First eggs..

[jtwest]

I found it seems out of my 3 new cortunix 2 appear to be male. I seperated a pair (golden) and have been checking daily for eggs. Today there were the first two.
Is it possible to have two in a day? Or did I err in gender (going by speckled chest). Or did I not see one yesterday?

Also can I leave the eggs in the cage for the female to hatch naturally?

 

[Quail Jailer]

I thought I had read their native atmospheric conditions are perfect for hatching without a mother. So eggs are dropped, hen runs off, egg might hatch, etc. could be wrong. Anyway, another question; found another egg laid today with a hole punched in it. What would make a quail do that?

Seriously?? when the egg might hatch, I suppose a friendly critter might come along and maybe keeps it warm and might feed it and maybe protects it?

yes, could be.


(Buzzer)

 

[Quail Jailer]

I'm sure thats it...

Actually I have less problem thinking a "perfect conditions hatch" could take place, than the folly of the offspring survival completely on their own...

Now maybe if we drop them at fukishima....Dinosaurs will hatch. The feared and mighty quailasaurus rex or the pterodacquail.

 

[dc3085]

Japanese quail incubate their chicks in the wild, that's all there is to that discussion. Japanese quail are mostly found in Russian and China today. I believe they are extinct on the ground in japan since I've never seen any population data on their numbers there.

Read the links I left on the previous page, they cover all of this.

This link has a video of a zoo kept wild coturnix brooding eggs.

 

[Quail Jailer]

It is highly unlikely one hen laid two eggs in 24 hours

Although it has happened it is more unlikely that your hen will ever hatch her own clutch,

You're gonna need an incubator.

Good Luck!

 

[DaisyQ12]

It's possible... but highly unlikely. You may want to check again with the genders. If you keep on getting two eggs it's probably two females. And as Quail Jailer said, Coturnix almost never go broody and if they do they will usually forget about it a few days later. You're gonna need a incubator if you wanna hatch yer own

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

What they said. But i would add that once hens start layin the vent changes. If you have two layin hens you should notice the vent isnt a neat little area anymore. Especially if a roo is with her/them. It will be larger, more almond shaped rather than round, and will get a pouty lip look, and be moist.
Thats how i figured out which two of my four hens are layin.

 

[dc3085]

Coturnix chicks are born in incubators so they never see a nest to associate with brooding, it is believed they actually learn brooding behavior from the nest they are raised in, which is most likely why the coturnix we raise today rarely ever brood. They will often build nests, they will often sit eggs, however they almost never sit tehm full term, and I've only ever seen proof of 2 examples of a cot hatching her own chicks.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

Good point. I wonder if someone tries raising some and right before they hatch instead of regular lockdown would move em to say an aquarium setup with a hay/etc nest for them to hatch in. Repeat for several generations and see if any changes pop up.
Would be a cool experiment.

My hens lay in a small box i have hay in for them. Every eggs has been in there except the very first ever egg and one yesterday was in the dustbox.

 

[jtwest]

I thought I had read their native atmospheric conditions are perfect for hatching without a mother. So eggs are dropped, hen runs off, egg might hatch, etc. could be wrong. Anyway, another question; found another egg laid today with a hole punched in it. What would make a quail do that?