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Preface Why are we doing this?
Quail are important for our ecosystem
We are trying to help the Bobwhite Quail in our area by raising
some babies and getting them ready to live in our woods. By
helping the Quail, we also help ourselves because Quail eat a lot
of bugs that bother us like ticks and grasshoppers. They also eat
seeds of plants that become weeds.
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What do Northern Bobwhite Quail eat? Draw below!
Grasshoppers and other insects
Ticks
Seeds
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What hunts a Quail? Screech Owl
Fox
Sharp-Shinned Hawk
House Cat
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Where do Quail Live?
Where Forest meets Field
Bobwhites move between the forest and the field in almost a zig-zag pattern. They usually sleep
in the forest under the cover of a shrub or tree, but their food is found out in the field...so they
must walk out to find food. Out in the field they are easy for predators to find them and hunt
them, so they won’t stay long in the field...they must head back into the forest where it is safer.
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Where Quail DON’T Live
Habitat Loss
This was once a wide open field that was surrounded by forests...PERFECT Bobwhite Quail
habitat. But people need a place to live, too! Once people build their houses the Quail can not
live here now. They must leave to find a new place to live.
Can you figure out what was here before your house was built? Maybe it used to be Quail habitat.
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What can we do to HELP? Quail Need Your Help
We can make some small changes to REALLY
help our feathered friends.
Keeping cats indoors or on leash would really
help a lot. An estimated 50 million birds are
killed each year by cats that are let loose outside!
Join our “Quail vs Tick Study” to help raise
and release Quail back to places where they
used to be. We are giving the Quail a
chance to survive on Long Island.
Create the habitat where Quail
can live. By planting native
grasses and flowers along forest
edges that Quail can eat and hide
in will help them survive.
Can your class do a habitat
planting?
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Release Date
Time to set them free
This year the Quail will be released in several locations around Suffolk and Nassau Counties.
From each release site, Bobwhites will radiate outwardly across Long Island. Their expanding
population will also make it safer for people to enjoy the outdoors without so many ticks!
You and your class, and your family and friends, are all invited to attend the public Bobwhite
Quail Releases. Dates will be announced on our website calendar www.CEEDLI.org.
Release Date / Time: __________________________________________________
Location: __________________________________________________________
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Life Cycle Reproduction
Quail reproduction is in three parts:
Eggs
Fact: About 23 days to hatch.
Chicks
Fact: Chicks can fly at 2
weeks old.
Adults
Fact: They nest on the
ground.
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Differences
Male vs Female
Male Quail have a bright white eye stripe
and throat. The rest of body feathers are
colored to provide camouflage in grasses
and leaves.
Female Quail have a tan eye stripe and
throat, otherwise they are camouflaged the
same as the male.
Incubator
Incubation of Eggs
Quail eggs need to incubate for about 23 days in a stable environment set to 99.5 degrees F, and
high humidity (60-80%) …just like it would be under momma Quail. They need to be carefully
turned 2-4 times per day…one egg at a time.
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Incubators come in all shapes and sizes
During Incubation Care Schedule of Eggs:
Day # Date 1st Turn Time
2nd Turn Time
3rd Turn Time
Incubator Temperature
Check Water?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
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Candling the Eggs
Watch the Quail develop inside the egg!
You can’t open the shell to look inside but you can hold a small flashlight (or even the light on
your cell phone) up to the egg in a dark room and can observe its current level of development.
Sketch your observations below:
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
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Candling is fun and easy
Hatching Time
The Chicks Hatch!!!
The young Quail will begin to softly “peep” inside their shell to tell the others that “I’m almost
ready to hatch!” Then they usually all hatch together within 24 hours.
Important Things to Remember:
* Remove the automatic egg turner BEFORE any chicks start to hatch.
* Do not help the chicks come out of the egg…it will only hurt them.
* Once their feathers are fluffy they are ready to be moved to the Brooder.
* Try to boost the humidity in the incubator up to 90% during hatching time.
* Go ahead and add a small dish of their food, but grind it up even finer.
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Brooder
Pretend to be Momma Quail
The Brooder is simulating Momma Quail...you have to
give the chicks food, water, shelter, and HEAT…up to 105
degrees F on one side of the tank.
Food needs to be ground up small for the first week to
help the small baby birds. You can also add sand, small
seeds (millet, thistle), and wild garlic flowers.
Water needs to have marbles or small stones so chicks
won’t drown.
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Growing up Quail These birds grow fast!
Growing up a Bobwhite Quail means
growing up quickly. From hatch to
adulthood is a mere 10 weeks (70 days)
long. You can literally watch these babies
grow!
1 Day Old
5 Weeks Old
10 Weeks Old
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My Observations Please write additional notes here.
As an additional activity, write a story about a day in the life of your Quail once it has been
released into the wild.
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