➡ Quail Hatch Along🥚

[sarabeth485]

So I’m down to 33 eggs from my original 36. Managed to poke a hole in one with the small metal bar in the incubator that connects to the rack for auto-turing.

 

[BReeder!]

I need help... My quail are still not laying. There's 20 of them now since I sent all the TX A&Ms to freezer camp. There's 3 male and 17 female Jumbo Browns in a 3'x8' cage. I moved them outside 2 weeks ago and put them on the grass. Now they are on a paved patio just because of rainy weather and the fact that their poop was killing the grass. These are my breeders and layers now, or at least they are supposed to be. I'm going to eventually give them a run/pen with dirt and plants, but for now they have to remain on wire, but it's on the ground. They have a solid roof for protection from rain and the are located in the shade to keep them from getting too hot in direct sunlight. It's 50F-70F regularly now. They get fresh food and water daily. We keep a 3lb feeder and about 3/4 gallon waterer filled or at least top them off on a daily basis. The feed is a mix of 1 part 40% protein poultry feed and 2 parts 22% protein gamebird breeder feed (comes out to ~27% protein and the gamebird breeder has calcium and trace elements/micro nutrients that they need). There's no signs of disease of ailments. I'm just not getting eggs at all though... Any thoughts?

BTW, they hatched Jan. 16, 2019. There was 40 birds until a about a month ago when a culled 5 of 8 JB males and then culled all the TX A&Ms, So these 20 JBs have had the entire 3'x8' cage to themselves for 2-3 weeks now, which makes me think that stress from close quarters would not be the issue. Even when there was 40 birds, they had room in there to move around plenty.

 

[el dorado quail]

Too many snacks is bad.

Yeah?

 

[Kiki]

Yeah?

Yes the more snacks you feed the left complete feed they eat which means they will not get a complete diet.
You should limit the snacks to a very teeny tiny small amount every once in awhile, not daily.

 

[Sara L]

I need help... My quail are still not laying. There's 20 of them now since I sent all the TX A&Ms to freezer camp. There's 3 male and 17 female Jumbo Browns in a 3'x8' cage. I moved them outside 2 weeks ago and put them on the grass. Now they are on a paved patio just because of rainy weather and the fact that their poop was killing the grass. These are my breeders and layers now, or at least they are supposed to be. I'm going to eventually give them a run/pen with dirt and plants, but for now they have to remain on wire, but it's on the ground. They have a solid roof for protection from rain and the are located in the shade to keep them from getting too hot in direct sunlight. It's 50F-70F regularly now. They get fresh food and water daily. We keep a 3lb feeder and about 3/4 gallon waterer filled or at least top them off on a daily basis. The feed is a mix of 1 part 40% protein poultry feed and 2 parts 22% protein gamebird breeder feed (comes out to ~27% protein and the gamebird breeder has calcium and trace elements/micro nutrients that they need). There's no signs of disease of ailments. I'm just not getting eggs at all though... Any thoughts?

BTW, they hatched Jan. 16, 2019. There was 40 birds until a about a month ago when a culled 5 of 8 JB males and then culled all the TX A&Ms, So these 20 JBs have had the entire 3'x8' cage to themselves for 2-3 weeks now, which makes me think that stress from close quarters would not be the issue. Even when there was 40 birds, they had room in there to move around plenty.

How much light are they getting? Are the males crowing? When I am growing out a batch, the males start crowing a week or two before the hens start laying.

 

[CindyinSD]

@BReeder! It sounds like a nice big space for them to roam around, maybe not so easy for you to closely examine. Do you have a bunch of furniture in there? I don’t know whether quail eat eggs like some chickens do, but I’ve heard they do sometimes hide them.

 

[Sara L]

@BReeder! It sounds like a nice big space for them to roam around, maybe not so easy for you to closely examine. Do you have a bunch of furniture in there? I don’t know whether quail eat eggs like some chickens do, but I’ve heard they do sometimes hide them.

X2. Mine will hide the eggs if they have shavings or dirt to scoop over them. And some do eat eggs.

 

[DK newbie]

@BReeder! I think the issue is either too many males in one enclosure - when they chase each other they stress the hens = no eggs - or the fact that you have been changing around things too much. Killing 20 birds = don't expect the rest to lay for the next 2 weeks. Moving the cage outside = don't expect them to lay for 2 weeks. Moving the cage from the grass to the patio = don't expect them to lay for 2 weeks.
More space per bird definitely wouldn't hurt either, but it's unlikely to be only that preventing them from laying.

 

[el dorado quail]

Yes the more snacks you feed the left complete feed they eat which means they will not get a complete diet.
You should limit the snacks to a very teeny tiny small amount every once in awhile, not daily.

Hmmmm well isn't the point of a grazing box to limit what they have access to? Like they only eat what can grow up to where they can reach. So would it still be too much?

 

[le_bwah]

Hmmmm well isn't the point of a grazing box to limit what they have access to? Like they only eat what can grow up to where they can reach. So would it still be too much?

I had a grazing box for my flock—a pretty small one. They didn't seem to overeat, but they would get frustrated at being unable to eat the shoots under the wire to the point they'd spend cumulative hours banging their beaks against it .

Don't know if that's typical Coturnix intelligence or if mine are just special—it's been my experience that overgrazing is less of an issue than hyper-fixating. I hope yours get the picture quicker .