Oh it looks like I pressed the wrong button earlier as I am missing one post....
There were 8 eggs, 6 hatched and the last two won't i don't think.
One got squished behind the hut but was rescued on time and is fine now.
But then another got squished by me, despite being super careful.... I have chick-proofed the cage now so they are all safe and well looked after by Martha. They were climbing through the cage bars before but they can't do that anymore now...
Charley is so well behaved! He's looking after the whole family, goes and sits in the hut with Martha and the chicks. Brings her some mealworms when I treat them to some. He's very patient and doesn't bother Martha at all. Really lovely to watch the whole dynamic!
This is a first on here, it's really rare for quails to bond and successfully raise a family, well done. Are they eating chick crumb? Do they have any overhead heating so they can explore beyond the limits of the nest?
I have done a 1 week old video and will put the link below.
Yes they are eating chick crumbs for Quails chicks now, but I have just received it on Wednesday so for the first 3 days they had crushed layers pellets mixed with crushed meal worms. I still add crushed meal worms to their food too as they seem to really like it.
We are down to 4 chicks since Thursday morning because one maneged to go through the bars through the smallest gap he'd managed to find.... I spent half hour Thursday morning putting masking tape a strong paper over all gaps I could find... Making me late for work!
They don't have an overhead headlamp but they are venturing out of the nest anyway. They still follow Martha closely and they still spend a lot of time under her wings, whether in the nest or in the sand bath or anywhere else actually... At night Charley often joins them so it looks like we have a gigantic quail with two heads and a little head peeps out every now and then.
The video is not great, but I didn't want to spook them too much...
They're so sweet! - and so is the way Martha and Charlie are always dashing around on a mission!
... how do quail take to handling? I know now wouldn't be a good time, of course, but are they trusting at all or always flighty wild? (my CLBs always suspect the worst but the hybrids I've had have almost liked a fuss!)
You're right Rick now is most definitely not the time! I had to take everyone out on Day to get the cage cleaned up and the gaps between bars secured and it wasn't easy... Bur before the little ones arrived, Charley was getting relatively friendly. My daughter could patiently get him to peck a mealworm out of her hand or at minimum he wasn't spooked by us anymore. Martha on the other hand is the panicking type. But at the moment, they are both protective of their family, so we try and disturb as little as possible and keep our distance.
i always found mine to be very flighty, even the home-bred chicks who were handled gently from hatching. As adults, their defence reflex is to fly upwards from the ground level where they normally live. If startled and living in an aviary or cage with too solid a roof they can damage themselves when doing this. However, they didn't have the advantage of parental upbringing by the likes of Charley and Martha.
I know! They seem to grow faster than the bantams did to be fair! It's really funny how their feathers have appeared almost everywhere but on their heads, apart from a line in the middle of their head lol I find it fascinating! Lol