All quail have suddenly stopped laying!

[metalminions]

This may have been covered by previous posts they all seem to feature a change in food. I have 3 hens and a male, and all of my hens have suddenly stopped laying. I haven't changed their food (they have a mixture of quail mix and layers pellets), but they now haven't laid for almost a week. One also appears to have lost quite a lot of feathers on her back near the base of her tail as well (Kevin, my man-quail has a habit of being a bit enthusiastic, but I don't think it's just caused by him!). I hatched them myself last year and they are my first quail, so I'm hoping someone with more experience could help as I'm really worried (particularly about the one with feather loss). I moved them recently, but it was a few days before they stopped, and they get moved every week so I hope it's not caused them any stress. I had thought it could have been our mower, but they haven't had a problem with it before, and I try to keep away from them when using it by strategic moving.

 

[DK newbie]

1) feed
2) light
3) stress

3 main reasons quail stop laying. I'm assuming these are coturnix. If so, I believe I've read that research says their feed needs to have at least 24% protein for optimal egg laying. They also need a calcium supplement. They need 14+ hours of light a day. And anything that stresses them, can cause them to stop laying. If they don't stop right away, that just means they are laying the eggs that have already been formed. As for the feather loss, unless you see mites or see them pecking each other, it is probably caused by over breeding - 3:1 is the lowest recommended ratio for coturnix, 7:1 might rid you of that problem (but introducing new birds to an established group can add a whole new range of problems). Over breeding can also cause stress > no eggs. Moving them, same thing. For some it works and the quail continue laying, for others, it doesn't and the quail might not lay for 3 weeks after being moved. Mower is also a possibility. Something flapping in the wind can stress them. Lots of possibilities.