I've had my quail for about 15 weeks and they have never showed any signs in laying‽

[RabbitsQuailsSilkies]

Im not wholly convinced of that.. ihave doubt anyway. Jeres why: I hatched some coturnix out, they are just 8.5 weeks, they are inside with no extra light so get about 11 hours of filtered curtain light and have been laying for 1.5 weeks (about 11 days) My neighbor has the bros and sisters from this exact hatch outside and getting 12.5 hours of natural light and some artifical light, they have not laid a single egg, the biggest difference is the temp, and that his actually get MORE light! The groups split at 3 weeks, so it is definitely possible the husbandry is what the difference is between mine laying and his not... his are on wire, mine are on deep sand for bedding and get herbs and fruit and mealworm treats and are bigger and fatter than his are... he feeds the same chick starter but uses oyster shell, (no sand yet even tho we live in a desert!) And his quail wont eat any treats at all, probably because of the sand issue... he also has them divided up by male and female so im now wondering if that is affecting things too since some of you mentioned that...

First I want to say thanks for everyone helping. Also when it comes to their gender, I was hoping I would get all females but fully aware and prepared for the chance of getting males and I feel I should offer that I barely hear a peep out of them. Thats the main reason I either feel like maybe Im just not hearing correctly but I got lucky in the past with my rabbits. (they turned out all to be female by some miracle. I wasn't looking to have to care for kits and then re-home because I would be too attached.) The quails live in a 2' by 6' pen that is on ground level because we never have any issues with predators here (I live on Oahu). Plus if we did have like a rat or a mongoose or something, my dog, cat, and rabbits would not let him get past the gate. I spread timothy hay over the bottom of the enclosure to make clean up easier and they like looking through it when I give them treats. They eat gamebird feed.... Ill have to check the protein later, I forgot. They have a dust bath as well as some plants they like to hide in and peck at. I can give them some ground cat food and see how that goes. They have oyster shell mixed with their food. Sand? We have plenty of that here but Im a bit confused on that part.

 

[RabbitsQuailsSilkies]

Also what do you guys use specifically for your sandboxes. And I am assuming by when you were talking about the sand and oyster shell you meant because yours eat it and his dont but does that mean that you dont use oyster shell? If so why is that?

 

[Ebony Rose]

Mine bathe in the plain sand that I have in their deep, 1/3 full sandbox (an attempt to keep some of the sand IN the box. They love to roll in it and toss it all over themselves. I'd expect they manage to swallow a bit as well. Sand bathing is part of a bird's preening and plumage maintenance that keeps their feathers in top condition. The dust that is worked into their feathers will absorb excess oil to keep them from becoming greasy or matted. Regular sand bathing may help smother or minimize lice, feather mites, and other parasites.

Oyster shell is specifically to provide additional calcium and should not be mixed with their food, but offered separately so that those that need it have it. Too much calcium, just as too little calcium, is a bad thing. You shouldn't need to supplement it, if you're providing game bird feed, turkey feed or supplementing other feeds (like chicken feed) with dry cat food as all of those options contain calcium.

 

[RabbitsQuailsSilkies]

Mine bathe in the plain sand that I have in their deep, 1/3 full sandbox (an attempt to keep some of the sand IN the box. They love to roll in it and toss it all over themselves. I'd expect they manage to swallow a bit as well. Sand bathing is part of a bird's preening and plumage maintenance that keeps their feathers in top condition. The dust that is worked into their feathers will absorb excess oil to keep them from becoming greasy or matted. Regular sand bathing may help smother or minimize lice, feather mites, and other parasites.

Oyster shell is specifically to provide additional calcium and should not be mixed with their food, but offered separately so that those that need it have it. Too much calcium, just as too little calcium, is a bad thing. You shouldn't need to supplement it, if you're providing game bird feed, turkey feed or supplementing other feeds (like chicken feed) with dry cat food as all of those options contain calcium.

Do you buy your sand? I feel beach sand would be inappropriate, unless maybe I wash it. I currently have been using loose pet safe potting soil and they love to bathe in it and they have never looked greasy or showed any signs of having any parasites but I suppose sand would be the better option but I just don't know WHICH sand to use because I dont want t make them ill. I added some ground cat food to one half of their feeding dish in case they didnt bother with it. It seems they like it. The cat food contains 31% protein and you guys said 30% so I guess thats good?

