laying question

[redrooster99]

Okay so i got some coturnix quail i have got 4 males and 13 females. When i got them a few days ago they had bear backs and some had bumble foot ( they are gone

) ,So know they are being fed scratch feed and chicken layer mash mixed together and i have got to crush up some oyster shells to a smaller size. I got two eggs since i got them one was in the cage when i got them ,and i had one lay the next day so why arent they laying. I have heard it might be were they moved ,and if so when do you think they will start back.

 

[dc3085]

Usually takes a couple weeks for them to start up again.

They need 24% protein gamebird food or turkey starter or similar. Chicken feed is usually 15-16% and is never more than 20%.

In small cages you can't usually get away with having multiple roosters. it works ok in aviary type setups but in hobby sized cages they will fight and it stresses out all the birds. Very occasionally you can get away with two roosters but if you do I recommend 6-8 hens per rooster and 3-4 sq ft per bird so they have room to get away from each other.

 

[redrooster99]

okay then another question ,should i put them on the ground ,i have a chicken tractor that i can use and put the game bantams that are in there ,in the quail pen. i have never seen the males fight.

 

[HowieNZ]

Yes you can put them on the ground, they love the opportunity to grub (just like chickens) however this advise is tempered by the opportunity predators might have in getting in.

 

[dc3085]

Sterilize it before hand. Chickens can carry poultry diseases that they are resistant to but can be fatal to quail. Make sure you wash your hands between handling them as well. Here is an article that details good biosecurity practices.

The only problem I would see with the tractor idea is that feces consumption/contact is one of the easiest methods of disease and parasite transmission between poultry. Just make sure where ever the quail are, the chickens haven't been. Many disease causing parasites distributed by chicken feces can live for years (up to 10 years) outside the host.

Game birds also become more prone to disease if kept over wet soil for long periods of time, so try to make sure you keep the tractor over ground that drains well.

 

[redrooster99]

well they have been in this pen they are in for about a week they visited another pen but i moved them back. there pen is touching the chicken pen.

 

[redrooster99]

OK update so i have got only 2 roosters now ,both separated with 5 hens a piece ,they all have one square foot per bird. They have been near the chickens for a week and all seem fine. I got an egg yesterday also.

 

[Quail Jailer]

OK update so i have got only 2 roosters now ,both separated with 5 hens a piece ,they all have one square foot per bird. They have been near the chickens for a week and all seem fine. I got an egg yesterday also.

That sounds like a favorable arrangement, you'll be pulling ten eggs a day soon.

 

[redrooster99]

Sounds good. I am excited.

 

[Quail Jailer]

once they get going, just keep em happy and you'll be on the egg train.