How Do I Get My Quail to Go Broody?

[NeoRoey]

Recently, I have tried to keep an egg that my button quails laid in the cage rather than eating it. I have heard that button quails rarely lay on their eggs, not sure if the odds are even lower in captivity. Is there any way to encourage/get to have my button quail go broody or is it just pure luck? Also, what would potentially happen if I put the egg in my month-old peachick's cage? There is also a week-old chick in the cage. Would the peachick help the egg in any way? It's just a thought; I'm curious to know what would happen and if it could potentially harm them in any way.

P.S.
I would just like to announce that I found a place for my other button quail. All I wanted to know was if I could release it, but since you all started flaming me I had no choice but to suck it up and keep the thing. None of my friends or family wants the quail. He is aggressive, obnoxious, loud, makes ghost noises, and will attack anything near his cage. Since none of us are cruel enough to purposely euthanize it, we just have to keep him in the living room. That's the only place left, until we put up an ad on craigslist. The thing is, we wanted to get rid of him specifically because he was being harmful to Chickapee (not mating, he was actually pecking her head from the side and ripping the feathers off). I don't know what could have caused this to happen and I was trying to keep this part private, but the admin locked my thread before I could post. It was very rude and hurtful that many of you would just gang up on me like that with no knowledge of why I want to get rid of the button quail and which one(s). I have nothing against quails in general, but I ask one question with no intent or knowledge (in fact, at least I came to BYC to see if I'm making a mistake rather than going right ahead and releasing it) and suddenly I'm a "horrible pet owner" and "animal abuser". At this point, I have done no harm to any of the animals, including the button quails. If you have any questions or comments about this, please PM me. Don't bring it to this thread.

 

[xxSonja]

I think its very much hit and miss with getting button hens to go broody. Fortunatly most of my birds do.
You could encourage her by giving her a hiding place or 2 to lay and collect her eggs all together. Even if they are spread all over the place once she gets her desired number she will roll them all to that spot.
Moving her cage around or changing her set up may put her off so try to limit that. It can take a lil while for her to adjust to changes.
I cant really answer your other questions as i really have no idea. Sorry.

 

[Stellar]

I understand what you mean, but you do need put that information in your post for others not to start to go off. I appologize myself. Being a breeder for these little birds, I am very hurt when people do not understand them. The one male was being aggressive because Chickapee had a mate already that is why he was acting up. I warned you about that...

Now Broodiness occurs naturally, you cannot force it. you can add some hay or nesting material in the corner which can make her want to set her eggs. Some buttons will brood, others not so much. It also deals with their setting and environment around them.

 

[FeatheredObsessions]

If they are in good health, good quality high protein foods, have good lighting including ultraviolet rays, and are kept where they feel secure in single pairs you shouldn't have a problem getting your buttons to brood

 

[NeoRoey]

Quote:
I had actually moved them a long time ago and kept the original mate with Chickapee. He shouldn't have acted up.

 

[Nekhebet]

Quote:
I had actually moved them a long time ago and kept the original mate with Chickapee. He shouldn't have acted up.

You know, I don't have button quail but....if they live in monogamous pairs, it kind of stands to reason that the odd man out might start "acting up". That's pretty much the limit of the commentary I'm going to leave on this thread. My tolerance levels just aren't what they should be today.

 

[Kwartel]

I agree with those who have posted about creating a nesting area for your hen. Try to make it private and comfortable for her, away from areas with loud noises or lots of movement. You can try putting the egg inside it to help her get the point of what the nest is for, I know it works with chickens, it might work for quail, too. I would definitely not put it in with your peachick. It probably wouldn't do anything beyond just kicking it around and you'd be better off just eating it yourself. One thing to keep in mind, if you're going to try hatching more button quail, is what you are going to do with them afterward. It's best to have some sort of plan for where they will live or whether you want to keep them or give them away, that way you don't run into the same situation of having a bird or birds that you don't want.

As for your other concerns, I'm guessing from your posts that you are probably considerably younger than a lot of the people that post in this section. That's not a bad thing at all, just an observation, but there can be some misunderstanding and hurt feelings between people who are new to the responsibility of keeping their own birds and those who have been at it for awhile. Just focus on doing the right thing for your birds and try to listen to the people who can share their knowledge in a mature and helpful manner.

 

[birdmaniac3000]

i have luck with my button quail all i do is use a plastic box of baby wipes i cut a hole on the top of the box where u pull the wipes i'll put a photo later second i add dry grass or wood shaving or anything like that all over there inclosure i put every egg she lays in the nest then just wait may i suggest 1 more thing u can buy another female quail i live in los angeles aswell i can suggest a pet store were i go alot to buy my feed the store sells alkinds of rare birds like pheasants,guinee's,button quail,coturnix quail they always have baby quail and chicks oh and i saw that u wanted silkie i am selling some i have left are 4 black,7 white the address for the store is 1901 w.8th st. los angeles, CA 90057 213-484-8371 thew store owner is very nice hope u choose the righthing best of hopes.

 

[NeoRoey]

Nekhebet, for the last time, they do not live together. Way before Chickapee started laying, I had moved Tic to his own cage. Tac started mating with Chickapee, but then he became aggressive. He started violently pecking Chickapee, would attack any hand near him, and made some strange noises. One was a mating call, but one noise just sounded like a ghost. So, I moved him to a different cage and put Tic in the cage with Chickapee. Chickapee was no longer harmed (except for the side effects of mating such as the feather loss on her head from Tic clinging onto her while mating). Tic was never the one that started acting up and they weren't all together since way before Tac became [completely psychotic].

Kwartel, thank you for the information. Yes, I am younger. My family has been raising birds for a long time, but we just started with quails.

birdmaniac3000, thanks for the information. Are you selling EEs? Silkie chicks?

 

[Nekhebet]

Quote:
Lol, I never said that they did live together. You mentioned that your quail was acting up and being loud in the other post. I go on to imply that a sexually frustrated animal who is meant to live in a monogamous pair is highly likely to exhibit some sort of behaviors, perhaps undesirable, because of this. Just because "Tac" is "psychotic" doesn't negate the fact that he wants to mate, and is alone.

So how do I rate a "for the last time"? That implies that there was more than just a single time, when again, I never brought up...whatever it is you think I brought up.

In any case, I'll ask you, as I'd ask my own kid, ...why would you want to do any of those things? What is the purpose of showing the peachick a quail egg? It's likely to peck the egg, and also you'd be spreading all sorts of germs and bacteria for just about no reason at all.
As for this:

Would the peachick help the egg in any way?

I highly doubt it. Birds don't seem to be the sharpest knives in the drawer for one, and for two, that's kind of like asking if my 1 year old son would help watch my friend's week old baby. Highly unlikely, and probably asking for trouble...

TBH I'm also kind of wondering why you are trying to have more quail if you already have an "unmanageable" amount of pets? You don't have to answer that one, but you may want to think about it....​