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Started By
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Anyone raised bobwhite quail? Update page 4, roadblock
Posted on 4/20/16 at 8:59 am
Posted on 4/20/16 at 8:59 am
I am having a hell of a time finding birds for dog training. Someone has 80 eggs hatching in the next couple of days and I am going to get the day old chicks. Food, water heat should be sufficient for the first couple of weeks, correct?
This post was edited on 6/22/16 at 9:48 am
Posted on 4/20/16 at 9:14 am to Redfish2010
I had a buddy that raised them in a backyard pen but he gave it up because they attracted snakes and his GSP got bit by a moccasin, plus he has kids too. Guess between eggs and small birds the snakes found that pretty attractive.
Posted on 4/20/16 at 9:16 am to wickowick
You will have great luck for the first 5-7 days, and think all is well. Then they'll start dropping like flies after a week...frustrating. The key I found was to keep electrolytes in the water, and stay on top of de-beaking. Like, diligently. Those little bastards love to peck each other to death.
This post was edited on 4/20/16 at 9:18 am
Posted on 4/20/16 at 9:20 am to wickowick
Yeah, I have a 4'x 8' pen for day old chicks. It'd raise 80, 40 on each side since it's divided, for at least 6 weeks. Then they'd be feathered up good and ready for a flight pen or smaller group feed out pens for harvesting.
Clean water and appropriate feeding daily is a must. Miss one day and you'll lose a chick or two.
On the day old chicks, I kept a standard light on them and covered the front of the pen with a sheet to give them a seclusion feeling. They tend to freak out about dogs, cats or even an unexpected person rounding the corner. That can lead to injury and more quail loss.
They're fickle bastards. Last time I did it, I bought 150 day old chicks that were over-nighted to me from a hatchery. I didn't lose a single chick the first 3 weeks. Once they feathered up and got crazy it seems like I was losing them left and right. I finally slaughtered them all when I got down to 50 or so...
Clean water and appropriate feeding daily is a must. Miss one day and you'll lose a chick or two.
On the day old chicks, I kept a standard light on them and covered the front of the pen with a sheet to give them a seclusion feeling. They tend to freak out about dogs, cats or even an unexpected person rounding the corner. That can lead to injury and more quail loss.
They're fickle bastards. Last time I did it, I bought 150 day old chicks that were over-nighted to me from a hatchery. I didn't lose a single chick the first 3 weeks. Once they feathered up and got crazy it seems like I was losing them left and right. I finally slaughtered them all when I got down to 50 or so...
This post was edited on 4/20/16 at 9:23 am
Posted on 4/20/16 at 9:21 am to bootlegger
quote:
think all is well. Then they'll start dropping like flies after a week...frustrating.
quote:
Those little bastards love to peck each other to death.
This guy knows what's up.
Posted on 4/20/16 at 9:22 am to Clyde Tipton
quote:
I kept a standard light on them
Like a 100wt bulb in a clip on light or something else?
Posted on 4/20/16 at 9:25 am to wickowick
quote:
Like a 100wt bulb in a clip on light or something else?
60w or 75w, but yeah, just the old clip on. The sheet and the birds own body heat keep it pretty toasty. I kept the sheet over them only the first week or so until they began to feather decently.
Something like this... hung inside away from the sheet.
Posted on 4/20/16 at 9:26 am to Clyde Tipton
I have plenty of those clip on lights. trying to thing of the most post effective container to hold them the first couple of weeks
Posted on 4/20/16 at 9:30 am to wickowick
I made a brooder out of an old stock tank and filled the bottom w sand.
Posted on 4/20/16 at 9:32 am to bootlegger
Is sand the best thing to put in the bottom?
Posted on 4/20/16 at 9:32 am to wickowick
I had a small diameter wire pen. The first few weeks I just put grass clippings down to protect their feet and toes. Changed it out every few days. They were good to go on the wire within a couple of weeks. They grow really fast.
Another tip: Put marbles in your waterer if you use this kind. The day old chicks will drown in the trough if you don't put a space filler in there. They an still get water, but they don't fit perfectly in the trough. Again, those can be removed within 2 weeks.
Another tip: Put marbles in your waterer if you use this kind. The day old chicks will drown in the trough if you don't put a space filler in there. They an still get water, but they don't fit perfectly in the trough. Again, those can be removed within 2 weeks.
Posted on 4/20/16 at 9:33 am to wickowick
The guy I bought quail from is out for this spring, but he gave me the number of a guy in the Ville Platte area that has some birds ready to go.
This post was edited on 4/20/16 at 9:41 am
Posted on 4/20/16 at 9:35 am to wickowick
I bought a book from Clemson University on raising quail, and it suggested sand or pine straw.
Posted on 4/20/16 at 9:39 am to Spitting Venom
I sent you an email if you didn't get it wickowick@gmail
Posted on 4/20/16 at 9:46 am to wickowick
Bright white light can lead to incessant pecking and cannabalism, red lights are better. Also make sure the bulb will produce heat, some bulbs don't anymore. As a poultry extensionist you can't believe how many calls I get because people will just buy a bulb and then their chicks freeze to death. Don't over crowd them. Provide electrolytes in the water. Provide plenty of water, they can drink a shite ton. Buy good quality feed. Also get the birds from a reputable source, it's something I stress over and over to people. Chick quality is huge, if you start with shitty chicks it will eventually catch up with you.
Posted on 4/20/16 at 10:09 am to wickowick
youll hate them once they start dropping like flies. I bought like 150 last year and didn't know that they drown easy.
round 2 was better, but then they started pecking each other....
then my wife decided to put them all together in one big cage while she cleaned the smaller ones... I got home and it looked like an episode of celebrity deathmatch
round 2 was better, but then they started pecking each other....
then my wife decided to put them all together in one big cage while she cleaned the smaller ones... I got home and it looked like an episode of celebrity deathmatch
Posted on 4/20/16 at 10:47 am to maisweh
quote:
I got home and it looked like an episode of celebrity deathmatch
Posted on 4/20/16 at 10:54 am to wickowick
Yeah, it's brutal survival of the fittest. I raised mine with the intentions of pickling eggs, hatching more, etc. Like I said, I ended up slaughtering them after 10 or 12 weeks.
The farms I've visited with successful operations keep a cock and hen paired up alone in their own small pen for egg production. Of course they have multiple pairings going at the same time. It doesn't work as well in a free for all situation.
The farms I've visited with successful operations keep a cock and hen paired up alone in their own small pen for egg production. Of course they have multiple pairings going at the same time. It doesn't work as well in a free for all situation.
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