Has anyone else had problems with buying or moving adult breeder coturnix that just shut down after the move and never pick back up?
This is the second time I've seen this happen. The first time I had breeders in a 4x8 pen where I was staying with my brother for awhile near Seattle, brought them with me when I had to go stay at a cousins in Utah (it's complicated) and put them in his old rabbit cages and they just shut down. This was in August, so nice weather in both places. I brought food with me so no diet change... No crowing, no chirping, no eggs. For 2 months, and I finally just culled them all.
Now I've just bought four new to me birds about two weeks ago, 1 male and three females. And they are doing the same thing. Not sure how they were kept before, never saw the set up. They were chirping up a storm the first day or so, and all three females laid the last eggs in their systems (proof they were laying and it has nothing to do with day length), but then stopped. No chirping, no eggs, no crowing. The male is definitely mature, foam coming from the vent when pressed like it's supposed when I first got them, but that's stopped. These birds came from within my own state where I live here in Arizona. Nice weather, nights are cool but days are getting to 70 degrees this time of year.
I can understand a shut down for a few days after a change, but they are in a safe place with no stressors, plenty of sunlight, food, fresh water, hiding places, etc... Same with the first time above.
I'm starting to think the only way to get breeding coturnix is to raise my own chicks, because from my experiences so far the adults don't like change at all!!
Am I the only one?? Is there a trick to getting moved adults to keep breeding? These four are about to be dog food if they don't get their act together.
This is the second time I've seen this happen. The first time I had breeders in a 4x8 pen where I was staying with my brother for awhile near Seattle, brought them with me when I had to go stay at a cousins in Utah (it's complicated) and put them in his old rabbit cages and they just shut down. This was in August, so nice weather in both places. I brought food with me so no diet change... No crowing, no chirping, no eggs. For 2 months, and I finally just culled them all.
Now I've just bought four new to me birds about two weeks ago, 1 male and three females. And they are doing the same thing. Not sure how they were kept before, never saw the set up. They were chirping up a storm the first day or so, and all three females laid the last eggs in their systems (proof they were laying and it has nothing to do with day length), but then stopped. No chirping, no eggs, no crowing. The male is definitely mature, foam coming from the vent when pressed like it's supposed when I first got them, but that's stopped. These birds came from within my own state where I live here in Arizona. Nice weather, nights are cool but days are getting to 70 degrees this time of year.
I can understand a shut down for a few days after a change, but they are in a safe place with no stressors, plenty of sunlight, food, fresh water, hiding places, etc... Same with the first time above.
I'm starting to think the only way to get breeding coturnix is to raise my own chicks, because from my experiences so far the adults don't like change at all!!
Am I the only one?? Is there a trick to getting moved adults to keep breeding? These four are about to be dog food if they don't get their act together.
