Broody Coturnix hen(s)

[Quailobsessed]

Coturnix usually don't do well in pairs. The male will overbreed the hen. He needs 3-5 hens.

They usually don't, but there are definitely exceptions. I successfully keep several pairs who are really bonded to each other.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

I definitely have couples. I even have a set of five birds with two couples and an extra girlfriend. Every once in a while they have swingers' party and everyone takes a turn.

Yes, I know -- not recommended. Still, I'm not changing it up until it stops working.

(P.S. Right now they're making a community nest and all the girls put their eggs in the hole they dug. I'm not holding out for them brooding though. Too many "almost" stories, so I'll just skip the drama.)

I'm thinking of separating them into compatible couples before trying to reintroduce them into a group setting to see if that works. That's kind of what happened with the five birds mentioned above.

As you can tell, I'm losing my backbone on culling the extra roosters. . .sigh.

 

[Lilyofsalen]

@Lilyofsalen, if you're interested in pair-bonding and broodiness in japanese quails, I would recommend looking at this article and others on the website from someone who does keep quails in this sort of setting.
https://holistic-hen.blogspot.com/2017/05/ideas-for-encouraging-pair-bonding.html#.YAoWkugzaUm

Thank you for the resource! It's cool that she got one of her Coturnix hens to adopt chicks. I wonder if I could try that with some of the other hens I'd seen take an interest in setting eggs. I have a Scarlet X Silver (sex-linked) hatch in the incubator that goes into lockdown tomorrow.

 

[Quailobsessed]

It didn't quite go the way I was hoping but she hatched some chicks. I candled the eggs more thoroughly and found that most had died during the late stages of incubation (It smelled and looked like infection). Only two looked good and only one of them had any movement. I exchanged the two good eggs for four eggs from the incubator. The four hatched beneath her overnight and after the hatch was done I brought her inside. She is a good mama. She talks to her chicks, shows them food, shows them water, calls them to her, etc. She has also adopted four more chicks from the incubator. Her chicks will join the aviary and since they have been raised naturally they will be more inclined to go broody.

Congrats! I love watching broody hens raise their own chicks! Hopefully those chicks will eventually make good parents too!

 

[Lilyofsalen]

Yep . . . still got mice . . .

Is it possible there is a mouse nest in my aviary? How would I find it?

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Hi I am really glad you started this thread, DH and I were just talking about expanding into quail. We already have chickens, were discussing how frequently quail go broody and what we would need to get started. I don't have a bator and have always hatched using a broody. I wish to continue with broodies. I am sorry I can't be much help to you, as I am just starting to amass info, but if you don't mind I have a question or two.
Are your male quails very loud? Do they crow like a rooster? Or is it a different sound? I am hoping to keep from having to buy hatching quail eggs to keep my flock going. But do not want the neighbors to complain. Thanks and good luck with your hatch, let us know in a few days how it goes.

 

[Lilyofsalen]

Male quail will crow when upset or overwhelmed. They don't crow like a cock, but more of a "Whhat'eh'ell!!!" Sound.

Note broody coturnix are still incredibly rare. They're so bred out of it and domesticated the instinct is hardly ever shown

Each male can sound a little different too. I have two that sound like they never finished puberty and one that makes this low, bubbly growl. Mine like to stand on top of high places and sound their calls.

 

[Lilyofsalen]

Do you have a barn cat?

I wish, but a cat seems like a nuclear option. My neighbors had a cat and it did an amazing job at destroying the native lizard population (although we also had no mice/rat problems for as long as it was around).

 

[Lilyofsalen]

There's been a pretty major change in the behavior of the female Coturnix in my aviary. A lot of them don't like the males and they've suddenly become more aggressive. Some of them are building nests and showing more interest in sitting on eggs. I'm pretty sure this behavior has to do with them going broody. There's another hen cave that has become a big community nest. The big problem is that there are too many hens competing for it. I put in two more hen caves pretty recently but it seems to take a bit for them to warm up to them. I would've put a lot more nesting sites in had I anticipated them taking an interest in hatching their own.

 

[FloorCandy]

Many of my quail are broody, but I always take their eggs, I don’t think a community pen is a good place to raise chicks, plus if they flush and come down on the chicks it’ll hurt or kill them. My indoor quail readily accept chicks and care for them. New babies are too small though, I had a situation where the adults got startled and flushed and one came down on a chick, and he was smashed into the bedding and stunned, I thought he was dead but he came around. I took them out until they were 5 or 6 days old and they can easily avoid danger now. This is their 3rd set of chicks I think. It makes both the chicks and adults so happy, and my male is obsessed with them.

Quail have so many young because the mortality level is so high, even in a pen without predators, they can easily get lost from their caregivers or squashed. But if you want to encourage broody behavior, you should keep them on the ground, with deep and/or natural substrate.