Comprehensive Guide on How to Care for Baby Quail

Inside: Baby quail are like baby chickens but faster. Every aspect of their development is faster. Here's how to take care of a baby quail.

Baby quail are a bit like baby chickens, but much, much faster. I don't mean how fast they move, but everything about a quail is faster. Our first quail weren't out of their brooder before we got our first quail egg. Here's how to take care of a baby quail. They will be friendly and run to you for cuddles as adult birds.

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Table of Contents

Comprehensive Guide on How to Care for Baby Quail

Despite our plans, we ended up getting quail after getting chickens and we quickly saw the difference between the two, even as day-old chicks.

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It’s often joked that baby quail are born knowing just how delicious they are—which might explain why they hatch already in a hurry, zipping around the incubator with part of the eggshell still attached!

They bounce back and forth between being ridiculously fast and suddenly collapsing into deep sleep. And when they sleep? They sprawl out in the most dramatic way possible. I can’t even count how many times I’ve gently nudged a chick, convinced something was wrong—only to have it pop up and run off like nothing happened.

This quirky sleep habit doesn’t go away either. From tiny chicks to full-grown adults, quail love to keep us guessing with their nap positions.

Quail Brooder

We leave our chicks in the incubator for no longer than 48 hours before moving them to the brooder. We use a small plastic tote as a brooder, with a hole cut into the top for airflow and the heat lamp to sit on top of the brooder. You want the brooder temperature preheated before moving them to the brooder.

The temperature of the brooder should be at about 95.5F. We use a heat lamp, but you can also use heat plates in your brooder, they are a little more expensive but safer. Use a good thermometer that you can read easily to monitor their temperature.

You can start to lower the temperature of the brooder by 5 degrees each week, this is as easy as raising the brooder lamp a little every week.

How to Take Care of Baby Quail - How baby quail sleep

What Do Baby Quail Require?

You need to provide your chicks with food and water of course. They require a very high protein feed, a non-medicated starter crumb of 24% protein or higher. Some local feed stores call it turkey starter, others call it game bird feed. You will need to grind it up smaller, no matter what you get because these birds are so tiny they won't be able to eat the crumble as newly hatched chicks.

You can buy small chick waterer bases that are perfect for newly hatched quail. Or you can use a very shallow dish or container. If you feel it might be too deep for them you can use marbles that they can drink around but not fall into the water.

Remember, you want to give them warm water, you don't want to give them cold water that will shock their bodies under the heat lamp.

What Do Baby Quail Eat?

We use a wild game feed with a protein of 27% to feed our quail and use our coffee grinder to make it finer for the chicks.

If you have never raised baby quail but are familiar with raising chicks, check out our baby quail VS chick comparison to learn more about the difference in raising both.

You want to make sure that you are using a water system so that your quail are not going to fall into and drown. They are tiny birds. We use the quail bases on our water system, it is much smaller.

We use a thick layer of pine shavings in the bottom of our brooder, you do not want to use cedar shavings. They will quickly start scratching and dust bathing in it.

Quail mature very quickly, developing feathers just days after hatching.

Week-by-Week Growth Stages

Week 1: Hatchlings

Newly hatched quail chicks are extremely fragile and require a warm brooder with a temperature of about 95°F (35°C).
Provide a soft bedding material such as paper towels or pine shavings (avoid cedar, which can be toxic).
Feed them a high-protein game bird starter feed with at least 28-30% protein to support rapid growth.
Ensure they have access to clean, fresh water in a shallow dish with small openings or marbles to prevent drowning.

Week 2: Feather Growth Begins

By the second week, quail chicks start developing their feathers, and you can gradually reduce the brooder temperature by 5°F per week.
They become more active and will begin pecking at food more efficiently.
Water and food containers should have small openings to prevent waste and contamination.

Week 3: Increased Activity

Chicks will start fluttering and trying to jump, so a secure brooder with a mesh cover is essential, I have woken up to a chick lose in my house before, why the cat didn't east it I don't know, we got lucky!

Week 4: Transition Period

Their feathers will be fully developing, and they will start looking like miniature versions of adult quail.
You can gradually transition them to a less fine feed.
They can tolerate cooler temperatures but should still be protected from drafts and sudden changes.

Week 5-6: Juvenile Stage

The quail are now much more independent and can be moved to a larger enclosure.
Start introducing dust baths to help them maintain their feathers and hygiene.
Gradually acclimate them to outdoor temperatures if you plan to house them outside.

looking at a couple coturnix quail through cage wire

Optimum Growth Conditions

For baby quail to reach their full potential, consider the following factors:

Temperature: Maintain a consistent heat source in the brooder and adjust it as they grow.
Nutrition: High-protein feed is crucial, protein content is important throughout a quail's lifespan. A low protein will lead to a lack of eggs quickly.
Clean Water: Ensure a continuous supply of clean, fresh water, preferably with a small-opening waterer to prevent drowning.
Hygiene: Keep bedding clean and dry to prevent diseases such as coccidiosis, quail quickly make messes, faster than chicken chicks.
Security: Use a secure enclosure with small mesh wire to protect from predators and prevent escapes.

Keep different ages quails separated in separate cages, quails are horrible to each other, older quails will quickly pick on younger, weaker birds, until death.

Lifespan of Quail

Quail have a shorter lifespan and this makes for everything about them to be sped up a little in their development. Laying eggs between 6-9 weeks, if not earlier.

They do have a shorter lifespan of 1 1/2 -2 years. It's sad, and to be blunt, hard to keep without incubating consistently.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you let Coturnix quail free range? You cannot let Coturnix quail free range like chickens they aren't a bird to bed down or return to their coop at night. They just hunker down in place.

How big of a coop do I need for Coturnix quail? 0.5 to 1.0 square foot per bird