HELP!!!

[ButtonquailGirl14]

will my buttonquail die younger if I let her hatch out her first eggs? I just found out abought her first three eggs, she is building up her nest, and I had heard that if you let them hatch out chicks before a year they will die young. if not necessary I would LOVE to let her hatch them out! but I want my Buttons to live as long as possible, they are my Pride and Joy

 

[paneubert]

Why would hatching eggs cause them to die young? Starving themselves while incubating maybe? Doesn't sound true.... I mean, yeah, they sit a lot, but they still eat and drink to stay alive.

 

[blackdust951]

Why would hatching eggs cause them to die young? Starving themselves while incubating maybe? Doesn't sound true.... I mean, yeah, they sit a lot, but they still eat and drink to stay alive.

just what i was going to say

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Thanks, just what I was thinking LOL!

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

as long as your giving them Oster shell supplement I don't see why letting her hatch out the eggs she lays would make her die young,unless it had something to do with stress.

 

[blackdust951]

by the way it's coturnix quail i'v researched about not buttons so i know pretty much nothing about themso anything i say about them has a chance of being wrong

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

 

[paneubert]

Just to follow up, the "starving themselves" isn't that crazy of a claim....if someone is making it. In the chicken world, there are stories where a broody hen really did get weak from the dedication to sitting all day. Some people like to stick food and water right next to the nest, etc... I do not think this rises to the level of anyone being able to say "letting quail hatch eggs means they WILL die young", but the overall concept of incubating and brooding impacting the health of the mom is not that crazy.

 

[DK newbie]

Well.. All I've read about quail says it's beneficial for them to hatch chicks, because they stop laying while broody and this break is good for their bodies.
For many other birds, however - budgies and such - it's not recommended to let them breed before they are a year old, but this is because producing and laying eggs can be hard on them - and also the feeding of a large clutch can be hard. Quail are laying the eggs anyway, only stopping if you let them go broody (or stress them or deprive them of light) and feeding the young isn't much trouble - they eat on their own as long as mommy shows them how and after a week mommy hardly even has to take the initiative to go eat anymore, they do it all on their own.
In conclusion, I see nothing but benefits in letting her go broody - assuming of cause that she keeps eating. But I've never had a button go weak from being broody and most of mine go broody before they are a year old.

 

[JaeG]

With parakeets etc there's an increased risk of egg binding if they are bred too young so you wait until they are a year old. If your little girl is getting the calcium she needs she should be fine. Button quail are still pretty wild so I assume they know what they are doing, especially when it comes to raising a family.

I have one hatched last December who has decided she wants to be a mother. The fact she's disabled and living in a crazy, noisy house only adds to my amazement (though she was hatched inside after their mother decided to abandon them when the eggs pipped so I suppose she's used to the kid chaos). One of her legs sticks out to the side from the hip joint and she hops around on her good leg. We tried to correct it as a chick thinking it was splayed but she'd always get out of her bindings (whatever we tried) and I think it's more than that. I wasn't sure she'd make it so I'll be interested to see if she carries through being a mother.

Do keep us updated.