Do coturnix quails brood eggs in captivity?

[jvin4974]

Instead of using an incubator ive been thinking about letting my coturnix quail brood her own eggs. 1. can/will they do this in captivity? 2. What things do i need to know?

 

[Quailbait]

1 Yes they can but not many do.
2 They would need to be in a large enclosure like an aviary and then you must cross your fingers and hope really hard.
It is rare but it does happen. My DH taught ours to lay in a box so collecting eggs from the aviary is a snap.

 

[Fowlfellow]

How did he train them to lay in a box?

 

[eHuman]

I'm Quailbait's "DH". I used a small plastic tub about 8" x 12" x 6" deep, cut a door into it and flipped it upside down. This went into the brooder when they were 2 weeks old and they would go into their "cave" for comfort and to hide. I placed it in the aviary when i transferred them and about 1/2 would lay in it. When I found an egg somewhere else I would place it in the cave and not collect eggs until I was sure they were done laying. I still get a random egg or two elsewhere but most days they are all in the cave.

Bonus: Many of my hens will rearrange the eggs before laying their own. A promising indication for future broodiness.