Is this not the cutest baby quail you have ever seen? On June 20th our family took off for an adventure to Starbucks. The girls and I were lagging behind when we noticed Gary had stopped and seemed to have something to show us. We assumed it was a bug since we are bug obsessed lately- so we were very surprised when he handed us Sophie's bug collector and this little face looked up at us.
The baby chick was alone in the middle of the street and Gary watched to see if the family was nearby- he did not see the family so he decided to take action and swooped the chick up and placed it in Sophie's bug house.
The girl's were giddy and quickly started planning how we would keep our newest pet. We told them that the quail belongs in nature and that they needed to place it back in the desert. After a few good-byes Gabby found a safe place for the chick and she and Sophie tried unsuccesfully to leave the quail. Each time Gabby would leave the baby it would follow Sophie back to the sidewalk. It was adorable seeing this tiny baby follow our little Soph. So after a few attempts Gary and I decided to put her back in the bug house and take it home with us.
Of course we had to give the chick a name. Gabby named her Oz and Sophie called her Peanut. Oz Peanut Venezia came to Starbucks with us and then tagged along with us as we returned home. Once home Gabby and I googled "lost baby quail Arizona" and we found this article. We were relieved to discover that taking the baby was the correct thing to do and then we followed the advise from the site. Gabby LOVED helping me find a box and a warm towel... she was so concerned with every detail. 
I called the emergency number and they told us to bring Oz Peanut to the clinic and they would take care of it. So at 9:30 on a Saturday night we loaded up the family and drove to Scottsdale (a 45 minute trek one way). Gabby was sad to say good-bye but we were so proud of her.
Who knew there was actually a place for rescued quail- apparently the woman that eventually took Oz has some 900 quails that she is rehabilitating and then placing back into the wild.
Although we had a few tears and two very tired little girls, it really was a wonderful lesson to teach our girls.
2 comments:
Oz is so cute!!!
Last month we rescued and fostered a VERY STINKY ferret for a week before we found her family. She escaped from her home over a mile away and we found her curled up on our neighbors doorstep.
It was hard for Gracie to give her back... but we felt (like you did) that it was a wonderful lesson...
p.s. We're definitely NOT ferret people!!!
Thank you for your inclusion of the article! I'm one of Christa Campbell's friends and I was blog-surfing and saw your article. I came back to it today after I noticed a baby quail out of the nest that is by the front door. I spoke with the lady and she was SO nice! Thanks again for including that information...hopefully I'll help save some baby quail!
Jessica
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