I think I bought OLD japanese quails :(

[rigelc]

.Hi,

I bought 4 Quails a month ago and I'm afraid that maybe they are not young enough for laying eggs. My previous Quails were killed and eaten by a raccoon, I bought those in a kind of farm and they were really active and not so tame. The new ones I got them in china town in SF. They were a lot cheaper and I noticed they were really tame. I just thought that as they were in a cage with a ton of other quails maybe they were less wild. Now I started to wonder if these were maybe for eating since probably their productive life was already over. How can I know if my quails are too old for laying?

 

[miss_thenorth]

Quail can live a long life, and lay up until the end pretty much. Moving them can upset their equilibrium, and it might take a while once they get settled to start laying again. Also, since you know quail, you should know that they need a high protein food in order to lay

 

[rigelc]

Thanks for your fast answer. In deed they had lots of changes and now adapting to the new hutch,they sleep in a wooden one and spent the day scratching the ground on a cage where they get some air and a bit of sun. I move one by one in the morning and evening from the hutc to the cage and vice versa...could that affect them too?

 

[miss_thenorth]

I owuld assume ( but you know what is said about that, and I can't speak from experience) but I would assum ethat once they got used to the routine and enivornment they would be fine. That said, if you are still not getting eggs after about three weeks, I would keep them put in one area.

 

[Stellar]

You really never know how old they are unless the breeder tells you. I have a 5 year old pair still laying like crazy. It does depend on what you feed them. Now, if they were fed medicated feed and you have males, then you may have a problem later on. That's why it is always good to ask questions before you get them

 

[aprophet]

they may just need a little more light then they are receiving

 

[wpalmisano]

Quote:
This is correct. Usually your pen set up, lighting, other birds, even the feed you are using will be different. This causes a delay in production in Coturnix. They also could be molting, which will decrease or halt egg production. Shorter days, cool weather, there are so many factors. On the other hand, it wouldn't be the first time someone dumped their old breeders on the market. Big thick legs on the Coturnix usually indicate to me they are older. One year old Coturnix seem to have thinner legs.

 

[Stellar]

Quote:
This is correct. Usually your pen set up, lighting, other birds, even the feed you are using will be different. This causes a delay in production in Coturnix. They also could be molting, which will decrease or halt egg production. Shorter days, cool weather, there are so many factors. On the other hand, it wouldn't be the first time someone dumped their old breeders on the market. Big thick legs on the Coturnix usually indicate to me they are older. One year old Coturnix seem to have thinner legs.

Adding to wpalmisano (great advice btw) You can crumble up some oyster shell and feed them with their food. It will add some calcium to their system. They may look run down now, but you can fix them in no time with proper care

In all my books and research, it does say that older birds lay really large eggs, just not so often...you can still use them...They deserve a second chance

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

Quote:
This is correct. Usually your pen set up, lighting, other birds, even the feed you are using will be different. This causes a delay in production in Coturnix. They also could be molting, which will decrease or halt egg production. Shorter days, cool weather, there are so many factors. On the other hand, it wouldn't be the first time someone dumped their old breeders on the market. Big thick legs on the Coturnix usually indicate to me they are older. One year old Coturnix seem to have thinner legs.

Adding to wpalmisano (great advice btw) You can crumble up some oyster shell and feed them with their food. It will add some calcium to their system. They may look run down now, but you can fix them in no time with proper care

In all my books and research, it does say that older birds lay really large eggs, just not so often...you can still use them...They deserve a second chance

QuailLady,

I agree with the big egg-ness of older quail! I have a trio of Tibetans that are at least two years old, and their eggs are the size of mountains! They don't even fit into egg cartons they are so big! (They are so big, they are comical!)

Just sayin'!

 

[wpalmisano]

Lol. I'll take some of those Tibetan eggs off your hands if you have too many. : )