bobwhite quail ?'s

[aliena614]

i have had my quail now for almost a year! i have 3 males and 3 females! looking to get more in the spring but mine have yet to produce any eggs! just wondering if my boy to girl ratio has something to do with this or if it could be something eltse!

 

[Birdman18]

Hi,
i would try to keep 1 male and 1 female together or 1 male to 2 females. Were the males fighting when you had they all together? , if so that might be why.
Also you should be feeding the birds a good Breeder Diet.

Hope this helps

Good Luck!

 

[aliena614]

i have them all in the same avery and have had no fighting problems at all! they all seem to mingle just fine! the are all on gamebird breeder feed and still no luck! guess ill have to get rid of some boys in the spring! :-(

 

[Birdman18]

yeah your best bet is to get rid of the excess males, maybe that will help.
Anyways i wish you luck, hopefully soon you'll have plenty of eggs, i had problems with quails too at one time then they just layed eggs like crazy, give them time you'll have plenty of eggs.

 

[aliena614]

thanks bird man! one=ce you started getting eggs how many where they laying?

 

[Birdman18]

Quote:
Oh your very welcome, anytime!
well i had the Coturnix Quails, they must of layed around 150 eggs. I'm trying to get some bobwhite quails in for this spring though, i remember having 2 of them when i was 11 years old or so and somehow those birds stuck with me and i do miss them, after 9 years i'm giving it another try. Bobwhites seem to bring a "wild" feeling, just watching them with their purrs and chirps sounds like wildlife, very soothing.

 

[Tony K T]

Bobwhite quail need 16 hours of sunlight before they will lay.I don't think an articical light will work,but it's worth a short.Definely get rid of 2 males as when one tries to breed a hen a male will try to knock him of for himself and fertility suffers.If you split up the 3 pairs you should get excellent fertility,but 1 male will breed up to 10 hens with no problem.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[aliena614]

sweet! i will be looking to get 2 of my boys new homes asap! i do have a lamp in their coop for heat when the sun goes down! it gets cold as crap here!

 

[monarc23]

Quote:
I dont think the problem is at all with the excess males though esp if theres no fighting. I bet it's all in lack of light. It's 14 hours a day by the way that's needed.

They could start laying as soon as 2 weeks after you start giving them lighting. Even just a normal light bulb for a bedroom will do on them atleast 14 hours a day. Believe me it helps!

Good luck!

 

[Lophura]

I would just wait until spring, allow them to natural covey for the winter and then separate for breeding once the weather begins to moderate. No need to force it, wild Bobwhite aren't pairing up yet.

Dan