Button Quail laying eggs in nest

[rsb911411]

Does anyone else's button quail build a nest to lay eggs in as well, or is there a chance I might have a hen or two that will go broody? I have heard they just lay anywhere and then gather them up to brood if that is what they decide to do, but I have three that will build a nest everyday in a new place, since I remove the eggs from the day before, and then all three will lay in it.

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

what do you mean by "Building" a new nest? mine lays in the same spot every day in a little house i made her. if you make hem a place she May go broody. mine has been broody since day 1! do you have pics of them?

 

[rsb911411]

I have 2 little house type things for them to use. They have used them once but laid in a different place the next day. When I say build a nest, I mean they gather hay and make a small circular nest in one spot and lay their eggs. One time they put it in a 4 inch pipe I put in their cage for them to hide in. The most recent nest is hidden between that pipe and their dust bath box. I left their eggs in yesterday to see if they would lay there again

 

[DK newbie]

I have had many broody buttons and they have always laid all the eggs in the nest from the beginning - the thing about collecting eggs from different places into a single nest when going broody, I've read many times as well but I've never experienced it.
They don't actually build much of a nest though, they pretty much just lay the eggs in the same place. But that might be because I don't usually give them any hay to built the nest from, they just have shavings.

 

[rsb911411]

I put 17 eggs in my incubator I collected over about the past week, so I think I am going to let the new ones stay in the cage to see if they go broody. That would be amazing if all three do since they lay together!! Though I am not sure how that would work out.....

 

[DK newbie]

It tends to cause problems when you have several hens in an enclosure and one goes broody. The others keep laying eggs in her nest, causing her to have so many she can't cover them and the chicks inside will likely go cold and die in turns. I had one hen though, that became so aggressive when broody she wouldn't let the others near the nest - that was much better
If one goes broody, you could take 6-8 eggs and mark them, then remove all other eggs from the nest whenever she leaves it, but it might be hard to catch her off the nest..

 

[rsb911411]

I am still fairly new with button quail so I appreciate your information. If I am lucky enough to have a hen go broody, I have a cage I should be able to move her to so she can incubate in peace, and hopefully stay broody until they hatch. It would be so neat to watch her raise them!

 

[DK newbie]

I would not attempt moving her when she's gone broody. In my experience they are very different from chickens with regards to how easy it is to break their broodiness. Some leave the nest if the food and water dish is too close to it, so I put my hands near the nest often (if I notice that they are about to go broody I move the dishes away from the nest). Some leave it because they decide the spot is not sufficiently sheltered to be safe. Some leave it if I try to add cover to make them feel more safe so they won't leave it.. They don't like changes.

 

[rsb911411]

Oh, well, there are three laying in the same nest so maybe more than one will go broody. I will just have to watch it and see if they stop sitting (if they go broody) so I can put them in the incubator. I may also just try to section her off since my cage is large enough for that. We shall see...