Can I relocate quail and nest? Will still sit on eggs?

[crimsonmama]

She didn't lay an egg yesterday so think she's settled on eleven and that's it now! Hopefully!

 

[TwoCrows]

As long as they all fit well under her fluff. Any eggs hanging out won't get the chance to develop properly. Some birds will try and set on WAY too many eggs. LOL

 

[crimsonmama]

I think they are ok! She looks so funny all fat and flat sitting over the eggs! She's pulled the sides of the hay up too so it's more of a bowl shaped next now.

Still can't believe she's actually doing the sitting what with all I've heard about coturnix quails! She's only got a week left to go now! My incubated chicks are due any day now (today is day 16). Do you think she will accept them as her chicks after her own hatch? They would be a week older?

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes, it is rare that quail go broody. Conditions need to be perfect in the environment and in their own heads. It is a delicate combination. Keep in mind, some birds can set for 10 or so days and then abandon ship! So make sure to give her as much space as possible, lots of quiet and alone time and don't mess with her or her surroundings as much as possible. Keep the predators, dogs, cats and kids away as well.

As for adding previously hatched chicks, if they were day old you could slip them in during the night and she probably wouldn't know the difference, but week old chicks, not likely, especially if she does have day old babies. She will need to attend to her's first and would cause too much commotion.

 

[crimsonmama]

Thank you for the advice! I didn't plan on her sitting so am going to have more quails than planned! The male has his aviary, the female and her eggs has her own pen indoors and now I'm setting up another indoor pen ready for the incubater hatchlings!

The female mama has started showing a little interest in the male again. She can hear him crowing and she's making little noises and looking like she wants to jump out the pen and go to him. But then she doesn't and she goes back to her eggs. We put the male near in a cage and she still was cross at him but not as much as before. Hopefully that means they can live together again once she hatches her eggs and the chicks are old enough!

Sadly, due to space I won't be able to let her sit and hatch any more eggs. But it's been great to watch this process and at least she's a mama once in her life!

If she does abandon these eggs I can incubate them myself so long as my first batch hatch out first! We are on day 16 today!

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes, keep an eye on her as she could give in to the males calls. It depends on the strength of her broodiness right now. Captive quail are quite wishy washy. LOL If she does abandon the eggs, you could pop them into the incubator, sounds like the others are about ready to hatch!! Whoo hoo!! And good hatching vibes headed your way on ALL accounts!!

 

[Binki]

Awesome!! You may have to incubate the remaining eggs after the initial few hatch and she takes them out to feed - my broody quail didn't seem to show much care for the remaining eggs once she had several from the first day hatch - was able to hatch a few myself but removed all chicks after a few days as she was tripping over them/seemed overwhelmed with finding them food (went for bugs instead of the feed crumbs) and was losing interest. Who knows, it could have worked out leaving them with her but there were a lot of risks compared to them being raised for a bit in a brooder

 

[crimsonmama]

Today my female flew over the top of her own pen and accidentally half fell half bounced down the stairs! We put her back and she had a sand bath then went back to sitting on her eggs the rest of the day. A couple of times I've seen her looking and contemplating jumping out the pen. Is she wanting to give up on the eggs? Or just exploring? She hasn't ever wanted to leave the pen before? My incubater chicks hatched this weekend and are nearby. Is their chirping distracting her??

 

[Binki]

Ooo that's a good theory! I had a hen who was alone while she was recovering from the "torture" she was kept in before by another person and she would cricket chirp relentlessly when she heard the babies and when they were about two weeks old, I tested her out and she loved it and they didn't even notice her hehe!

So if she's doing a loud cricket chirp and her head kinda flaps about like Beaker from the Muppets, she may be chirping for babies

I would get some netting so there are no more accidents xD

 

[TwoCrows]

It is very possible she hears the incubator chicks and is following her mothering instincts trying to get to them. They have superior hearing, I am not sure there is anywhere you could hide these babies from her! LOL But you might move the babies to another room far away from her.

Also, she may be protecting her own babies and doesn't want any other babies in her territory so possibly she is out to do them in?! Not sure.