broody coturnix, help!

[CDEDBDwings]

I have 3 females and one male. I haven't marked them so I don't know who is doing what. There has been 3 or more established nests with eggs laid every day and a female sits on them occasionally until the nest is full. Once there is about 9 or 10 eggs in the nest, they ignore it! I seems that the other birds like the dug out ground nests and kick all the eggs out so they can take a dust bath in it. I was so proud of my girl(s?) for making the nests, is there anything I can do to help a coturnix make it all the way to a hatch?

 

[JJMR794]

Short Of Using Duct Tape? Not Likely

Some Make It All The Way, But It's Rare

 

[CDEDBDwings]

If I can figure which female owns the nest, should I block the bird and nest from the other 3 quail? The momma sits on the eggs but kind of gets chased away by the other birds. From what I understand, momma should sit on the eggs sporadically until they've laid a full clutch, then she begins to sit more to incubate so they all hatch at the same time. This is my first time with quail and I know that coturnix aren't the motherly type. I think that if she were left alone it would turn out better. Why would a quail destroy another's nest? the second nest I found I thought might have been a re-do after the first was disturbed. Should I just give up, or is it a good sign they she is laying all her eggs in the nest she made ?
Mu husband wants to take the eggs but I won't let him since it looks like she's trying to take care of them (and we dont have an incubator).

 

[JJMR794]

If You Want Quail Babies It's Time To Get An Incubator....

Few Coturnix Go Broody In Captivity... Of Those That Do Maybe (and I'm Being Generous Here) 10% Will Ride It Out All The Way To The End

 

[CDEDBDwings]

Thanks. I will stop getting all crazy about protecting their nests! I thought once they had a nest full of eggs, rather than floor eggs, that we had made it over the hurdle. So, another question...Is it horrible to let them eat the eggs? I broke one accidentally once and they go crazy for it. They ate all of the shell too.

 

[thekid]

Quote:
well if they are eating them after they lay that bad but the egg and shell are healty for them

 

[CDEDBDwings]

Thanks. They have never eaten any on their own. I know this because I obsessively count the eggs to see if they are done laying and should be spending time on the nest. But they will fight over an egg if I break one. I guess I will just let them feast...it seems so cannibalistic. I hope they wont develop a taste for it! I have 4 new valley quail and I don't want the bigger birds to eat their eggs

 

[laughingdog]

good to hear im not the only one with broody courternix, though youll need a box, or nest in a brush pile to get them to hatch them, even then in a cage my other adults trample them when feeding time. watch out though and keep track of the nests, as once they get to breeding successfully, they just go crazy and explode in population. i keep getting told i should release to populate in absence of bobwhites in my area. so far only few that made it to escape during floods, and think some more that got out as youngins flying out over top before realized that group were flying, or they werent caught when babies and got out of bar spacing.

funny there must be some cross breeding or something that produces the broodiness, as the one of two hen's line brood and are hardy, the other well the female died, her babies arent real hardy at all in a game bird respect.

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
IMO---- ABSOLUTELY POSSITIVELY DO NOT LET THEM EVER EAT EGG IN A RECOGNIZEABLE FORM! EGG EATING IS A BAD ENOUGH PROBLEM WITH THEM TO START WITH AND THIS WILL SEND THEM INTO FULL BLOWN EATER FRENZY... ONCE IT STARTS DEATH IS THE ONLY CURE, AND BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY IT'S A MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO THING WITH THEM... ALL IT TAKES IS 1 SEEING ANOTHER DO IT ONCE AND IT'S GAME ON! NOW IF YOU WANT TO MASH THEM UP BEYOND ALL RECOGNITION AND MIX IT IN THEIR FEED THATS FINE, BUT NEVER IN ITS NATURAL RECOGNIZABLE STATE

 

[laughingdog]

also forgot to tell you can use dummy eggs for their nests to show were to lay like chickens sometimes, and also helps break the egg eating as well (if eggs are collected promtly). if you dont want a bator, just get some doves or pigeons, as theyll hatch them out for you, though they try to put the babies back in the nest, as the babies are trying to pop out all over at once like popcorn it seems. also if just keeping doves or pigeons with the quail, they sometimes just take over a nest with or without eggs and collect them to hatch, or make nests that the quail go to to lay, and sometimes sleep.