15 hens 8 weeks old no eggs

[jopheso]

as the title says I have 15 coturnix hens that are 8 weeks old and not a single egg. I live in south Louisiana we are currently getting 13 hours of sunlight a day. I have 16 total birds the 15 hens and the 1 male....the male is just there for sentimental purposes I never see him try to mate and have never heard him crow.

I am feeding them lone star gamebird breeder/layer it is 20% protein. they are in a 5' x 10' x 6'(height) pen on the ground with straw and cover for shade. Now I know that 8 weeks old isn't THAT old, but I figured that 1 or 2 of them would have started by now.


Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


PS yes I have threatened to send them to freezer camp along with all the other males that used to be in that pen

 

[James the Bald]

egg hatching and egg laying are 2 of the most unpredictable events in nature. While Cots mature in 8 weeks, it may be another couple of days until they start laying. Patients.
James

 

[Sill]

Yes James is right, patience. While some can start at 8 weeks 9 weeks is more typical and some lines will not begin until 13 weeks.

Also you might want to up the protein content of your feed. They do better on higher protein. I give mine 26% turkey starter since that's what I can get locally. Now that spring has sprung I've got 80% or better laying daily. Even a group of one year old hens are cranking out an egg a day!

 

[jopheso]

Thanks for the replies guys. I agree patience is the key, I just want make sure there is nothing glaring I am missing here. These birds sure do seem happy. they lay around and stretch out their legs and play in the straw.

I still have a large amount of the starter feed that is 28% protein, would feeding them that somehow mess up their laying ability?

 

[dc3085]

More than a few of us only feed 30% starter for the life of the bird

 

[Fat Daddy]

More than a few of us only feed 30% starter for the life of the bird

X2

 

[Little-Farmer]

I'm in the same boat. My right and a half week coturnix quail are not laying. I'm feeding them the best of the best and giving them treats and they have a pimped out chicken coop and they run up and down the ramp all day. I've never heard my two Roos crow. I even out two fake eggs in their and they started sitting on them so I pulled them out because I read brood ones could keep them from laying. At this rate, they'll be seeing the clever soon.

Can you tell when they are stressed?? The dogs that roam around their cage don't seem to make them that nervous. They don't high tail it for the coop or anything. I like the dogs roaming close by because they keep the snakes and varmints away...

 

[Sill]

More than a few of us only feed 30% starter for the life of the bird

And I would too if I could get it locally. I feed the 26% since that is what I can get. Up your protein levels and see if your hens respond with eggs.

It's hard to tell what can stress quail. They may be used to the dogs and as long as the dogs don't lunge at the birds they may be fine. If there are bachelor roos nearby they can stress resident hens and roos. Predators like hawks or owls can stare them down. Rats or mice can spook them at night.

 

[jopheso]

I have some floating catfish food that is 32% protein. I ground some up and mixed with the layer to bring up the protein level. The fish food is made of fish and grains so no red meat so I think it should be fine. The girls sure liked it. I also ground up the oyster shell and they destroyed that stuff too.

I really hope that its just a of patience.

 

[dc3085]

I'm in the same boat. My right and a half week coturnix quail are not laying. I'm feeding them the best of the best and giving them treats and they have a pimped out chicken coop and they run up and down the ramp all day. I've never heard my two Roos crow. I even out two fake eggs in their and they started sitting on them so I pulled them out because I read brood ones could keep them from laying. At this rate, they'll be seeing the clever soon.

Can you tell when they are stressed?? The dogs that roam around their cage don't seem to make them that nervous. They don't high tail it for the coop or anything. I like the dogs roaming close by because they keep the snakes and varmints away...

Feeding them all that extra, you need to be providing them with digestive grit. They can be freely fed crumble because it is water soluble and dissolves in their crop when they drink. When you add seed, greens, grains, etc. you have to add grit too.

I have some floating catfish food that is 32% protein. I ground some up and mixed with the layer to bring up the protein level. The fish food is made of fish and grains so no red meat so I think it should be fine. The girls sure liked it. I also ground up the oyster shell and they destroyed that stuff too.

I really hope that its just a of patience.

Are either of you guys providing light? A whole lot of quail won't start laying until May on natural light. Metabolic responses in animals (and humans) are triggered by the light they perceive. If quail don't get 14-16 hours of light per day, they won't lay.

Other factors as Sill pointed out are genetics and stress, some lines will lay later. Where stress is concerned it's hard to tell, they don't like loud noises, running water, flapping plastic and that sort of thing. Their eyes pick up a lot more colors than ours do also so things they see can cause a lot of stress too. As they grown if the stresses are minor they'll adapt.