Potentially horrid events that got averted in the nick of time

Mountain Cat

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I'm rather shook by this.

I bought a dozen newly hatched quail on Monday, and brought them home. The little guys need to stay rather warm (high 90s). I used the one really nice heat lamp with a lot of safeguards on it that I'd used for baby chicken chicks last summer - but alas a day or so ago the light bulb burnt out. And apparently the mechanism connecting the bulb to the device was not going to let me remove the bulb to replace it. So, I pulled out one of the other heat lamps and put a good bulb into that. This worked fine, and I set it all up.

One of the things about baby quail is that they can easily drown in waterers that aren't suitable for them - or you find something really shallow (in my case, a saucer for a tea cup) that you have to refill often. The waterer I'd ordered hasn't yet come in. So I used that saucer.

Which means going down every three or four hours to give them more water, even through night.

Well, last night around 12:30 am I woke up and debated moving to go down and add water. I am so GLAD I did, as otherwise I would not have a house right now.

That less-optimal heat lamp had collapsed and was starting to burn a hole into the bedding of the box I had these little fellers in.

If I'd not gone down then... a fire would have started, and I would have lost the house, or at least had severe damage to it. As it was, I did lose one quail who got trapped and overheated when the thing collapsed, but the rest were saved... as was the house and my two lovely cats and everything else.

I think I've fixed the situation... but I'm still shook.
 
I'm rather shook by this.

I bought a dozen newly hatched quail on Monday, and brought them home. The little guys need to stay rather warm (high 90s). I used the one really nice heat lamp with a lot of safeguards on it that I'd used for baby chicken chicks last summer - but alas a day or so ago the light bulb burnt out. And apparently the mechanism connecting the bulb to the device was not going to let me remove the bulb to replace it. So, I pulled out one of the other heat lamps and put a good bulb into that. This worked fine, and I set it all up.

One of the things about baby quail is that they can easily drown in waterers that aren't suitable for them - or you find something really shallow (in my case, a saucer for a tea cup) that you have to refill often. The waterer I'd ordered hasn't yet come in. So I used that saucer.

Which means going down every three or four hours to give them more water, even through night.

Well, last night around 12:30 am I woke up and debated moving to go down and add water. I am so GLAD I did, as otherwise I would not have a house right now.

That less-optimal heat lamp had collapsed and was starting to burn a hole into the bedding of the box I had these little fellers in.

If I'd not gone down then... a fire would have started, and I would have lost the house, or at least had severe damage to it. As it was, I did lose one quail who got trapped and overheated when the thing collapsed, but the rest were saved... as was the house and my two lovely cats and everything else.

I think I've fixed the situation... but I'm still shook.
Definitely a tragedy adverted. Thank goodness you woke up concerned about the water. Hope the " shook" subsides in the coming days.
 
I'm rather shook by this.

I bought a dozen newly hatched quail on Monday, and brought them home. The little guys need to stay rather warm (high 90s). I used the one really nice heat lamp with a lot of safeguards on it that I'd used for baby chicken chicks last summer - but alas a day or so ago the light bulb burnt out. And apparently the mechanism connecting the bulb to the device was not going to let me remove the bulb to replace it. So, I pulled out one of the other heat lamps and put a good bulb into that. This worked fine, and I set it all up.

One of the things about baby quail is that they can easily drown in waterers that aren't suitable for them - or you find something really shallow (in my case, a saucer for a tea cup) that you have to refill often. The waterer I'd ordered hasn't yet come in. So I used that saucer.

Which means going down every three or four hours to give them more water, even through night.

Well, last night around 12:30 am I woke up and debated moving to go down and add water. I am so GLAD I did, as otherwise I would not have a house right now.

That less-optimal heat lamp had collapsed and was starting to burn a hole into the bedding of the box I had these little fellers in.

If I'd not gone down then... a fire would have started, and I would have lost the house, or at least had severe damage to it. As it was, I did lose one quail who got trapped and overheated when the thing collapsed, but the rest were saved... as was the house and my two lovely cats and everything else.

I think I've fixed the situation... but I'm still shook.
God was there he make you wake so no thing happen. I happy all OK.

Sarana x
 
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