Why did my birds quit laying?

[kingfisherjr]

I cannot figure out why my quail quit laying.. I have been raising quail for about a year and always had more eggs than I could deal with. I have about 40 Coturnix Quail between ages 10 weeks and 10 months in 2 separate pens and they all quit laying eggs about 2 Months ago. I bought some more eggs from another breeder and hatched 5 more quail which I put in the empty pen and they are not laying either. I live on the Texas Gulf coast about an hour south of Houston. Both pens are in full daylight, I feed chicken layer feed plus give them grass, veggies, ect. I cannot figure out for the life of me what is going on. At first I figured some sort of disease but I kept the new birds separate, in a different pen, and they are now 10 weeks old but not laying. I do not have any type of heat lamps or anything in the pens but they always have plenty of food and water. Also they are not overcrowded. My only other thought is that I live in town and both my neighbors have dogs outside, which bark a lot. Could my birds be to stressed and not laying for that reason? And if so is there anything I can do for this? Does anyone have any other ideas? I have attached pictures of my pens so yall can get a visual of my setup, maybe I'm missing something.. Thanks for any help.

 

[kingfisherjr]

 

[Tony K T]

How many hours of sunlight are they getting?They need at least 14 hours a day.I always fed all my quail gamebird crumbles.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[kingfisherjr]

They are getting about 10 hours a day right now. Do I have I provide artifical light during the months when the sun is not out for 14 hours in order for them to lay year round? I tried feeding gamebird feed but it is way to expensive for me. I raise birds for meat and eggs and I just don't want to spend that much money to feed them year round. They were laying like crazy up until a couple of months ago, the only things that have changed is the weather, amount of sunlight (Winter vs Summer), and the barking dogs. So the light would make since if that is it. Does anyone reading this have birds laying this time of the year without providing artifical lighting for them?

 

[Tony K T]

I think the sunlight is your problem.The dogs may make them nervous,but if they don't see them I don't think they feel threatened from them.The temp may have something to do with it also but I think the light is your main problem.Maybe you could put a light on a timer for the extra 4 hours of light they need.Add a few fruits and veggies to their diet also.Roll a few grapes in their pen and watch the show at how they look at them.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[stephstuckman]

Once I put lights up, it took about 3 weeks for them to start to lay again. They just started so I am getting 4 eggs from 15 hens. Hopefully I will continue to get more eggs. My aussie goes out with me to feed and water the quail and gets under the cage and makes them flush. It doesn't really seem to bother them, she had been doing it since they were 3 weeks old. It has been 10 degrees Fahrenheit the last week and they still seem to be starting up with laying fine.

 

[kingfisherjr]

Thanks guys, it sounds like this is my problem. I am going to get some lights in their pens and see if this solves my problem. I would like to use some sort of solar lighting with a timer on it so I do not have to drag electrical cords around my yard. Does anyone have any experience with this? I can find solar lighting with photocells but can't find any timers on them. I would like for them to turn on at dusk and turn off after like 3 hours or something. Any advise?