Button quail egg laying question

[Camry08]

My female just laid her an egg for the first time in a while. She rolled it under her once then immediately moved so the male has been sitting on it on her stead. I read somewhere that it’s only the males that hatch and raised the chicks but that doesn’t seem right to me cause other articles say otherwise? I’m conflicted as to what I should do with the egg if he’s consistent in sitting on it I think I’ll let him keep it. So here’s my next question, after incubation begins how long can he be away from the egg before it’s no longer good? And should I give them so hay to see if they will make a nest with it?

 

[JaeG]

They would love some hay to make a nest in. It's generally the female who will incubate and sometimes the male will sit with her. He may just be very excited that she's laid an egg.

Eggs are more hardy than you might think and they are only activated to develop after 24 hours of being sat on. If he gets off after awhile it will go back into stasis mode until it gets sat on consistently. That's how hens can return to their nests, take a few hours to pop out another egg, then get off again until they are ready to lay the next one, all without damaging the eggs laid previously as they build up a clutch large enough to sit on.

I sure hope she lays a clutch for you and sits. If it looks like she has too many to sit on then I'd remove a few until she has enough to fit under her comfortably. Otherwise more of the eggs won't be kept consistently warm enough so won't hatch.

When the chicks hatch the hen looks after the main group and it's the father's job to round up any chicks that stray. He will warm any stragglers back up before returning it to the main group. The work as a team and it's fascinating to watch.

 

[Camry08]

They would love some hay to make a nest in. It's generally the female who will incubate and sometimes the male will sit with her. He may just be very excited that she's laid an egg.

Eggs are more hardy than you might think and they are only activated to develop after 24 hours of being sat on. If he gets off after awhile it will go back into stasis mode until it gets sat on consistently. That's how hens can return to their nests, take a few hours to pop out another egg, then get off again until they are ready to lay the next one, all without damaging the eggs laid previously as they build up a clutch large enough to sit on.

I sure hope she lays a clutch for you and sits. If it looks like she has too many to sit on then I'd remove a few until she has enough to fit under her comfortably. Otherwise more of the eggs won't be kept consistently warm enough so won't hatch.

When the chicks hatch the hen looks after the main group and it's the father's job to round up any chicks that stray. He will warm any stragglers back up before returning it to the main group. The work as a team and it's fascinating to watch.

Thanks so much for the response! I honestly wasn’t expecting her to lay since my room has black out curtains. Will she continue laying or should I open the blinds for some light?

 

[JaeG]

Thanks so much for the response! I honestly wasn’t expecting her to lay since my room has black out curtains. Will she continue laying or should I open the blinds for some light?

Mine were out in an aviary so laid from spring and well into autumn. I'd say they need around 12 hours of light to stimulate them to breed but if they are getting that from artificial light it still seems to have the same effect.

 

[shrimpsilkies]

Button quail is a term mainly used in the US for a small species of old world quail Excalfactoria chinensis, which is common in captivity. This species exhibits typical breeding behavior of quail, with females sitting on eggs with occasional help from the males. This is the species you have.
Buttonquail, outside of the US, refers to species in the genus Turnix. While they look and forage like quail, they’re actually a specialized type of wader shorebird that lives inland. Females abandon the male with the eggs, and he is the only one to incubate and raise them.
To avoid confusion with Turnix buttonquail, Excalfactoria button quail are often called “king”, “painted”, or Chinese quail.

I would avoid hatching the first few eggs she lays since they may be too small to hatch a healthy chick.