Broody Coturnix?

[Christy610]

Hi all,
We have raised both laying hens and broiler chickens, and now we are interested in giving Coturnix quail a try. From what I've seen it's very difficult to breed and brood naturally, but we would prefer not to buy an incubator. Ideally we would like to keep a few breeding pairs to raise chicks for the table. I was hoping that those who are more experienced would chime in and let me know if this is a realistic goal, or if the broody instinct truly has been bred out of these birds.

 

[WaterfowlWierdo]

I have only heard of a few ever going broody, and if your only going to have a few of them, chances are it will be a long time before you come across a broody.

 

[sniper338]

Gotta have an incubater.

 

[bigrob83]

I have had one out of over a 100 actually go broody and even then it was only for a few days and she quit
have to be incubated
its really not that bad and they grow so fast you wont be dealing with fragile chicks for long

 

[dc3085]

We have been captive breeding coturnix for 1000 years. No one that I have spoken to can even tell me how long ago the trait was lost. I hate to call anything a lost cause but broody coturnix just are. I've heard of plenty of examples of them sitting the eggs, I've never heard of coturnix brooding the eggs for more than 15 days, and usually they only last a week. So even when they do go broody they still don't know what to do.

 

[chippysmom327]

How about you buy a bantam silkie or bantam cochin for their very good broody qualities and have them hatch you out quail?

 

[nayeli]

I am planning on getting pigeons to hatch quail eggs. They are around a similar size and I heard chickens can give your quail disease so I decided I would try a different type of bird =) I haven't tried it yet but I did receive feedback from someone else who tried it with good results.

Only put 3 to 4 eggs under the pigeons and take the chicks away as soon as they are born, pigeons and quail chicks have different requirements, so you should still have a brooder.

 

[Christy610]

Is this true of all domestic quail, then, or just Coturnix?

 

[WaterfowlWierdo]

Some new world species like bobwhite, valley, scaled, and gambel will sometimes go broody with the right conditions

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

This is my very first attempt ever at raising quail and I have mostly Coturnix with a few A&M. I hatched about 3 dozen out back in June and the females started laying a few weeks ago. I have them housed in 4'x5' cages with attached 18"x30" hinged lidded nest boxes filled deep litter. Just to test the whole "quails don't go broody" theory, I decided to not collect the eggs from one trio and watched as the eggs piled up in a corner. Then just over a week ago, one of the females took over the pile (approx 20 eggs) and has been on them ever since. She won't let the other hen come near her corner, and so that hen lays all along the other side of the nest box (not in a pile, like the first), and I've been collecting those loose eggs and eating them. I'll keep you all posted as to the success (or failure, whatever the case may be) of the hatch, along with pictures. I only have 14 (well 13 now, as a raccoon managed to pull one through a cage two nights ago) females, so if she completes a successful hatch, the odds might seem to be better than the previously reported 1/100. Anyway, it can't hurt to try.

BTW, she even sat through two nights of attempted raccoon attacks and it hasn't appear to have phased her. Although I'm happy to report that youngest son set a live trap and caught the raccoon last night, and so no more worries there.