how many quails should I keep for 5 eggs a day?

[Soaker]

hi, I'm just wondering how many quails should I keep in order to get 5 eggs a day? I have 3 females now, they just started laying and I'm only getting 1 egg per day. I don't know which quail laid which egg, maybe only one is laying?

 

[Northwest_Wannabe]

it could be that only one is laying, or maybe they're just taking turns, if you NEED five eggs a day minimum I'd look at maybe around 7-9 quail that way you'll always meet that quota, but 5 quail should produce around 5 eggs a day. The amount laid could be impacted by weather, temperature, amount of daylight, shift in seasons and molting too! plus yours sound fairly young, new layers of any kind tend to be unreliable for a little bit ^^

 

[JacinLarkwell]

At least 6 gals if you want 5 a day. But you gotta be careful they don't add up and over when ya. We got to a point with 4 (and then 9 when the celadon starred laying) when we literally were just giving eggs to the birds because we had too many

 

[Quaicken108]

hi, I'm just wondering how many quails should I keep in order to get 5 eggs a day? I have 3 females now, they just started laying and I'm only getting 1 egg per day. I don't know which quail laid which egg, maybe only one is laying?

I’m wondering what species of quail? Also their age? Hopefully they’re definitely all female! The main thing that impacts laying is daylight and stress. If you have 5 or a bit more females with enough light and space then you should be fine.

 

[muddy75]

5-6 is a good number but you will want to make sure they get at least 16 hours of light during the shorter days and if they lay daily year round, it will shorten their overall “laying” lifespan in general. when adding new hens, you may notice a decrease in eggs for first 2 weeks

 

[Quailguy728]

Some great answers here already, but I'll add my 0.00002 cents as well I guess. Lol

The great thing about quail that I've come to love; They're pretty dependable egg layers.
If you're looking for 5eggs a day, you technically would only need 5 healthy, happy quails with some good comfortable lighting.

That being said, if you for sure need 5 eggs a day, no less; 6-8 would be the ideal number to house. (If those are all for you per day, do enjoy with caution. Quail eggs are quite nutritious, and too much of anything, good or bad, could have unhealthy side-effects)

If you end up with 3 more eggs than you need a day, there are lots of great options for use. You could give a half dozen eggs to a neighbour, or family member. Dogs absolutely love quail eggs (shell and all!). And you could even give them back to your girls! The extra calcium and protein is great for egg production!

If you're still waiting on a few young hens to start laying, I would check to ensure they're getting enough crushed shell/ calcium in their diet to start forming those new eggshells. Some quails will start laying early and productively at the 8-10 week mark, but some take a little more to catch up and get rolling. If they're new, or in a new enclosure, they may also be adjusting to that. So if you just bought them and someone told you "They're all laying", they probably were, but now they're resettling into their home. And as others have mentioned, consistent lighting for 16 hours a day is a must for layers.

Enjoy your quails! (And hopefully those delicious eggs soon, too!)