From 30 eggs per day to 6 in two days, why?

[SFBayArea]

Hey guys, new quail owner here. Have 27 females and 9 males in the aviary. They were all hatched in April. I was getting up to a 30 eggs per day in June and July, but in August egg production started slowly diminishing. In the last three to four weeks I am only gathering 6-10 eggs per every two to three days.
It was hot August in Georgia, but quails were in the aviary that is most of the day in the shade under the trees. The day still have plenty of sunlight and temperatures are back to normal summer temps.
What could be causing such a dramatic egg production drop?

Also, as my observation, male quails - roosters were crowing on a regular basis and were rather obnoxious, however, starting in August, I noticed that they are all being quite now. No crowning during the night or day.

Any ideas?

 

[MrJudeRaw]

temp dropping and less sunlight overall will still affect them. the reduction was the trigger. once things stabilize you will be back on track. probably smart to add a light for them to supplement. could also have a predator nearby that has been spooking them while you arent around. a wifi camera is like 40 bucks and could be worth the investment

 

[Nabiki]

Are you getting less than 14 hours of light per day now? That will reduce their laying.

Has anything changed for them? Quail don't like change, so any stress or change will also affect their laying.

You might want to see if there are any predators hanging around. That will stress them into stopping laying.

It sounds like you're lucky that your birds are all getting along since your ratio is a bit off. Your ideal ratio is 1 male to 5 females.

 

[SFBayArea]

Nothing really changed in the last 30 days. Back at the end of June or beginning of July, I separated excess males (I've had 27 females and 20 males) into a separate enclosure.
Other than that notihng else changed and I believe we do have more than 16 hours of day light.

 

[Nabiki]

I would suspect an outside source of stress, then. Is there any way that rats or mice could be getting in? They will eat eggs.

 

[SFBayArea]

I would suspect an outside source of stress, then. Is there any way that rats or mice could be getting in? They will eat eggs.

No, I have it all enclosed in 1/4" wire mesh, including at least 6-10" dug it under the soil.
Plus I think rats or mice would leave traces of discarded egg shells. Nothing like that.
I did have a hawk week or so ago seating on top of the aviary, but by than the egg production already dropped to its minimum.