Quail won't lay. :(

Pivotman94

In the Brooder
5 Years
Apr 25, 2014
32
1
24
Hello BYC.

I'm new but have been reading here for a while now.
I just got into raising poultry so I'm still new to this.

So about 3 or 4 months ago I got 7 baby quail from a breeder near by.
They were only a few days old. When they became adults the were moved from their indoor brooder to a large enclosure outside.

It's been weeks since they have been moved, and nothing! I thought I may have been very unlucky and only gotten males so I got some gloves and flipped them over and had a look. I had two males and five females so I thought I would just wait for nature to take its course.

Since then I have had two deaths! :(
One, the biggest male one day seemed a little down, not moving just sitting there with his feathers fluffed up.
I checked on him 10 minutes later and we was dead. Same sort of thing happened to the other.

I don't know where I'm going wrong, any guidance would be great. I don't want to keep them little guys if I can't take good care of them.

Ok here is what there eating. There on starter (which is 20% protein) and a poultry tonic.
I live in Ireland and it's summer so it's nice and warm. They also have a nice nesting box.

Could they maybe not have enough light? There enclosure is beside some tree and a little in the shade.

What could it be?

Thanks in advance.
 
I don't know whats wrong with your quail so unfortunately I cant give any insight on that but what I can tell you is that starter feed should not be fed to adult birds. You should switch to game bird pellets (or crumbles) because it is made specifically for adult birds and will help your birds start laying. What symptoms did your quail show before he died? I would put them on a broad spectrum antibiotic.
Good luck.
 
I don't know whats wrong with your quail so unfortunately I cant give any insight on that but what I can tell you is that starter feed should not be fed to adult birds. You should switch to game bird pellets (or crumbles) because it is made specifically for adult birds and will help your birds start laying. What symptoms did your quail show before he died? I would put them on a broad spectrum antibiotic.
Good luck.

I couldn't source any game bird feed in my area. :( This was the next best thing or so I thought.
I'll keep looking, any brand you would recommend?

The birds showed little to no symptoms really. They just looked sluggish, not moving much. Feather were all fluffed up.
There was no physical damage to them and they both look very health.

Where would I find a broad spectrum antibiotic? What would be a common one?
 
Check your local feed store for an antibiotic. Duramycin 10 (or it could be called Tetracycline) is good to have on hand and is relatively inexpensive. I put 3/4 of a tsp in a quart watering dish for 7 days. You could go up to 14 days if your birds do not get better. Ask someone who works there for a good antibiotic for poultry.

If your feed stores do not have game bird feed you can buy chicken layer feed or All Flock. I buy All Flock when my feed store runs out of game bird feed. All flock has higher percentage of protein which is better then chicken layer feed (here where I live the protein percentage in layer feed is only 15% and quails need over 20%). All flock has around 18% or 20% protein, I cant remember.

Food brands depend entirely on what you want. Do you want an organic feed or all natural or both. Do you want just a regular feed( these feeds are cheaper than the organic and natural ones). Purina is a good brand but I prefer Nutrena Naturewise or NatureSmart. There is also country feeds. Bar Ale is a good brand and sell non gmo organic natural feeds. It all depends on what you have where you live. I just buy all natural since organic is hard to find where I live.

I'm waiting on one of my quail to lay eggs as well. I got her from the feed store as an adult so I do not know how old she is. What breed are your quail?
 
Hello BYC.

I'm new but have been reading here for a while now.
I just got into raising poultry so I'm still new to this.

So about 3 or 4 months ago I got 7 baby quail from a breeder near by.
They were only a few days old. When they became adults the were moved from their indoor brooder to a large enclosure outside.

It's been weeks since they have been moved, and nothing! I thought I may have been very unlucky and only gotten males so I got some gloves and flipped them over and had a look. I had two males and five females so I thought I would just wait for nature to take its course.

Since then I have had two deaths! :(
One, the biggest male one day seemed a little down, not moving just sitting there with his feathers fluffed up.
I checked on him 10 minutes later and we was dead. Same sort of thing happened to the other.

I don't know where I'm going wrong, any guidance would be great. I don't want to keep them little guys if I can't take good care of them.

Ok here is what there eating. There on starter (which is 20% protein) and a poultry tonic.
I live in Ireland and it's summer so it's nice and warm. They also have a nice nesting box.

Could they maybe not have enough light? There enclosure is beside some tree and a little in the shade.

What could it be?

Thanks in advance.
Your protein level is inadequate. Don't give starter for chickens they are not chickens. They need closer to 26% as adults, more as chicks. I give mine turkey starter with oyster shell offered freely for strong egg shells. It they are only getting 20% that is probably why they are not laying.
 
Your protein level is inadequate. Don't give starter for chickens they are not chickens. They need closer to 26% as adults, more as chicks. I give mine turkey starter with oyster shell offered freely for strong egg shells. It they are only getting 20% that is probably why they are not laying.

I have been looking all over for game bird feed with no luck, I'm going to go to my local shop again today.
Here are the most common feeds in Ireland could someone take a look and recommend the best?

http://www.redmills.com/ie/agri/products/poultry/
 
This was listed at that site - 30% Turkey/Game Starter Crumb. I would go with that for chicks and your birds that have been getting low protein. You could do the 24% Turkey/Game Growers Pellets for adults after they start laying, but I would mix the two for the adults to get 26-28%.

FYI the crumbles would need to be put through a blender for just hatched chicks for the first week since they are so tiny they cannot eat the crumbles.

Remember to give oyster shell or ground egg shells freely for your layers.
 
This was listed at that site - 30% Turkey/Game Starter Crumb. I would go with that for chicks and your birds that have been getting low protein. You could do the 24% Turkey/Game Growers Pellets for adults after they start laying, but I would mix the two for the adults to get 26-28%.

FYI the crumbles would need to be put through a blender for just hatched chicks for the first week since they are so tiny they cannot eat the crumbles.

Remember to give oyster shell or ground egg shells freely for your layers.

Ok Thats for your advice it's appreciated!

I will let you know how it goes. :)
 
Go so I just got back from the largest feed distributor in my area.
Bad new they don't stock 30% Turkey/Game Starter Crumb and they don't think they will be able to order it in. :O

They do however stock 24% Turkey/Game Growers Pellets. Any use to me?

Ok so what can I do? I have check online for distributors in Ireland with no luck so far!
Can't I just make my own feed?

*Update* Ok I final found a place online in Ireland that stocks the 30% Turkey/Game Starter Crumb but it's only 25 KG bags.
Do I need it or is there any other way? :/
 
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Ask around and see if you can find soy bean meal. Game bird feed is non existent in my area so I have to supplement. No deaths so far.
 

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