Calies, Bobwhites & Japanese not laying :(

[DavidFromGlenEden]

Hey JaeG,

In every big cages lies 2 inches worth of mulch. I didn't have the heart to place them on a bare wire. I'll have a dig around, fingers crossed!

I found some mouse poo in the feed, some slime from slugs and luckily no holes made by predators. There's a lot of trees around and compost bins, the rats have easier targets or places to feed in.

Oyster shell being soluble, I've least something today. Do you think the standard oyster shells being 0.5cm are too big for a quails mouth?

3 different breeds, all of mature laying ages, in 10 good size cages. There's got to be a common denominator. Why aren't they laying! Can a mouse (not a rat) eat the eggs? The mouse surely can't serve all 10 cages in the same night, every night!

I'm "glad" to hear your quails also had a late start. A shame that everyone else have either laid or hatched!

Thanks for your support JaeG.

David

 

[JaeG]

Hey JaeG,

In every big cages lies 2 inches worth of mulch. I didn't have the heart to place them on a bare wire. I'll have a dig around, fingers crossed!

I found some mouse poo in the feed, some slime from slugs and luckily no holes made by predators. There's a lot of trees around and compost bins, the rats have easier targets or places to feed in.

Oyster shell being soluble, I've least something today. Do you think the standard oyster shells being 0.5cm are too big for a quails mouth?

3 different breeds, all of mature laying ages, in 10 good size cages. There's got to be a common denominator. Why aren't they laying! Can a mouse (not a rat) eat the eggs? The mouse surely can't serve all 10 cages in the same night, every night!

I'm "glad" to hear your quails also had a late start. A shame that everyone else have either laid or hatched!

Thanks for your support JaeG.

David

It's amazing how big their mouths are. If there are bits of oyster shell that are too big they just won't eat those bits so don't stress too much.

It does seem strange none of yours have started. I know (from experience) that mice will eat finch eggs but quail eggs would be too big and they wouldn't eat the shells even if they did have a go. The quail food would be a much easier snack.

Slugs are awful! You could try sitting the feeder in a tray of wood ash or salt as they won't cross that. The quail will dustbathe in it but it's better than slugs eating their food.

Are your males calling? That's supposed to be a stimulant for the females to start laying.

 

[DavidFromGlenEden]

Hey JaeG,
You just spotted another reason, you must be clairvoyant (joke)! I separated my males from the females Japanese quails as the males kept on fighting. Males would go straight for the back of the neck in under a second. Yes two males are calling like mad, even at 5am when the sun starts to rise. When I had males with the females Japanese then I would find foam on the ground/mulch, just like the males missed their targets. White foam and calling means the males are really. Yet the Japanese females don't even lay an unfertilised egg, there's more than ten females in the cage

Thanks for the oyster shell tip, it just makes sense, I wouldn't eat either something bigger than my mouth!

That's right JaeG, there are no empty shells leftovers meaning no mouse would have eaten the eggs. And true, quail feed at 22% protein, why bother if I was a mouse!

The feed are suspended and the slugs still find a way to climb the walls, get on the mezzanine floor, find the rope, climb down the string, get through the feeder lid and eat the feed. There is slim everywhere. Pretty much ninja slugs!

The California males are not trying to climb on the Californian females either. They did last season around late February (please note the southern hemisphere season). They would have been 6 months old then. I then separated the siblings and matched them with Cali Quails from another breeder. So the new couple from 2 different breeders were matched in autumn hoping for them to bond. Shall I swap the couples around since there is no visible action going on? Do Cali Quails have a calling sound just like the Japanese quails? Still no eggs, no humping, I have 2 trios, and 3 couples in 5 different cages/hutch, where are my eggs!

As for my bobwhite quails, there's no action either, I don't see the male trying to climb on the two females' back. Perhaps I should youtube their calling, that way I would know if at least the male is in the mood. I have a trio and a couple in 2 different cages. Still no action, still no eggs.

Thanks JaeG for your support, I'll gratefully appreciate any help.

Thanks BYC

 

[dpenning]

Do ambient temps matter? Will they lay when it is cooler out. I thought 62*f was cool but I live in tTexas and mine are not laying right now either and I’m just dreaming of those temps approaching. Our days are shorter right now so that is what I’m attributing the no eggs to here. My chicken hens are being freeloaders now too. This is my first year with quail so I’m still learning.

 

[DavidFromGlenEden]

Hi depenning,

it's spring here in the southern hemisphere, strawberries are on sale already! True 65f/18c ain't hot but we've got 13 hours daylight. I'll let the poultry professionals decide, in my understanding light matters more than heat??? For example chicken lay eggs in Alaskan/Greenland spring, others use a light bulb 14 hours a day to mimic daylight in the winter. The super pros uses a heat pad in cooler months, in my understanding light matters more than heat? Can any pros back correct me please?

The Japanese quails are like clockwork, bobwhites are rare in New Zealand and common in the US. Perhaps a bobwhite pro can help me out.

Thank you all

 

[dpenning]

I think you are probably right. I'm going to try to add some lighting to my chickens and see if I can get them laying. If it works for them I'll try it with the quail next. I refuse to add any supplemental heat during the winter as I don't want a power failure to make them all freeze but the light will be an interesting experiment.

 

[DavidFromGlenEden]

Hey dpenning,
Give solar lights a try, they normally work for 4 hours after sunset. Others use a standard light bulb but 14 hours max before they start going nuts.

Regarding the heat you'll need to move your cages/pen in the winter sun, try to mimic a greenhouse effect but be careful on the sunny winter days, they might roast! Just like houses, 40% of the heat is lost through the ceiling so try to insulate the roof with polystyrene or even plywood, they're cheap to find secondhand. you could get a heat lamp just like the ones in a bathroom, they're cheap and provides a 100watt of heat energy. So you'll eventually get heat and light at the same time. Store ceramic pots, they store a lot of heat, just like concrete areas. Every little degree helps. If you follow the rules of physics it will cost less to heat your home up to 59f/15c, every degrees after that will cost you more ie there will be more atoms to heat following an exponential pattern. A lower ceiling would be great also. I strongly believe that you can save a lot of winter heat without using a heater.

Hi BYC,
I finally got one Japanese quail egg this morning! One egg is a good start out of my 7 Japanese hens! I installed my garden compost bin on the other side of the section to direct the rats and cats away. I've scratched the surface of the mulch and still no other eggs. My Japanese cage is sun facing, every other cages are in the shade. I hope it's a temperature thing, perhaps there is a minimum temperature for quails to lay eggs. The bobwhites are loving the oyster sand.their cages is also facing the sun but no eggs

Cheers,

David

 

[DavidFromGlenEden]

Finally I got another Japanese quail egg! So that's 2 in total, I'm a rich man haha

Still no news on the Californian and bobwhite quails, no eggs yet

 

[DavidFromGlenEden]

Hi BYC,

Today I realised that the sun shines in different locations through out the year! The sun rays finally made it under a huge tree, where the aviaries are!

It's not an abundance of eggs but I got my first California quail this morning!

Thanks for all your support BYC!

 

[DavidFromGlenEden]

Hello again,

To keep the thread complete, a question got left out. Can a quail/bird lay an unfertilised egg?

The female makes the egg first without the shell prior fertilisation. How else would the roo's semen penetrate the egg!?!

Although my quails have started laying, we're yet to find out if they are fertile!

TBC (to be continued!), I'll post a picture when the chicks will hatch!

Thanks all!