Incubation?

[rlchatham]

Those are great questions! I just don’t have the answers. Ive seen/read where breeders pick out certain hens that exhibit qualities, like nesting, egg laying, protecting, etc. and separate them and allow them to incubate/brood. But, at the end of the day its the quail instinct that leads them through it. Im not sure its a teachable quality.

 

[ScoutingInTheWoods]

Those are great questions! I just don’t have the answers. Ive seen/read where breeders pick out certain hens that exhibit qualities, like nesting, egg laying, protecting, etc. and separate them and allow them to incubate/brood. But, at the end of the day its the quail instinct that leads them through it. Im not sure its a teachable quality.

Thanks for the help do they just decide when to brood

 

[Fishkeeper]

Poultry that go broody, like hens do, are triggered to do so by hormones. They don't decide, any more than a dog decides to go into heat.

I suspect that some of the reason that quail supposedly don't go broody at all is because they're in tiny cages a lot. I see a lot more mention of broody quail in more enriching environments, deep-litter aviaries and all that. They've definitely lost some of the instinct, but to get a fair idea of which individuals in a flock are more inclined to go broody, you'd need them in an environment conducive to broodiness. Somewhere they feel safe.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

You could get some Cochin bantam hens.They go broody a lot and they might be able to hatch your quail eggs!

 

[ScoutingInTheWoods]

Poultry that go broody, like hens do, are triggered to do so by hormones. They don't decide, any more than a dog decides to go into heat.

I suspect that some of the reason that quail supposedly don't go broody at all is because they're in tiny cages a lot. I see a lot more mention of broody quail in more enriching environments, deep-litter aviaries and all that. They've definitely lost some of the instinct, but to get a fair idea of which individuals in a flock are more inclined to go broody, you'd need them in an environment conducive to broodiness. Somewhere they feel safe.

Yea I watched some videos of weeks like all the brooch hens are in a more natural enclosure.like a green house. Thanks for the info.

 

[ScoutingInTheWoods]

You could get some Cochin bantam hens.They go broody a lot and they might be able to hatch your quail eggs!

would it read the quail to comeback every night?

 

[Fishkeeper]

No. If you release quail from a pen, they WILL leave, or get eaten by predators. Probably both. You need to keep them enclosed, constantly, or you'll lose them. No chicken will change that.

The reason is, coturnix quail are very stupid (bad at avoiding predators), and also are not chickens. Chickens' ancestors roost in a safe place every night, and come back to the same places. Quail just hunker down under a bush. They don't have that instinct to come back and roost.

Also, chickens raising quail can sometimes work, but it carries a big risk of pathogen transfer (chickens carry and are immune to many things that quail are not), and of the quail getting stepped on, plus you'd have to isolate the hen from all other chickens while she raised them and then put her back afterwards.

 

[ScoutingInTheWoods]

No. If you release quail from a pen, they WILL leave, or get eaten by predators. Probably both. You need to keep them enclosed, constantly, or you'll lose them. No chicken will change that.

The reason is, coturnix quail are very stupid (bad at avoiding predators), and also are not chickens. Chickens' ancestors roost in a safe place every night, and come back to the same places. Quail just hunker down under a bush. They don't have that instinct to come back and roost.

Also, chickens raising quail can sometimes work, but it carries a big risk of pathogen transfer (chickens carry and are immune to many things that quail are not), and of the quail getting stepped on, plus you'd have to isolate the hen from all other chickens while she raised them and then put her back afterwards.

Ok thanks for the info

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Or you could just pen a small flock of Cochin Hens that never go with any other breeds of chickens, reducing the risk of transferring disease. They could be put in a brooding pen while they raise the quail and then back to the Cochin coop when they are done. My husband made me a brooder pen but I haven't used it yet for broody hens. I was using it for my peachicks because it has a lid and I didn't want them to fly out.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

All I saw in this thread was the word quail. Are we sure we are talking about old world quail as opposed to new world quail (bobwhite and California)?