cute little king quails

[funny quails]

hi im funny quails a few months ago I just got quails 3 to be exact 1 boy and 2 girls they've started laying eggs but they don't use their nesting box instead they made a nest next to it they peek in to have a look at the box but they hardly go into it they are tame now and take mealworms from my hand but I had a few questions with them to help me along the way

what can they not eat?
Can/how can u encourage them to be broody?
How long does it take for eggs to hatch?
Whenever they get scared from cats and stuff in the night they fly up and hit their heads is there a way I can prevent that?
If the eggs do hatch what can I do to help the chicks?

thanks also to help plz send me private messages and I will reply

 

[DK newbie]

- no avocado and don't feed them any plants you are uncertain of. There are countless list of birdsafe foods on the internet.
- provide them with dark, private corners for nesting. If your nesting box is the big thing with red spots in your profile picture, I'd get rid of that completely and place spruce branches or similar in all corners/as many corners as possible. My buttons usually make their nests and go broody in corners behind spruce branches.
- It's supposed to take 16 days, but in my experience it usually takes 18 or even more.
- You can't prevent them from flying up, but if the cage is high enough (6 ft or something like that) they usually don't get hurt doing it. If it's lower than that or if you are worried they'll get hurt, you can pad the top of the cage with foam rubber or by suspending some fabric below the roof.
- Depending on what kind of wire you are using, you might need to place some boards or 1/4 inch wire around the bottom of the cage, for the first 5 inches or so. Chicks can pass right through 1/2 inch wire. Placing boards around the bottom might also help create the dark, private corners that encourage broodiness.
Use a low dish filled with pebbles for water - the chicks need to be able to reach the water, but they shouldn't be able to get wet if they walk through it, thus the pebbles. If it's a water tower shown in the far corner of your picture, that might be suitable if placed on the ground.
They need a high protein feed - I use 24.4% game bird starter for both chicks and adults. If the pieces are too large for the chicks, make sure you grind it. The adult females need extra calcium when you feed them a starter feed.
My buttons usually help caring for each others chicks, but don't assume this will be the case - keep a close eye on your birds if hatch day approaches, so you can stop any violence before the chicks get hurt.

 

[funny quails]

thanks a lot but what do I do if they are all buys should I get more cages or sell them cause I know if I put boys together they will fight ingure one then the girls will finish it off s what should I do

 

[DK newbie]

I separate chicks from parents when they are about 6 weeks old and I suggest you do the same to prevent inbreeding. At 6 weeks, they are not exactly mature yet, but for the wild colored ones it's becoming hard to tell female chicks from adult hens, so I separate them. I sometimes keep male and female chicks together for a few more weeks, but eventually those will be separated as well.
I sell most of my chicks, but sometimes keep a few females and buy a new male to make a new breeding group.
It should be possible to house several males, that have been raised together, in the same enclosure if there are no females there, if you want to keep them.

 

[funny quails]

also today they layed another egg and now there's 5 in the nest and chive 1 of the girls sat on them but couldent really fit on them all and sometimes when basil the boy is sitting on the eggs chive sits on top of him till he moves is that bad or good

 

[DK newbie]

If she couldn't fit 5 eggs, I doubt she was trying. Mine kan pretty much cover about 12 eggs. She was probably just there to lay an egg and not too concerned about covering them.
My roos rarely get near the nests, so I don't really know what to think about it when your roo sitting on the eggs, but I wouldn't worry too much as long as he's not chasing the females away or anything.

 

[funny quails]

no he doesn't chase the girls away or hurt them they go good together its just I see the roo care and sit on the eggs more than the girl and t seems that he likes to.