Broody Coturnix?

[dc3085]

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.

1/100? More like 1/100000 and even that is probably being quite generous. They sit eggs often enough but actually hatching them is the rarity. I hope yours stays the course but dont get to upset if she quits on you.

Good luck!

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

It's been six days since my last update, and she's STILL sitting on the eggs, leaving only long enough to grab a drink and a bite to eat. She's been on them two weeks already and so far shows no signs of abandoning them. If all continues to go well, in just a few days I'll be able to share pictures of a successful hatch.

By the way, youngest son ended up trapping FOUR raccoons this past week. He used an ancient all wire Havahart live trap, baited it each night with a can of sardines, and set the trap on top of the quail hutches since that's where the racoons seemed to always head for. It's been a few nights since he's caught one, but is keeping the trap set for a couple more days, just in case...

 

[burny]

I have 2 hens broody!

 

[Sill]

It's been six days since my last update, and she's STILL sitting on the eggs, leaving only long enough to grab a drink and a bite to eat. She's been on them two weeks already and so far shows no signs of abandoning them. If all continues to go well, in just a few days I'll be able to share pictures of a successful hatch.

By the way, youngest son ended up trapping FOUR raccoons this past week. He used an ancient all wire Havahart live trap, baited it each night with a can of sardines, and set the trap on top of the quail hutches since that's where the racoons seemed to always head for. It's been a few nights since he's caught one, but is keeping the trap set for a couple more days, just in case...

Good luck! She's very cute.

There is always another raccoon. Keep setting the trap.

 

[peanut1981]

Okay. I forgot where I read this, but it was a British book about coturnix is what I remember. Keeping your hens over a second breeding season increases the chances that she will go broody and hatch her own eggs.

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

Okay. I forgot where I read this, but it was a British book about coturnix is what I remember. Keeping your hens over a second breeding season increases the chances that she will go broody and hatch her own eggs.

Keeping older hens is not a problem for me. Or maybe it is, seeing as I have a hard time parting with my old faithful biddies.

I have a duck hen that's over 8 years old, and a few chicken hens that are well past their prime, and most all of them now tend to go broody at least once a year (with a couple even doing so every few months) and they make for very protective moms. So I don't consider them non-productive just because they aren't laying near as much (if at all) as they used to.

 

[Sill]

Okay. I forgot where I read this, but it was a British book about coturnix is what I remember. Keeping your hens over a second breeding season increases the chances that she will go broody and hatch her own eggs.

I guess their biological clock gets to be ticking after the first year. I'll have to keep a few and try.

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

1/100? More like 1/100000 and even that is probably being quite generous. They sit eggs often enough but actually hatching them is the rarity. I hope yours stays the course but dont get to upset if she quits on you.

Good luck!

Here's to 1/100000!

(Thank you for the wishes for good luck, as it seems to have worked!

)






Four have hatched so far, and more are pipping at this every moment!

 

[peanut1981]

Awesome

 

[Sill]

Here's to 1/100000!

(Thank you for the wishes for good luck, as it seems to have worked!

)






Four have hatched so far, and more are pipping at this every moment!

Big congrats on this clutch! How is this hen set up? It looks like the nest is in an enclosed area with shavings, what is the rest of her enclosure like and how many quail in her covey?