Is This Normal For Button Quails????

[BirdBoy88]

Hey everyone...

Lately i have notice something about my buttons quails....

First my buttons stay with food/water and treats.

but i have been noticing every time a button poos the other button quails run to it and eats it?

and i haven't gotten an egg since September from my buttons...... i have about 18 hens and not one egg...

i see them mate with the males every day so i am thinking what if they are laying but the other buttons thinks it's poo and they are eating the egg as fast as the hens drop it out?

i need your thoughts on this

thanks

 

[monarc23]

Mine do this too....HOWEVER now i have them on a wire floored pen (temporarily) and they cant eat it ha ha!!! It hasnt effected their egg production at all however. Only my one hen is laying right now but the others will most certainly start up again soon (within about 2 weeks) since they're back under lighting.

I assume your birds aren't cold, and I know i feed my birds well, so them eating poo i dont believe has anything to do witih lack of anything... as I make sure they get bugs as well as good crumbles, grit and what else have you so im sure yours are getting good nutrition as well!

Have you timed how much light you have on them? They need atleast 14 hours aday i know i've told you that before and im sure others have as well but seriously if youdont have that much light on them a day, they WILL not have much incentive to lay. My hen stopped laying right as soon as deer hunting started because I wasnt home to keepthe lights on, I soon learned that if i wanted eggs the lights had to stay on with or without me being home. Even a good night light should help

OH and when my hen molted she stopped laying as well too.

 

[BirdBoy88]

Thanks Niki

i will buy then a night night when i leave out later and some more grit everything else i already have i was thinking about buying one of those light timers and have it set for 14 hours a day so i don't have to keep remembering when to turn it off or on

 

[monarc23]

Quote:
you're very welcome! i bet that's the problem is just lighting. I was suprised how fast lack of light effected my hens, it was litterally a day without light and they didnt even lay that day and didnt lay the next day eitiher. It took about a week and a half of lighting for long peroids of time before i got eggs again. I'm trading most of my button quails (to focus more on my coturnix and chickens--but im keeping my beloved pippin hehe) so I brought all my buttons in from outside to get them back on laying eggs so she can start breeding them.