Coturnix Quail Basics- Information and Pictures Galore

[DHinton]

I purchased 8 coturnix quail 2wks ago. 6 hens and 2 males. They are almost 1 year old. No eggs so far. I know it may take time for them to adjust to their new home but I am getting anxious for eggs. Several are losing feathers so I think they might be molting too. Ugh! I am feeding purina flock raiser sun fresh crumble 20%. That is all I have been able to find at TSC. What do you all think? Is my feed adequate? When can I expect eggs? Thank you!

i add some fodder ever other day for them, in a small bowl... which they demolish pretty quickly, seeds and all.

i try to give them bsfl (black soldier fly larvae) every day, like 1-2 each, so they at least get one. slowly adding to the amount of bsfl they get.

my first group started laying right at 6 weeks old (got them around 3-4 weeks old, iirc). another group we purchased, which was supposedly 6 weeks old (three weeks ago), STILL hasn't started laying.

 

[LeaLandHouse]

Thanks for that....curious as to what you use for an incubator...we did a homemade one...and having problems with temp flux...we just used a 25w bulb, a stubby mason jar with a wet towel in and a humidistat thermometer that we put in the styrofoam cooler...we did get some hatches but lots of them didnt make it even after they were out of the shell...

 

[CyndiChick]

I have coturnix quail eggs in my incubator now... Have kept temp at 100.5 and humidity at 35%. I candled today... First time I have candled and I am not seeing any development It is day 13 today too. So frustrated! (Not to mention disappointed!

 

[qlicer49]

i add some fodder ever other day for them, in a small bowl... which they demolish pretty quickly, seeds and all.

i try to give them bsfl (black soldier fly larvae) every day, like 1-2 each, so they at least get one.  slowly adding to the amount of bsfl they get.

my first group started laying right at 6 weeks old (got them around 3-4 weeks old, iirc).  another group we purchased, which was supposedly 6 weeks old (three weeks ago), STILL hasn't started laying.

If you're in Canada they should be going into molting season now or soon so I wouldn't worry too much, they probably haven't layed because of the stress of moving in and what-not, other than that if you aren't, feed them 50% game bird food, 30% chicken feed, and 20% ground up oyster shells.

Liam

 

[Hollow Point]

I have coturnix quail eggs in my incubator now... Have kept temp at 100.5 and humidity at 35%. I candled today... First time I have candled and I am not seeing any development It is day 13 today too. So frustrated! (Not to mention disappointed!

Know how u feel, we had 100 eggs in our incubator and only one hatched...lol.

 

[CyndiChick]

Someone said I should have kept the temp at 99.5 bcoz it is a forced air bator? Did I fry the eggs with that 1 degree?? My chicken eggs haven't done much the last few times either. Tried wet and dry hatch methods. Just very discouraging to wait and wait and get nothing LOL especially after following all the directions I researched! I guess I need to order some quail chicks and sneak them in the bator so the hubby lifts the "if one more hatch is zero, no more incubating " ban! Lol

 

[Hollow Point]

Quote:
Hard to say, I know I screwed up the very first day by tweeking with the thermostat that night and not triple checking before I went to bed. Woke up the next day and the thermometer showed 109* so I was sure I had cooked them. Wife wasn't to happy with me when I told her what had happened when only 1 hatched...lol. Yes temp is supposed to stay at 99.5*

 

[Lou-Moe]

I am really new to keeping quail, infact they are the first birds I have ever owned and in these 2 short months I have fallen completely in love! I keep Japanese ones primarily as pets, the super delicious eggs are just a fantastic bonus for me. I would love to have a go at incubating some of my own eggs at some point and was wondering how much success if any people have had with home made incubators, because I really don't want to spend hundreds of pounds on an incubator for the few eggs I'd actually incubate in a year.

 

[FireflyNights]

You may want to get a second thermometer to see what the temp really is. This way you can adjust accordingly. My incubator is about a degree and a half hot. I will tell you that little degree in the hot direction sure made a difference in mine. I got a digital thermometer on amazon for less than $20 and it made all the difference. I just hatched 74 successfully out of 120 eggs and 21 turned out clear. So all in all a decent hatch. Everyone has their own settings they like. I try to stay at 99.7 with 38-40% humidity until the last 3 days when I up it to 58% - 60%. I also use a forced air bator. I also loose very few after hatch. I know how frustrating bad or no hatches are. I really hope your hatches go better for you but I have some chicks you could sneak into the bator LOL.

 

[FireflyNights]

Congrats! Birds are so rewarding. I started in parrots and just happened into quail and I love them too. They are such a quick reward.