![]() Between 3-5 weeks of age, the temperature should be 85 ☏ (29.4 ☌). Lower the temperature to 90 ☏ (32.2 ☌) when the chicks are 2 weeks old. Move the lamp further away from the brooder to control the temperature. Lay a thermometer into the brooder directly under the lamp to monitor the temperature. Clip a heat lamp to the side of the brooder. I used masking tape to cover this.Īnother modification was that on my finding one quail patient to be more active than the other I used a match box, lined similarly with a napkin and moss, to make an individual bed to keep the more deficient quail chick safe.Set up a heat-lamp for chicks without a hen. Once the box was tested, we found that there was a thin line of light coming from the gap in the base of the box, which I thought might be distracting for the quail chicks. ![]() This meant the quail were in a very similar environment to their home and again this gave them the idea, once the box was closed, that they were with their mother. The sides of the box were lined with fresh moss, which not only added to to the insulation and therefore stopped heat-loss but was also a soft material and one which I had used to line the main nest. I lined the base of the cardboard box with tissue paper which could be replaced as needed. ![]() The lid could be slid to and fro to obtain the optimum aperture necessary for the ideal heat to go into the ICU (this was a bit trial and error but it worked). We have many different types of off-cuts of natural insulation left over from our house renovation and wood wool is one such ecological, non-toxic material, very suitable for chicks. I used wood wool to pack around the back of the lamp to reduce the volume of air being heated and therefore to ensure that the bulb heat was not being wasted but directed up into the ICU. The lamp was then laid in the box and a slot was cut in one end of the wood to accommodate the exit of the wire. The inspection lamp was fitted with the cardboard tube, this holds the inspection lamp level in the box. Lid for same - I used an off-cut of zinc sheet from a gutter bent to shape but a piece of wood will do Rectangular Wooden Box suitable to fit the inspection lamp Large 4" or 100mm Diameter Cardboard Tube - I used a cocoa container Here our little gold quail gets déjà vu, as he's placed back in the ICU - at the time I was rather too worried to take still photos, although I did manage to get some film footage as you will see. I chose a small cardboard box for the ICU and an inspection lamp held inside what was a wooden slate hook box, for the heat source. However, this meant we now have a very simple and very cheap unit, which works and is now available for future use. Therefore, when curled toe paralysis struck down two of the chicks, it was an emergency which needed an immediate solution and I had to quickly make an ICU from what I had to hand. Therefore, once on their feet again, the chicks can easily be placed back with the hen with no acceptance problems.Īs this year I have been able to purchase eggs from organically fed quail, I was a bit more lax in my planning for the hatch. The unit is light and portable and can be placed alongside the mother, so the chicks can still hear her voice, keep in contact and most importantly maintain the bond already formed with her. As one of my chicks had a more severe case than the other, I also provided an individual 'bed' made from a matchbox base, so that the chicks could be together at night without risk of the weaker one being walked on by the other. This ICU is to provide support for the chick(s) in the form of heat and also provide a safe place for them to consume the necessary foods to furnish the riboflavin and other essential nutrients to cure the paralysis. Therefore, not only does the chick run the risk of losing body heat but also that of being crushed under the hen's feet as she moves on the nest. The chick does this to maintain the constant high brooding temperatures it needs during the first 2 weeks of life. As the name suggests, the quail is unable to walk or even stand and therefore not capable of getting up into the feathers of the hen and near to her skin. In commercially sourced hatching eggs, this is usually a riboflavin/Vitamin B₂ problem, a deficiency which causes a condition known as curled toe paralysis and which is fatal if left untreated. I hatch my quail eggs under a hen, which works very well unless the chick has a health issue, the most likely being a nutritional deficiency.
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