Coturnix Quail hatched her own eggs

[Eggs on Toast]

Be careful he is not over breeding her and stressing her out. Coturnix are usually kept 3-7 hens per male so the hens are not over bred.

Okay so should I purchase a couple more hens? I've checked to see if there were any available near by but there isn't so I'll probably check the pet shop later on.

 

[Sill]

Is she currently broody? If so I wouldn't upset her by bringing in strange hens. Just keep watching to make sure he is not over breeding. Watch for pulled out feathers on her head and neck, bloody spots in the same areas, her protesting when he tries to mount her etc.

If she's not broody introduce some new hens but be careful how you do it. Sometimes just dumping strangers into their territory can result in a fight unless there is enough space, hiding places for everyone, multiple feeding stations and water sources so no one gets bullies away from eating and drinking.

 

[Eggs on Toast]

Is she currently broody? If so I wouldn't upset her by bringing in strange hens. Just keep watching to make sure he is not over breeding. Watch for pulled out feathers on her head and neck, bloody spots in the same areas, her protesting when he tries to mount her etc.

If she's not broody introduce some new hens but be careful how you do it. Sometimes just dumping strangers into their territory can result in a fight unless there is enough space, hiding places for everyone, multiple feeding stations and water sources so no one gets bullies away from eating and drinking.

How do I tell if she is broody or not? She has no loss of feathers or bloody spots, she's looking very healthy. She does sometimes run away when the male tries to mount her but most of the time she allows it.

I've got a little mesh cage that can go inside the pen so they can be introduced properly and I have 2 available water bowls but I scatter the food on the ground for them. They also have some hiding spots in there for them.

Anyway, I have another question and was wondering whether you could answer it. There was this little button quail in the pet shop, they had no japanese quail so I'll have to go find another pet store to go to. The button quail was only $5 and I was wondering whether buttons could be housed with Japanese quail, I've never done this before or heard of it.

 

[pigeon lover1]

Well this is rally exciting! Thanks so much for posting the followup. I'm on my first quail raising and I've been keen to know how your broody mum fared.
Now I raised the question in another thread but will ask it here. As the Broodiness of coturnix has been bred out...if you kept a couple of Roos of your mumma and a few daughters do you think it would be conceivable to breed Broodiness back in to your backyard flock? I would love to try!
And the colours you have...did you have different coloured parents? I hatched 23 of 24 eggs that I brought down here but all are identical. The wild colour.

Thanks so much for posting. Give us your thoughts (as well as other readers) on be ing able to bring the Broodiness back!

Could we start a club? The BBB club. Bring Broodiness Back!

Well my friend it may be a weird sighting to you but here in lebanon all our quail are broody and would raise their own young so yes broodiness could be breed back to quail

 

[RumAndCoconuts]

Thanks pigeon lover. I'd love to do that. After incubating many many batches of birds both quail and chickens, I'm really wishing I could just leave it up to the birds. Chickens aren't a problem. One of my girls went broody three times this year alone.

So do your birds need more light to lay? My quail are not great. I'm right on the tropic of Cancer and I only get eggs from April to September. Hardly worth the bother. I need to find a supplement light program that will work for them.
What latitude are you at and do you get consistent eggs from them?

 

[pigeon lover1]

I do not let them lay eggs in winter i give winter like a break for them after laying so much.
Only in winter does my birds stop laying the rest of the year they lay on their own with no artificial light
I am at the east side of the pacific ocean is that gives a clue about our weather and lighting

 

[RumAndCoconuts]

I do not let them lay eggs in winter i give winter like a break for them after laying so much.
Only in winter does my birds stop laying the rest of the year they lay on their own with no artificial light
I am at the east side of the pacific ocean is that gives a clue about our weather and lighting

I am inclined to try artificial lighting as they only laid for five months. I wouldn't continue it the whole year though.

East side of the Pacific Ocean....hmmm...so somewhere between the southern tip of Chile and northern Alaska. Yep, I know exactly what your weather and lighting is like....

 

[pigeon lover1]

Sorry i mean the Mediterranean ocean
I typed that by mistake

 

[pigeon lover1]

Mediterranean sea*

 

[jeanbeanjb]

Who says broodiness has been breed out of quail? I know that's what "they say" but who is they and where's their credentials?
Seems like if quail have been selectively bred for 1000's of years the breeders would have produced a quail with the size & temperment of a Cornish X instead of these tiny wild flighty birds we have today.
I bet if given the proper situation & conditions any of them will go broody & hatch a clutch. The way we raise them battery style really isn't conducive to that.

I know what you mean. I have had 6 female Japanese quails in my quail keeping lifetime (1yr) and 2 has been broody. One is brooding right now and the other was unfortunately killed by my dog before it had a chance to raise a batch. 2 out of 6 does not suggest it's too rare. I am now on a mission to discover the factors that promote broodiness!