PICKING IN GAME BIRDS
Information provided for your convenience and written by CBF Super Quail about our own personal experiences.
*Updated 9-1-06*
The first key is to understand WHY birds like Ringneck Pheasant and
Bobwhite Quail are especially prone to pick one another. There usually
is a reason, and prevention is the best cure - give your babies the
best possible environment and most problems can be sidestepped. Game
birds need a lot of space, the right temperature, feed and water at all
times, and a regular schedule for their care are the starting keys to
raising happy birds that do not pick each other.
Ringnecks and Bobwhites like wide open spaces. As chicks, they need a
draft-free brooder with a heat light that keeps them at 95-100 degrees
F for the first week, as too warm or cool of an environment can
encourage picking. After the first week, raise the light and/or change
the wattage in the bulb to decrease the temperature by 5 degrees every
week for the first six weeks, or a little less in the summer time if
the birds are plenty warm enough. Keep in mind evening temperatures, as
well. If the birds have too much heat, they may not feather out as
quickly as they should. Make sure your heat lamp is at one end of the
brooder, so birds can regulate the temperature they need. Our brooders
are 24” x 36” and 50 day-old Bobwhites (or other quail) or
35 day-old Ringnecks will go into one brooder. Bobwhites especially
need sides that are either solid or too small for them to stick their
heads through and get caught. As for footing, the best that we have
found is to use the rubbery shelf-liner over the wire flooring so that
little feet can’t go through the bottom, and wobbly legs can get
good traction to prevent problems like club feet or sprawl-legged
chicks. (We have a separate page to address that issue.)
Baby chicks must have constant access to fresh, clean water and plenty
of feed! Be careful not to pile a lot of feed on the bottom of the
brooder at once, the birds can have problems getting proper footing
there, and become sprawl-legged. We typically use quail-jar base
waterers with 1 quart in each brooder, refilled 3 times a day; and for
the first week or until the birds can use a chick feeder, food is
poured on an extra layer of shelf-paper on the floor.
If you see picked birds, remove them IMMEDIATELY and put them in a
separate brooder or hospital cage area. Do not mix different species of
birds in one pen or brooder. Remove any birds that were killed to
discourage further cannibalism. Usually, picked birds will not pick on
each other if they are separated from their brood quickly.
A regular schedule to check on, feed
and water your hatchlings and
other birds will greatly reduce picking and other problems. After three
days, remove or change the shelf-liner on the floor of your brooder. We
recommend scrubbing and disinfecting waterers every time you refill
them, or a minimum of once a day (regardless of how much water is left,
dump it, disinfect it, and refill with fresh water for good health!)
Other than quail
jar-base waterers, suitable waterers we have found for game birds are
the pop-bottle bases, we use the plastic ones. For Bobwhites or Button
Quail, three marbles can be placed in the waterer to prevent birds from
drowning or getting soaked in the waterer. Make sure that the waterers
are on the same level as the floor of the brooder on young chicks.
Later in can be raised to the height of the birds' backs and can
prevent
water contamination by food or or droppings. Another note, don’t
give young birds cold water from the tap, this can shock them. Water
should be room temperature.
Keep your brooder(s) in a safe place away from other livestock or pets
who might harm them. Also watch small children, who may unintentionally
release the babies.
Some broods pick more than others. With the same breeding stock, we
have had some broods of Bobwhites who were easy to get along with and
didn’t lose a single one to picking, and the next hatch may lose
quite a few to picking, with no difference we have been able to observe
in the way they were raised or the conditions in one brooder or another.
With my Ringnecks and Turkeys, I learned another special secret to
minimize picking in young birds. When seasonally available, I have
added fresh greenery from the yard that the birds can eat. Bobwhites
should be a few weeks old before giving “salad” to them,
but older birds enjoy it as well. This distracts the birds’
attention to foraging for goodies instead of picking on one another. I
use this tactic when it is warmer or cooler, before stressful times
such as cleaning dropping trays or when moving birds from one brooder
to another or from brooder to growing pen, etc. Out of 22 Turkey
poults, 20 were raised to four weeks when they were moved outside. They
have shelter, a heat light, and a large fenced area with netting over
the top to keep them in, wild birds or predators out.
As Ringnecks get to maturity, the
picking can start all over again.
Males will fight to the death. Males, being larger, will pick on the
smaller females. There are many solutions here. The best is to provide
them with plenty of space to get away from offending birds! Also keep
in mind that pheasant can be territorial, so having multiple feed and
water stations throughout the pen can ease the tension. Similar to the
"salad" described above for birds in brooders, I have recently found
that pheasant LOVE a good spreading of hay in their pen. Some of the
hay I put in was fresh, I also dumped some older (not moldy) hay in
with them as well, and they enjoy scratching in it and exploring the
new stuff. Some
poultry and game bird hobbyists swear by debeaking or peepers
(blinders); but I am not fond
of this solution. (Debeaking may need to be done several times as birds
grow, also growing birds need to be refitted with appropriately sized
Peepers.) Between four and
six weeks of age, our Pheasants go from wire indoor cages to
outdoor cages (keeping in mind that the weather will not shock them, or
else the pens will be outfitted with heat lamps).
Another note on heat lamps or for older birds, “night
lights”, we have had great success with lights out there so that
our guard-dog Guineas can SEE when there is something they should sound
their annoying alarm at. We had an intruder once, a sow possum got
into the Guinea pen. The pens were secure enough that it could not get
into any other pens, and could not get out. The Guineas screamed at us
until we went outside and took care of the problem. No birds were
lost!! Score one for the Guineas, score zero for the possum.
One more good thought: Pheasant, quail and turkeys enjoy feeding
just after sunrise and just before or at sunset. It is a good idea to
have plenty of food available in several areas of the pen, especially
if it is large, during these times of day. Also remember that pheasant
and turkey especially enjoy fresh feed (and water, too!), they do not
want feed that is left around in a feeder for several days, they prefer
to be fed a day's worth or less at one time. Feeding twice a day is
really better, but once will suffice if you can't fit it into your
schedule. A routine feeding time is best, whenever it can be adhered
to. Your birds will be much happier and healthier.
Hope that you may have found some answers or ideas from my ramblings on
game birds and their tendency to pick. The way I do things is best for
me, I encourage each person to learn as much as they can and through
trial and error find what is best for you, your conditions and the
birds you are raising. We do not pretend to know it all, but we will
share what we have learned. Feel free to contact us at
techsupport@cbfsuperquail.com if you would like more information or
have questions.