 
Help for brood of quail -
from day old on it's up to you
On a small scale for the first 5 weeks you can use a cardboard box with a light bulb for heat, if you are using this method there are a few things you can do for your own safety and the health of the chicks.
I suggest a box about 70cm square, with corrugated cardboard neatly covering the floor, or use wood chips (not sawdust), a slippery surface will make the chick a cripple you wont want that. place a special non bright light and heat bulb securely initially at a height of 50mm from the floor of the box, using bright lights with chicks can cause them to peck at one another Butlers quail turn very quickly and will kill each other due to a bright light source during brooding
Providing the correct heat requires careful monitoring, if the chicks are too cold they will usually be huddled under the lamp, too hot and they will be as far away as they can get from the heat, if they are evenly spaced with a healthy docil look without stress upon their temperament you are not far wrong with warmth. You can alter the heat in three ways, 1) Altering the bulb jewels requirement ie the watt value 2)Adjusting the height of the bulb in the box higher should make cooler 3)Partly covering the top of the box
to prevent heat loss
The problem with most brooder heaters is that no light is emitted at all so they cannot see to feed or drink unless there is another light on.
The food and water can be placed about 15 -20 cm from the lamp, you can move it further away in the box after the first few days.
For the first 0-5 weeks feed game starter crumbs, there is a special quail starter and game starter crumb available, with Coturnix quail chick crumbs are fine Butlers or Chinese need the super fine game feed .
After the chicks reach 5 week old use quail breeder pellets.
I find that drowning can be a problem so be sure to use a shallow drinker.
After a week you should think about placing wire netting over the top of the open box, the quails will fly out soon!
You can gradually reduce the heat, at 5 weeks they should not need any unless it is particularly cold, ideally the box should be in a warm, draft free room or building.
Copyright Blue Bridge Engineering Limited 2014
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