Raising Quail In Ridiculously Cold Weather

 

Let me start with admitting that the words, "Cold" and "Ridiculously Cold" are relative terms.  I freely acknowledge that.  If we lived in Nome, Alaska we would likely be quite happy with the "balmy" winter we are experiencing.  But we do NOT live in Nome, Alaska.  We live on the Southern Gulf Coast 10 miles inland from beautiful, warm beaches.  

Thus the below-freezing temperatures we have been experiencing over the past 7-10 days is....an adjustment and has required some creativity in how we manage things.

In December we decided to go ahead and start a hatch.  When the quail hatch we move them from the incubators into warm brooders with heat plates in the quail shed.  

 

 

While the shed is not air-tight and fully insulated, we can keep temperatures around 10 degrees higher than the outdoor temperature.  As long as the ambient temperature is over 50 degrees, the heat plates we use can do the job to keep the babies adequately warm.  

In mid January the forecasts started getting a bit interesting.  We have learned in our 5 years here that the National Weather Service out of Mobile, Alabama gives the best and least reactionary forecast.  When their forecasts started talking about a week-long stretch below freezing we started getting concerned.  

Cletus spent the better part of a day reinforcing the quail shed and putting landscape fabric on the inside for better insulation.  The babies had hatched by this point and been moved into the quail shed in a brooder (with a heat plate), but the forecast lows were getting lower.  Even with the additional insulation (landscape fabric is great stuff!), it started looking like the temperatures would be too cold for the new hatches to survive.  

 

We set up a heat lamp in Cletus' tool shed one night and put a Govee thermometer out there just to see if that would stay warm enough for the babies to go in there.  It is a Tuff Shed and Cletus had reinforced the insulation, but it was just not enough.  

The day before the cold was supposed to hit found us looking for 50 gallon tote bins (Walmart carries them).  We brought the totes into the house, lined them with shop towels, put the heat plates, waterers, and feeders in, and brought all 89 babies into the house.  Yes, EIGHTY-NINE babies.  In the house. 

 

Cletus' work room had already become the incubator room (he refers to it as "The room formerly known as Cletus' workroom).  

Now it became the Incubator/Brooder/Plant room (because the plants he had started before all this was predicted could not survive in his tool shed).

 

 

Have you ever had baby quail in your house?  They are noisy.  They are messy.  They are smelly.

This picture was taken within 15 minutes of me putting down fresh, clean towels

Thus we began what is now a 2 week run of cleaning out totes twice daily (now thrice daily), filling waterers and feeders, and generally trying to keep the babies happy.  

They have grown significantly and before this spell is over (Saturday? Sunday?) we may have to purchase a third 50 gallon tote for them.  We have been able to remove the heat plates, giving them a bit more room but it is getting a little cramped for them.

The frequent cleaning meant ordering a case of shop towels from Amazon.  These might last us through another hatch or two. 

Stock tip: invest in shop towels!  

 

Another glitch with the cold is that we have had to shut off all exterior water.  This means the outdoor quail in the condos have been using the quart-size water containers instead of the 5-gallon bucket automatic water systems.  These freeze quickly in this weather so we have to replace them three times a day.  This also means we do not have water to process any of the meat birds our customers are waiting for.  

A warm-up is supposed to happen by the end of this week.  We have already been able to reconnect the automatic water systems for our outdoor cages.  We might be able to move the babies out of the house by the weekend.  We should be able to resume processing meat birds next week.  

In case I sound overly whiney about all of this, here are some things for which I am truly thankful:

• We replaced our heat pump three years ago.  Our house is nice and warm.
• We have not lost any of the quail or the chickens to the weather
• We have these animals and they are providing for us
• While our home sometimes feels small (especially with 89 babies in the house!), we do have the space to accommodate everyone
• While the quail shed was not warm enough for the babies, the barn cats have taken shelter in there for the duration and I have not had to worry about them.
• We do not live in Nome, Alaska, Watertown, Wisconsin, or Oxford, Mississippi (do they have power back on yet??).
• My recliner, my heating pad, my coffee maker, and a warm kitten who likes my lap.
• Cletus has been home and not on the road for work.  
• No pipes froze.
• We live at the beach 😊 

 And next year?  No hatches from Thanksgiving until February!