Males in pen - Day lamp W advice needed

[MichelleKing]

**UPDATED**
Magic happened. Not long after I posted this, I went to their pens and found eggs! Funny how that worked out


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My quail are not laying. Nutrition is excellent, treats 5% of diet (organic wheatgrass), they are happy, digging in their sandbox, sing their songs, and none are lethargic. I believe its just that time of year. However, I would like them to lay. Does anyone use daylight bulbs to encourage laying in the winter, and if so, what wattage do you use? is 60W sufficient? And is 15 hours sufficient?

What are yalls experiences with quail laying in the winter? Does it happen?

SECOND question. I do not have a mature rooster with them. I have mature roosters, just not with the females. Would putting one male in there with the females help them to lay, or will he just rough them up and upset them? I know they will lay without a male so any advice appreciated.

 

[DK newbie]

It doesn't take a very bright light to get quail to lay - people use Christmas string lights and such. Usually 16 hours of light is recommended, though I think 14 is enough - and my cots are still laying without additional light, despite living in a barn with just one window near their enclosure and the sun is only up for 9 hours a day now. Not as much as they used to, but there are still 1-2 eggs almost every day from 4 hens.
If you keep them laying through winter, it will have negative impact on their health, shorten their life span and make them stop laying for good sooner, so I wouldn't recommend it unless you plan to cull them in the spring, but many people do it and it does work.
There is no need for a rooster unless you want fertile eggs.

 

[MichelleKing]

It doesn't take a very bright light to get quail to lay - people use Christmas string lights and such. Usually 16 hours of light is recommended, though I think 14 is enough - and my cots are still laying without additional light, despite living in a barn with just one window near their enclosure and the sun is only up for 9 hours a day now. Not as much as they used to, but there are still 1-2 eggs almost every day from 4 hens.
If you keep them laying through winter, it will have negative impact on their health, shorten their life span and make them stop laying for good sooner, so I wouldn't recommend it unless you plan to cull them in the spring, but many people do it and it does work.
There is no need for a rooster unless you want fertile eggs.

How old are your girls? See mine are almost 8 months and like I dont know if thats the reason why they're not laying yet. i've provided everything people have told me to provide....are they too young?

 

[DK newbie]

Clarifying question - those are coturnix quail, right? If so, they can lay when they are 8 weeks old - sometimes even sooner - so if yours are 8 months they are definitely not too young.
I bought mine in may and they were fully grown back then but their exact age was unknown, though they were likely from the start of this year.

 

[Erkenstein]

LED string lights have worked for me. 14 hours.

 

[MichelleKing]

Clarifying question - those are coturnix quail, right? If so, they can lay when they are 8 weeks old - sometimes even sooner - so if yours are 8 months they are definitely not too young.
I bought mine in may and they were fully grown back then but their exact age was unknown, though they were likely from the start of this year.

Yes cotounix. Actually update on this - they started laying literally right after I wrote this!!

 

[MichelleKing]

How old are your girls? See mine are almost 8 months and like I dont know if thats the reason why they're not laying yet. i've provided everything people have told me to provide....are they too young?

i meant 8 weeks oops. And I found eggs in the habitat not long after I wrote this!

 

[DK newbie]

Well, then everything is great! Some might not start laying til they are a few weeks older, so don't be worried if your egg production is pretty low and irregular at first.

 

[vixie-daisy]

I see that your quail already just happened to start laying, congrats! Just wanted to comment though that I keep my quail indoors and don't even deliberately want them to lay through the winter, but the (not very bright at all) string lights I use as decorative lighting in the room seems to keep them laying. My 3 adult girls dutifully give me 3 eggs every day. It certainly doesn't take much at all!