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

I use sand i get from the creek, and you can buy sand from construction stores, plant stores etc. Just make sure nothing is added to it. I dont use oyster shell i just grind up chicken egg shells and add to the food sometimes. For calcium,
the sand is for the gizzard and dust bathing, oyster shell will not help in the gizard like sand does.
I also think 30 percent protein is too high, i feed 22 percent chick starter and feed scrambled eggs and mealworms, for added protein.
Greens like spinich and herbs too have different vitamins in them... I haven't tried catfood but when they were chicks and needed even more protein I fed tuna and they sure loved that.

 

[RabbitsQuailsSilkies]

I use sand i get from the creek, and you can buy sand from construction stores, plant stores etc. Just make sure nothing is added to it. I dont use oyster shell i just grind up chicken egg shells and add to the food sometimes. For calcium,
the sand is for the gizzard and dust bathing, oyster shell will not help in the gizard like sand does.
I also think 30 percent protein is too high, i feed 22 percent chick starter and feed scrambled eggs and mealworms, for added protein.
Greens like spinich and herbs too have different vitamins in them... I haven't tried catfood but when they were chicks and needed even more protein I fed tuna and they sure loved that.

Originally I was just using ground up egg shell but I couldn't really tell if they were eating it or not. So you think the cat food might be too high in protein while other people think its okay. Maybe if I only feed them small amounts of catfood mixed in with their food at a time? Do you clean your sand first and if so, how? If you don't then would you say I might be able to use beach sand. I feel like it wouldn't be clean. With the salt and germs and all. But this island does have sand everywhere. I live in Ewa Beach so the ground is all red clay/dirt.

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

Originally I was just using ground up egg shell but I couldn't really tell if they were eating it or not. So you think the cat food might be too high in protein while other people think its okay. Maybe if I only feed them small amounts of catfood mixed in with their food at a time? Do you clean your sand first and if so, how? If you don't then would you say I might be able to use beach sand. I feel like it wouldn't be clean. With the salt and germs and all. But this island does have sand everywhere. I live in Ewa Beach so the ground is all red clay/dirt.

I don't know enough to know how beach sand would be, It is made up mostly of crushed shells? So it couldd be super calcium itself?? If you are concerned about its cleanliness, you can wash sand by sticking it in a five gallon bucket, half full of sand , putting the hose shoved down towards the bottom and moving it around as it fills, pouring off the water, over and over again til the water is clear...
But maybe someone will chime in to say if beach sand is safe for quail, the only worry I would have is that the calciun in it is too high? And the salt too...
But I live in the center of the u.s., landlocked and only have been to the beach for one summer.( I wish it was easier to go to though) so have no idea about beach sand! The egg shells i add mixed into the food and assume they are eating it, you could add some to the water and the calcium would leak into the water if you are worried they arent eating it... as for the catfood, maybe someone who uses it can chime in since I never have. Sorry im full of non-advice today!

 

[Ebony Rose]

30% protein IS too high Little Jerry Seinfeld, but it does wonders to boost a lower protein feed for those of us that simply cannot obtain 22 - 24% game bird (et al) feed at the store. I live in a tiny country in Central America; typically the only bird feed available is a choice between various varieties of CHICKEN feed; 'just for roosters' which is very very low in protein, 'just for eggs' which is higher protein but still too low (even for chickens) but higher in calcium, and 'broiler' feeds which are much too high in fat and still not high enough in protein. I often buy the 'for eggs' and mix in dry rice (for lysine), split yellow peas (is a complete protein, but I use it specifically to supplement methionine and toss in some dry cat food to boost the overall protein level. I then ZING it all up in my food processor to get it to a size my quail like. A note on the split yellow peas... you can use green peas if you prefer, but here, the cost of yellow peas is about 25% less, so that's what I buy. Also, peas and rice* can be fed uncooked without the problems associated with feeding dry beans.

* https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/against-the-grain/

 

[RabbitsQuailsSilkies]

The sand here is, I'd say mostly your average "rock" sand I guess? So protein would be too high in catfood. Ok I think I'll try giving them a little and see if anything changes in their laying or just in their behaviors. I'm probably going to give them rice as well in their feed. I'll also re start feeding them egg shells. Thank you!

 

[RabbitsQuailsSilkies]

Update. One if the quail Has been making that trilling noise all morning. It's still dark out but I think I know which one it is. Why did he just start now?