stephb
Newbie
Lorrie Love
Posts: 16
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Post by stephb on May 30, 2012 20:09:22 GMT 10
Hi guys,
I have a trio of KQ and I have a few questions.
1.I have seen the male mating with both his hens a few times lately and I was wondering how long after the mating should I expect little eggs?
2. I live on the sunshine coast so the cold isnt ever really "freezing" but I imagine it would be pretty cold for a hatchling quail. My question is should I take one hen in and the babies into a brooder box inside?
3. Any tips for keeping breeding adults happy and healthy. They're in an aviary with multiple tussocks of grass and and upturned flower pot for extra cover. They're also fed on canary seed and get fresh bok choy and corn daily.
Thanks for the hep guys!
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Post by avinet on May 30, 2012 22:00:18 GMT 10
1.I have seen the male mating with both his hens a few times lately and I was wondering how long after the mating should I expect little eggs? Depends on the hens - they may or may not be in breeding cycle at the moment. They can breed at any time of the year but the main period is September to May, so there is a fair chance that nothing will happen for 2 or 3 months. Just because the male is wanting to mate doesn't mean it is necessarily consensual! If they breed and babies hatch in June or July it could be a bit cold for newly hatched babies if they become separated from the mother overnight, particularly if you are inland a bit and not on the coast. While the babies are able to feed by themselves on hatching, the parents, especially the mother, will usually carefully look after them, including keeping them warm overnight. However it is by no means uncommon for a hen to no longer have the instincts to either incubate the eggs or to care for the babies. If they hatch and the mother doesn't look after them then move them inside and keep them warm until they are 2 to 3 weeks old. Give a mix of seed - a good budgie mix is fine - Golden Cob from Petstock is OK. Canary is a very good seed to give but in combination with other seeds. Bok choy is good, also celery leaves, a bit of Italian parsley, silver beet, English spinach, corn, a bit of grated carrot, try a bit of cooking apple. Again a variety is good - and experiment to see what they like. They also love insects - cockroaches are a favourite. Also a few mealworms or crickets each day - available from pet shops that sell reptile food. in fact some live food is almost essential to get good breeding results. Babies are very small and they are quite able to get through 12.5mm aviary mesh. If babies are being raised in an aviary it is a good idea to make a small enclosure around 5 cm high made perhaps with strips of plywood, to enclose a metre by a metre area to keep them from wandering away and possibly through the wire. Also a water dish needs to be very shallow or else they can drown. A shallow plant pot base with just 1 cm of water in it should do. They will eat finch seed mix, chopped up vegies, and also fine chick starter can improve early growth. cheers, Mike |
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