. If none of these solve this problem there is always the last resort of beak trimming.

I have been raising quail for 22 years and have written an ebook on the subject. "The Beginner's Guide to Raising Quail." http://www.howtoraisequail.com