how do you make quail lay eggs???

[Mike-Mike]

Any other ideas?

 

[dc3085]

Any other ideas?

They might just not be ready yet. Between it being the time of year they normally stop laying and they just now reaching the age I consider mostly mature. Patience is most likely the solution. Even though everyone says they are sexually mature at 8 weeks and lay eggs by then, that is only a half truth. Even when they do reach sexual maturity it doesnt just come on like a light switch. I mean you are currently attempting to manipulate a natural cycle with an artificial light so give it a minute. Also there are a zillion thread on here about lights you might want to read through, your lights may not be providing the spectrum required to induce laying.

 

[Mike-Mike]

They might just not be ready yet. Between it being the time of year they normally stop laying and they just now reaching the age I consider mostly mature. Patience is most likely the solution. Even though everyone says they are sexually mature at 8 weeks and lay eggs by then, that is only a half truth. Even when they do reach sexual maturity it doesnt just come on like a light switch. I mean you are currently attempting to manipulate a natural cycle with an artificial light so give it a minute. Also there are a zillion thread on here about lights you might want to read through, your lights may not be providing the spectrum required to induce laying.

Thanks for the advice. I will look into the light. I have no problem waiting I just want to make sure that I am not missing something.

 

[Mike-Mike]

2 Eggs today. So it was 3.5 weeks. I am pumped! It's like 17 Deg F here.

 

[cotekim]

Loss of feathers on the head or the back are from mating. The male grabs their head with his beak and jumps on their back with his claws to situate himself for mating. You can try separating them for a time while the girl's feathers grow back. They have special feed that's supposed to help them grow feathers. You can expect your male to crow constantly when you do this and there will be some adjustment when you re-introduce him.

 

[dc3085]

Loss of feathers on the head or the back are from mating. The male grabs their head with his beak and jumps on their back with his claws to situate himself for mating. You can try separating them for a time while the girl's feathers grow back. They have special feed that's supposed to help them grow feathers. You can expect your male to crow constantly when you do this and there will be some adjustment when you re-introduce him.

There should be no missing feathers on the backs of birds. Missing feathers on a quails back means it is being feather picked by the other birds. Mating birds pull on head feathers but will only pull them out if they don't have enough hens present.

 

[cotekim]

Next time you see your quail mating, see where he puts his feet.

 

[dc3085]

Next time you see your quail mating, see where he puts his feet.

I've been raising coturnix for 5 years, and have raised poultry and livestock my entire life. You can't find a bird in my flock missing feathers. If they are missing feathers you are crowding them, underfeeding them, or there aren't enough females for the number of males. Missing feathers on a coturnix is a sign of over breeding or feather picking.

 

[BackYardQuail]

I agree with Don, the 13 quail I got recently (male and female) all have bare backs and they aren't even mature yet so they can't have bare backs from mating.

 

[702marine]

My coturnix quail are 8 weeks old and no eggs yet.They are on 24% high quality feed with plenty of daylight. Hope to see some eggs soon or they may need to go to the freezer...