Lighting?????

[jaybeeson18]

Ok I'm trying to get my 6 week old coturnix quails to lay. I have them in a shed with a light bulb in a lamp (bright) is this going to work? As a normal house bulb it has that tint of yellow to it. Is this going to work? Ive heard people use Christmas lights and that works so surely this should work

 

[dc3085]

Woah there just slow down trying force eggs out a 6 week old hen. Only birds of certain genetics will lay that soon with. Today's jumbos and all the random breeding that goes on many coturnix won't start laying until closer to 12 weeks of age. It really isn't that much longer and in the scheme of egg laying birds in the world there are very few species that produce them this quick at all. Consider that with many breeds of chicken you won't get eggs until they are 5-6 months old. Some chickens dont even lay in their first year. Most quail are that way also. If bobwhites aren't 30 weeks old when they enter their first spring they won't lay eggs until the next spring.

What can happen trying to force eggs out of birds that young is that you can trigger a second molt that will be really hard on the birds health wise. Also if they may not have even fully finished their first adult molt. Just give them another month before you start pushing them after that feel free to light them up.

 

[dc3085]

Also read this thread regarding properly lighting birds. There are health factors to consider when you don't provide the proper spectrum of light.