How long to keep heat lamp on?

Hello all,

I hatched 9 quail a fortnight ago ( my first ever hatching - also had 3 Welsummer chicks!)

All the chicks are living happily together in a big box under an infra-red lamp in the garage. I was wondering how long you need to keep a heat source on them for?

When is a good time to move them to a more permanent home without heat but maybe still indoors and when is it ok for them to go outside? Is there an ideal temperature??

So many questions - apologies if they are indeed daft!

Wendy

PS I was delighted to find this forum - a great help!

Hi Wendy,

Your quail chicks will need no heat after 4 weeks old, they are fully feathered and can regulate their body tempertures themselves.

You can put them in outdoor areas at around 6 weeks old, making sure they have access to a dry, weather/wind proof house.Quail are very hardy and will be fine as long as they are kept out of the rain and cold winds.

No questions are daft, you got to ask them, or you'll never find the answer.Ask as many as you want.

Derek.

I shorten the lamp chain by about 25mm everyday after the first week, seems to work ok. I aim to get the heat lamp at the height so the chicks have to stand under it to get "hot" that seems to keep the broody air temptature warm and they will eat from the other end of the brooder.

https://2img.net/h/i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg76/Gyp01/Quail/WPICT1113.jpg

I took my first 3 chicks off heat at 3 weeks, as they were massive and very feathery.

Current chicks are 2 weeks and most are not bothering to sit/sleep under the lamp (temp around 32C).

4 weeks (gradually dropping to room temp) is recommended on a lot of sites.

Thanks everyone for all your help,

I will decrease the temp over the next 2 weeks - it is a bit nippy at night here at the moment so am making sure they do not get too cold.

This is the information which I will need soon - so now I know where to look.

Thanks one and all.