Do quails sit on their own eggs to hatch them?

[QuailFarm]

Do quail take care of their eggs? Or do I need to use incubator to hatch eggs?

 

[Bengt747]

I would invest in an incubator.

Some quail will occasionally go broody, like button quail and bobwhites, but in captivity certain quail simply don't go broody, if ever. Even in buttons and bobwhites it can be a rare oddity to find a competent broody hen. My Pharaoh Coturnix never had any interest in sitting whatsoever. Additionally, by getting an incubator, you can ensure more frequent hatches with a decent hatch ratio.

Best of luck!

 

[QuailFarm]

Bengt747, thank you for the reply!
Its too bad that quails usually don't go broody, it would have been nice if they did....

Thanks again!

 

[nchls school]

Do quail take care of their eggs? Or do I need to use incubator to hatch eggs?

What kind of quail do you have? I have had button quail go broody in my classroom many times. They make a very interesting project for my students. It is fascinating to watch the chicks being raised by their mother. I've tried other species of quail with absolutely no luck. Button quail are not easy to get to go broody unless you know precisely what to do.

 

[Bengt747]

What kind of quail do you have?  I have had button quail go broody in my classroom many times.  They make a very interesting project for my students.  It is fascinating to watch the chicks being raised by their mother.  I've tried other species of quail with absolutely no luck.  Button quail are not easy to get to go broody unless you know precisely what to do.

What techniques do you employ in order to encourage buttons to go broody? I would assume keeping them in pairs rather than in colonies or flocks would be a starting point.

 

[QuailFarm]

I don't have any quails. I am curious my self about techniques employed to encourage brooding.
Maybe quail eggs don't require mother quails to sit on them to hatch?
Maybe that is why mother quails don't sit on them?

 

[nchls school]

What techniques do you employ in order to encourage buttons to go broody? I would assume keeping them in pairs rather than in colonies or flocks would be a starting point.

Button quail are different when it comes to nesting. Yes, I kept them in pairs. No nest was built while the hens were laying; they were just laid in the same general area. When several eggs were laid we removed the male. Most of the males drove the hens off the nest repeatedly until the they stopped brooding. When the full clutch was laid the hen then pulled the eggs together and built the nest around them (these sequence of events happened with each hen). The eggs were then brooded and hatched. Most of the time there was close to a 100% hatch with most of the chicks surviving. We used a pen/unit that was a foot high with a screen top. The unit had two dividers making a set of three pens. Each pen was three feet by fifteen inches. One time we even had a hen brood in a ten gallon aquarium and raise her chicks. Incubators are easier, though, than having hens go broody. If the eggs are laid in random locations the hen will not go broody, so you can't plan on having chicks at any certain time. Plus, many more eggs can be incubated in an incubator. The variety of button quail made a difference also. Of the many color varieties we tried only the silver and normal colored quail would brood.

 

[nchls school]

I don't have any quails. I am curious my self about techniques employed to encourage brooding.
Maybe quail eggs don't require mother quails to sit on them to hatch?
Maybe that is why mother quails don't sit on them?

Quail eggs have to be incubated the same as other types of birds. It is just hard to duplicate the environment needed to get these birds to hatch their own young. Also, pharoah quail have been bred for egg laying for a very long time; similar to egg producing chickens. The ones we have in captivity, I believe, no longer have normal brooding instincts.

 

[mrplattypus]

I own 3 female and 1 male common quail. Had them for about a month. 2 females are sitting on large clutches of eggs. I was surprised to see that you guys have problems with them being broody haha. Their more broody than my hens.

 

[nchls school]

I own 3 female and 1 male common quail. Had them for about a month. 2 females are sitting on large clutches of eggs. I was surprised to see that you guys have problems with them being broody haha. Their more broody than my hens.

What are common quail? I've raised gambels, bobwhite, coturnix, and button quail. Only the button quail brooded and raised chicks for me.

The internet says that common quail are coturnix quail. After many attempts to get the right environment none of my coturnix brooded. I am of the opinion that most have lost the broody instinct after being raised for thousands of years for egg production.