Help Me..

[mObi48]

How to distinguish Young and Adult(egg laying) quails before buying them. Is there any way ?

 

[Flock Master64]

What do you mean distinguish?

If you mean slow down laying you could give a feed with less calcium but I'm not sure how healthy it is for them. You should probably wait for further assistance

 

[MageofMist]

What do you mean distinguish?

If you mean slow down laying you could give a feed with less calcium but I'm not sure how healthy it is for them. You should probably wait for further assistance

You could also order some canary dummy eggs from online for them to sit on if you want them to stop laying, but I heard it is less effective on quails compared to chickens.

 

[Flock Master64]

Interesting. I want mine to lay more though. They got 9 people to feed.

 

[mObi48]

What I meant to say is How to tell that the quail has reached its maturity that is it is mature enough to lay egg. A person sold me 5 quails saying that they're adult and will lay eggs but they are even smaller than Chicks I think he lied to me these quails are still younglings not adult.

 

[abot87]

Hi there.

Quail mature between 6 and 8 weeks of age. With males, it's quite easy.
A cockerel will begin to crow but with a hen it's an entirely different story.

Generally plumage and size of the bird could be indicators of the age, but for that theory to be effective, you'd have to known your birds very well. Usually it's something you'd pick up after incubating a few eggs/clutches and seeing them through to maturity. As quail grow, their feathers will change and gender will become more distinct, allowing you to "feather sex" them. Matured plumage is usually visible from roughly 3 weeks of age, depending on the mutation.

Alternatively you can "vent sex" your quail. Mature males will have an engorged cloaca (anus) and they'll secrete white foam when gently squeezed - and i do mean gently. Remember that a hen can also give a foamy discharge, but not nearly as much as a cockerel. Be very gentle when handling your birds - a egg that gets ruptured/broken inside a hen will most certainly cause death.

Another things to keep in mind is that quail can become stressed when introduced to a new home. Allow your birds some time to settle into their new living arrangements. Consider giving them a stress relieving supplement/medication. Once they have adjusted they should start laying - but some hens just take longer than others.

Be sure to give your quail protein rich food with a calcium supplement to ensure eggs are nice and strong. Alternatively you could give them crushed kitten food, with their regular food, that usually contains about 24% protein. Make sure that your feed contains at least 20% protein. Because they mature so quickly they need a lot more protein than a regular chicken.

Could you upload a clear photo of your birds? That should give me a better idea of what your birds look like - plumage and size wise.

Hope the info helps
ABOT

 

[mObi48]

 

[mObi48]

 

[mObi48]

None of these is crowing they're just naking "Squeek" sound.

 

[jojackc]

They look like they are over the age of 8 weeks at least. I can tell because all of their feathers are in. My quail didn't start laying until 12 weeks old so it might be a bit longer before you get eggs. Also from the photos I can't tell if you have females or males. So if you have all males that could be a problem too.