Doubt about nests

Tukamen

In the Brooder
Sep 15, 2016
16
2
16
Hi everyone!
I was looking at Pinterest and i see many people put nests in cages with quails.
I have some questions:
-Why?
-Can quail hatch egg? i never read it or hear it.
-If yes how they do it?
Thank you for help, in advance!!
 
Last edited:
If you are talking about Coturnix quail, don't bother with a nest/nest box. They may lay in it sometimes but then they will pick a different spot or they will just lay right in the middle. Coturnix have been know to hatch their own eggs, this is called brooding. Basically the hen sits on the eggs for about 18 days and regulates the temperature so the eggs can develop. However, it is very rare and not something you can predict or force.

If you are referring to a different breed of quail it may be a different story.
 
I'm pretty certain that of all of the videos and stories I've read of a coturnix going broody, none of them were in a cage. All of them were in an aviary.

I have a nest we call the cave (a cloth shopping bag with the edges rolled down) with a plastic tub upside down over it with a door cut out. This sits in the ground coop (2ft x 8ft) inside the aviary (8ft x 8ft). 90% of their eggs are laid in this box 10% somewhere else inside the coop.

I had the cave in their brooder box where they would use it to hide for comfort. It followed them out to the aviary and they have always used it. Introducing one to adults probably wouldn't get used.
 
I'm pretty certain that of all of the videos and stories I've read of a coturnix going broody, none of them were in a cage. All of them were in an aviary.

I have a nest we call the cave (a cloth shopping bag with the edges rolled down) with a plastic tub upside down over it with a door cut out. This sits in the ground coop (2ft x 8ft) inside the aviary (8ft x 8ft). 90% of their eggs are laid in this box 10% somewhere else inside the coop.

I had the cave in their brooder box where they would use it to hide for comfort. It followed them out to the aviary and they have always used it. Introducing one to adults probably wouldn't get used.

Do you have a picture of that set up? I'm having a hard time imagining it.
 
I dont so much space. I have 10, on a transport cage for dogs, that i found.
 
From what I've read, but no personal experience quail will brood and hatch but their environment must be as close as possible to their natural environment in the wild with very little human contact.
When I was researching 'keeping quail' before getting mine I read online an excellent report on keeping quail in a large enclosure full of natural grasses, crevices and shrubs.
It sounded ideal and really inspired me to try to replicate a similar environment but in a back yard. Only time will tell how far I succeed.
Unfortunately I didn't put the article into favourites and now can't find it. if anyone knows the article I'm referring to please let me know.
 

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