Does anyone else have to deal with this sort of reaction from people, when they find out you raise q

[azer]

I have about 100 Chinese & 50 Japanese. Eggs litter the ground. The Jap's ain't big enough to eat, so it's the egg value. I sell 12 eggs for $1.70. With the money i get from chicken eggs, it pays for all the food for 24 chickens as well as the quail. In the last couple of weeks i found a restaurant on the Island that want's quail eggs. Bloody typical , the season is all but over. As soon as the days get shorter the eggs stop, and i can't afford to scope out artificial lighting since they're kept outside, though i do provide a heat lamp for the cooler nights. The days in the UK are only about 9½ hrs long in the winter, and even then it's fairly dim from thick cloud cover.
You say your's lay 3 times a month, do you have them inside ? In warm light conditions with plenty of space you should get 1 a day from a mature bird (about a year). Of course just because you have a female there are no guarantees they're layers. Overcrowding, too small a habitat, to large a habitat, not enough cover, wrong food  etc ! Having said that you could keep a dozen in a matchbox and get 144 eggs a day, there's no sense to it sometimes. Sometimes the norm defies any explanation when the unexpected happens, and anything can and will happen. Put a small enclosure in your aviary for them to keep warm and sheltered! They'll use it in the summer to escape the summer heat, but put a heat lamp in there during the winter and your just as likely to find them at the other end frozen in a feathery ball. It's not the lamp they're frightened of, it's a follow the leader thang-----mental.
You can get some beautiful combinations with the colours once the breeding takes off. 
Later

each pair. Has a 4x4 x4 plenty of space... I feed them turkey crumble, oyster shells, and seeds that the birds throw to the ground ... I have a feeling is the lighting

 

[yardraven]

Well it ain't the space, you've given them plenty. They need about 12 hrs light with warmth. Dirt baths are important too.
Lol the first thing my birds do when i put their food on a tray is, sit in it , then roll about, then flick it everywhere.
Give them some lettuce (whole leaves) or cucumber. They may not touch it at first, but they're funny when they're curious. They can't bite the leaf , they tear it. What they do is bite hold of the leaf and chuck it over their shoulder , breaking an edible bit off. It's like a firework display---pieces of lettuce flying through the air.
Luck azer

 

[dc3085]

Quail do not need heat lamps after the first 4 weeks of age unless the temperature is below zero. In colder places like canada and the northern US covering the cages with plastic sheeting is plenty. It's draft they don't do well with not cold.

As for lighting if you aren't getting at least 12 hours of natural light (14 is better) they won't lay, so as suggested set up a light to extend the day a bit.

Azer are these coturnix quail?

 

[yardraven]

Good call Chicken Obsessed.

 

[yardraven]

Foodie

The days are getting shorter here and the eggs are dwindling .

 

[azer]

Quail do not need heat lamps after the first 4 weeks of age unless the temperature is below zero. In colder places like canada and the northern US covering the cages with plastic sheeting is plenty. It's draft they don't do well with not cold. 

As for lighting if you aren't getting at least 12 hours of natural light (14 is better) they won't lay, so as suggested set up a light to extend the day a bit. 

Azer are these coturnix quail?

button quail and they are indoor ... We went to Home Depot to get some lights the big long ones... I think they are called shop lights with very expensive lights.... So hopefully that will get them into laying... I miss hatching my popcorn babies...

 

[dc3085]

When I said quail don't need heat lamps the only ones that are an exception to the rule are button quail. They operate best between 40-90 degrees F. They won't survive a winter outside without heat if it gets below freezing.

 

[yardraven]

button quail and they are indoor ... We went to Home Depot to get some lights the big long ones... I think they are called shop lights with very expensive lights.... So hopefully that will get them into laying... I miss hatching my popcorn babies...

They are fun to see once they're all fluffed up. They remind me of a swarm of bee's.
Those florescent tube lights are good and cheap to run--another good call

Yeah they're not cheap here either !