How do I encourage my Coturnix quail to go Broody? (Spring Brooding Project, draft page)

[Oob Child]

How can I encourage my quail to go broody?

What nesting materials will I need? I am currently supplying them with sand and wood shavings. They also have fake grass, a small section of wire flooring and paper towels over wood to walk on.

How can I modify my cage to encourage them?

There are currently 3 females and one male inhabiting the cage, and I am working on getting another female. These are the candidates:

Hercules, Female.

Spot, Female.

George, Female.

Sugar, Male.

If you need to know the individual behaviors of each of them, please ask.

Do I need more natural hiding spots? Where can I find materials for these?

The cage I am keeping them in currently looks like this. Sorry about the pictures of the bottom section being dark, I'll take better pictures of needed.

I am planning on getting them some bush cuttings from my nan & pop's when I get back from holidays.

 

[Gigachad poultry]

How can I encourage my quail to go broody?

What nesting materials will I need? I am currently supplying them with sand and wood shavings. They also have fake grass, a small section of wire flooring and paper towels over wood to walk on.

How can I modify my cage to encourage them?

There are currently 3 females and one male inhabiting the cage, and I am working on getting another female. These are the candidates:

Hercules, Female.
View attachment 3651466
Spot, Female.
View attachment 3651469
George, Female.
View attachment 3651467
Sugar, Male.
View attachment 3651468

If you need to know the individual behaviors of each of them, please ask.

Do I need more natural hiding spots? Where can I find materials for these?

The cage I am keeping them in currently looks like this. Sorry about the pictures of the bottom section being dark, I'll take better pictures of needed.View attachment 3651458
View attachment 3651472View attachment 3651473View attachment 3651474View attachment 3651475View attachment 3651476View attachment 3651477View attachment 3651478View attachment 3651480View attachment 3651481View attachment 3651485
I am planning on getting them some bush cuttings from my nan & pop's when I get back from holidays.

I actually have a whole article about this! I've had three of my coturnix hens go broody!!! Sadly I don't have a rooster so their eggs were all infertile

 

[Nabiki]

They are unlikely to go broody in your setting. Your best chance of getting broody coturnix is in an aviary setting which is made to be as natural as possible and has a lot of space.

 

[jargon777]

I've had a quail unexpectedly go broody and successfully hatch the chicks and (so-far, they are 1 week old) raise them.

My coop is dirt-floor however. The hen who went broody is actually 2 years old, and I incubated and brooded some chicks in the coop this year (in a separate compartment, but the peeps were audible to the other adults), and she went broody shortly after that (not sure if it's related, but I have heard hearing chicks can trigger the hormones).

The unfortunate thing was that all the hens like to lay eggs around where she was brooding, and they seemed to have an arrangement where when the broody hen went to feed they would lay another egg in the broody nest , so it really messed up the egg production (and I had to start disposing of eggs, some of which had started to develop).

It was pretty cool/cute to see it happen though. Attached some photos of the nest area. She was sitting on 10+ eggs but only 2 hatched (too many random eggs probably)

 

[Oob Child]

I actually have a whole article about this! I've had three of my coturnix hens go broody!!! Sadly I don't have a rooster so their eggs were all infertile

What's the article name?

 

[Oob Child]

They are unlikely to go broody in your setting.

I understand this.

Your best chance of getting broody coturnix is in an aviary setting which is made to be as natural as possible and has a lot of space.

I can't get them a bigger cage, but how do I make their cage as natural as possible? How do I mimic an aviary setting in a smaller space?

 

[le_bwah]

How can I encourage my quail to go broody?

What nesting materials will I need? I am currently supplying them with sand and wood shavings. They also have fake grass, a small section of wire flooring and paper towels over wood to walk on.

How can I modify my cage to encourage them?

There are currently 3 females and one male inhabiting the cage, and I am working on getting another female. These are the candidates:

Hercules, Female.
View attachment 3651466
Spot, Female.
View attachment 3651469
George, Female.
View attachment 3651467
Sugar, Male.
View attachment 3651468

If you need to know the individual behaviors of each of them, please ask.

Do I need more natural hiding spots? Where can I find materials for these?

The cage I am keeping them in currently looks like this. Sorry about the pictures of the bottom section being dark, I'll take better pictures of needed.View attachment 3651458
View attachment 3651472View attachment 3651473View attachment 3651474View attachment 3651475View attachment 3651476View attachment 3651477View attachment 3651478View attachment 3651480View attachment 3651481View attachment 3651485
I am planning on getting them some bush cuttings from my nan & pop's when I get back from holidays.

An aviary is the ideal setting for backyard quail hatching, but I don't think space matters as much to their instinct as does the amount and quality of cover, as well as their overall stress level. Hens lay pretty much no matter what, but I believe they can be encouraged to nest. Besides adequate space, there are three things I've found that seem to make a difference in the nesting behavior of captive hens:

• Cover: hiding places with a tight "overhead" component—small boxes, guinea pig hides, ornamental grasses, etc.—seem to be preferred nest sites. You might be able to maximize your chances by providing lots of cover of this type.
• Nesting/Flooring Material: your odds are better with a natural, solid flooring. Sand or pine pellets are probably your best bet for indoor use. Also, I've never seen a Coturnix sit without building a nest first. Mine use straw, dried grass leaves, and feathers to build their nests—I wonder if giving yours a pile of straw near potential nest sites would help it "click" in their brains.
• Stress: predators, even just other pets, can stress the heck out of quail. So can the presence of bullying or fighting. And so can the feeling of being trapped. If your birds pace a lot, especially when you are near, that's a stress response. Make sure they have space to get away from each other and external threats, you included.

What Brooding Looks Like (for my flock)

Hens dig a shallow depression in the ground—usually at the base of a grass or in "cave" type cover. They line it with soft materials from all around them. This is not something I've ever been able to catch on film, and they seem to be able to set one up overnight. The other hens begin to preferentially lay in these nests. Once there are 8+ eggs in the nest, the broody hen will sit. This is the point where you want to screen her off from the flock, both so no new eggs can be laid in the nest and so the hens don't fight—this is also the point where, if your eggs are shipped, you swap them for the infertile clutch.

Again, space is a huge factor, but try adding more and better cover and providing natural floor and nesting materials. The birds might surprise you!

 

[Nabiki]

I understand this.

I can't get them a bigger cage, but how do I make their cage as natural as possible? How do I mimic an aviary setting in a smaller space?

Try adding boxes of dirt with cover so they can hide in them.

 

[Oob Child]

So, is this exactly what I have to do?

-tight hiding spaces
-boxes of dirt/sand/soft materials
-nesting materials available nearby potential nesting sites
-natural flooring, ex: less paper towels
- less predator threats, ex: less of my sisters + less of me

Materials needed:
- play dirt
- pine pellets
-straw/ dried grass
-ripped up newspaper? (Soft thoughts)
- hiding spots, boxes, guinea pig hides

Actions needed:
- Placing soft materials nearby potential nesting sites
- using less artificial material

Once Brooding:
- separate area from rest of flock


Please tell me if I've missed something.

 

[MrJudeRaw]

I understand this.

I can't get them a bigger cage, but how do I make their cage as natural as possible? How do I mimic an aviary setting in a smaller space?

The answer is you cannot, I am sorry. To get what you want you have to have more space and its non negotiable