Wildlife:Quail Babies, so cute, doing Fine!

I'm finally getting the system down, these babies are so adorable, and so easy to care for, I have learned short cuts to food preparation and valuable help aids to keep them safe.

You can order Quail by email or phone in two ways, unhatched eggs or 1-5 days old hatched chicks. Quail eggs take 22-24 days to hatch, depending on species/breed of Quail, you should research which species of Quail naturally live in your area to ensure their survival in the wild. Some people sell their eggs for suishi or the quail for meat, but my purpose is for replentishing the environment only. The Quail are sent by mail and you usually pick them up at the post office due to special handling.

If you order Quail eggs, you must have an incubator already set to temperature when they arrive. Purchased incubators are already set to temperature, you add a bit of water in a recepticle and plug it in to wait for your eggs. If you prefer to build your own incubator I have websites that describe how, not too complicated, in fact, Quail eggs are so tiny, people have had success using an old electric frying pan with a cover that has an accurate temperature select knob to incubate their eggs!

If you order Quail chicks, you are in for a treat! You get a small box of chirping babies, waiting at the post office, only you must be available to pick them up as soon as they arrive. The trip can be stressful so you need to give them Grogel Plus B, before taking them out of the box. Grogel Plus B is a super hydrating gel, costs under two dollars and can feed up to 400 Quail chicks, it comes in a tiny package less than three inches square, you mix it with water, it looks like green or blue jello. This gel rehydrates the babies after their trip and treats any anxiety they may have. Then they can be moved into their container and given water and food. There is a probiotic formula in the gel that helps their digestion and helps keep them healthy. Take the gel out of their container after 24 hours. First trick! Save the box they are shipped in, I cut the box and use the sides that have holes to cover the heat lamps so the chicks can't bump into the hot light bulbs, and reduce the stimulation of the direct light. They need the heat but the light keeps them too alert and they sometime start fighting when they get overstimulated, sometimes trampling the smaller babies.

Here are some more valuable tricks I have learned doing this hatchling release process three times now... 1) Besure to turn the eggs three times a day, put an X on one side and an O on the other to keep track of which you have turned, if you can't be available to turn the eggs, purchase an inexpensive egg turner, which automatically keeps the eggs rotating. 2) If you order live chicks, they are subject to drowning, they don't understand about water, so use a shallow plastic container and put sanitized pebbles inside so they have to stick their beaks between the rocks to find the water. If they get too wet they could die from shock, don't use cold water. Keep the water on the opposite side of the heat lamp so they don't fall asleep in the water and to prevent the heat lamp from evaporating the water too quickly. They also love a handful of salad mix or lettuce, or spinach each day. It's the funniest thing to watch the chicks eating their greens, they are always acting clownish and getting into situations.

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I have three generations of baby Quail growing currently, six weeks old chicks hatched from eggs, four week olds shipped to me at one day old through the post office, and new babies hatching from their eggs! (see below)

Use an old grinder like a coffee bean grinder or one of those tiny Black & Decker garlic grinders to grind the poultry feed and hard boiled eggs before you mix them. They will not waste a drop of food if you grind it for them. 4) Do not let your pets startle the babies at first, they get stressed easily the first week or so.

You can purchase very inexpensive poultry feed which can be mixed with hardboiled eggs that have been growned up with their shells on. Also fish or meat kitten food has enough fat and protein to replace the hard boiled eggs. Don't use cat food, it has less of what they babies need. My feedstore sells a 50 pound bag for less than $14.oo, as you can imagine it lasts a really long time with these teenie birds!

Just hours ago, twelve duckling eggs began to pip in our small incubator. These are rare and beautiful ducklings, known to be very quiet and a smaller than an average sized duck. The ducklings habe black down, shiney black beeks and black webbed feet. These photos were just taken as the eggs are beginning to hatch and the wet little ducklings begin their lives http://hubpages.com/_080109myguys/user/new