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There's a Quail Nest in My
Geraniums...
by
Jeani Garett,
Director & Volunteer Quail Rehabilitator, Arizona Covey
"There's a quail nest in my geraniums…"
or nasturtiums, or window flower box or planter in the entryway, or…well,
you get the idea!
Whatever the situation or nest site of choosing, the caller is concerned
and wants to know what he/she can do to insure the survival of the little
quail family-in-the-making, as well as make the quail mom safer and more
comfortable. Usually the person would also like to know what to do so the
family will stay nearby. Not every situation or solution can be
anticipated or put into a single article, but there are things you can do
to make their chances a little better.
Nature did a great job of designing quail, but quail behavior evolved long
before houses, pets, cars (and streets with straight curbs) were
introduced into their habitat. Quail are very adaptive, however, and can
live quite happily alongside humans if humans know what to expect.
Gambel's Quail are remarkably adapted to desert living, as they are native
only to states of the Sonoran Desert. They eat a wide variety of tiny weed
seeds, small insects and an enormous variety of small green plants. In
arid areas, much of their water intake is from the plants that they eat.
In neighborhoods, however, they readily drink from bubblers, drip systems,
sprinklers, etc. A dripping faucet can become a regular "quail social
center!"
If you feed the birds, a quail block or good quality of wild bird seed
with a lot of little seeds in it is ideal for quail. Quail don't eat the
larger seeds, and rarely eat cracked corn (corn creates so much body heat
in the bird's system, especially in Arizona in the summer). Seeds that are
too big or have a lot of cracked corn in the mixture will attract mostly
pigeons.
Quail usually make their nests on the ground, under cactus, bougainvillea,
rosemary, ferns, ivy, or any other dense plant that offers shelter and
privacy. A quail hen will lay one egg every other day, and may lay between
8 and 30 eggs before she starts to incubate them. She will sit on the nest
about 21 days and all the eggs should hatch within several hours.
Sometimes an egg or two doesn't hatch with the rest, but may hatch from
the summer heat several hours or even days after the others. By that time
the rest of the family has had to go on, looking for food and water, and
the chick (or egg) needs to be rescued and taken to a rehabilitator.
Not every nest site chosen by first-time quail parents is suitable, and
sometimes their choice is dangerous or even fatal to the newly hatched
chicks. Adult quail can fly to safety or to find food and water, but tiny,
new chicks are confined to the ground for the first three weeks. The new
little quail are hatched barely an inch tall, fuzzy, and running as soon
as their fluff dries! Nearly everything will eat them, so they need to
stay close to plants where they can hide. If you know where the quail nest
is, you can put gamebird starter under nearby bushes for the parents even
before the chicks hatch. (Gamebird starter is a very fine mash, from a
feed store. Pet stores probably won't have it, but Wild Bird stores
usually will.) The quail will be used to the feed and water being
available and keep the chicks nearby when they hatch. You should also put
VERY shallow containers such as peanut butter jar lids, jelly jar lids,
etc., either filled with water or a hose dripping slowly into the lid, out
for them in the same place as the feed. Put a layer of small pebbles in
the lid so the chicks don't slip and get wet or drown. They can drown in
anything deeper than a jar lid.
If the nest is in a flowerpot or planter, the dirt in the container needs
to be within an inch of the rim so the babies can get out after they
hatch. A fall of 2 or 3 feet to the ground shouldn't hurt them. If any
chicks or eggs are left in the pot after the rest of the family is gone,
they need to be rescued immediately. If you are putting the gamebird
starter and water out before they hatch, the family may still be around,
but be certain it is that chick's family. If not, don't try to put it with
another family. It will get pecked and perhaps killed. Pick it up and call
a rehabilitator.
You can make your yard a safer place for the little quail by making sure
that the dirt is not more than an inch from the top of flower beds, tree
wells, planters, or anything they may need to get out of to follow their
parents. Check to make sure that the dirt is not more than an inch from
the top of whatever container the nest is in. Usually the dad will be on
the ground with the chicks that have already hatched, and mom will still
be in the nest with the ones still hatching. If the chicks seem weak, or a
parent is not with them when they hatch, they need to be rescued and taken
to a rehabilitator immediately.
If you have a quail or killdeer chick or eggs, an injured adult quail or
killdeer, or just questions about them, please don't hesitate to call me
at 602-996-1934. Be sure to leave your phone number if you get a message
machine as we receive many rescue calls a day. During hatching season,
from April to August, I am very busy (each year I receive between 500 and
1000 Gambel's Quail chicks!) and it may take a little while to return all
calls, so please be patient. While waiting for our return call, protect
the chick from danger, keep it warm and dry in cloth towels warmed to skin
temperature in a microwave, don't attempt to water or feed the chick, and
don't let people handle or play with it.
The wildlife rehabilitation volunteers (that's us) and the public (that's
you) have to be a team to make this work. Remember, with your help, we can
make a difference in a lot of little lives. Please remember also that we
are all volunteers and most of us do this in our own homes, at our own
expense. Some of us have full time jobs as well as families to take care
of, in addition to the feeding, watering, medicating, rescuing, etc., so
again, please be patient.
If you can safely transport the bird or animal you find (or transport for
someone else who doesn't or can't drive), please do. Transport is one of
our most critical needs and it really helps if you can transport.
Volunteers are hard to find (and keep) to raise the wildlife and birds,
much less to transport, and we get many rescues per day. If we leave for
an hour to transport something that you can bring to us, several other
things may die without care in that hour.
If I have not returned your call in an hour, please call one of the
following drop-off locations for Arizona Covey:
Wild Bird Center - 480-922-4910
Wild at Heart - 480-595-5047
Nights & weekends: Paradise Valley Emergency Animal Clinic - 480-991-1845
Thanks for your help.
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