My quail coop’s not working! - Coturnix Quail

[CostaMesaQuail]

How do you give them the oyster shells? I'm in a similar situation

I pulverized it in a blender a bit. It seemed a bit too big for them. I just spread a bit across the top of the food each time I fill the dish. Kind of a hassle but it seems to have worked!

 

[CostaMesaQuail]

I'm glad your lighting change is working out to more laying! Yay!

One idea to consider is switching your supplemental lighting to the morning hours. People do this when providing chickens with more light so they are not caught by surprise off the roost when it suddenly gets dark. Obviously this element doesn't apply to quails, but I was thinking it might help to keep down the number of night-time scavengers/predators that are drawn in by the light.

Yes, I’m looking into a better timer to turn on in the earlier morning. I’m not much of a morning person, so it’s easier for me to extend the night. I wanted to see if it would even help. Now that I have “proof of concept”, it’s time to invest in a better rig. Thanks!

 

[lomine]

Hey that's good news. Yeah for eggs.

I give my quail crushed up egg shells. I use both their shells and some from my chickens and ducks. I found that oyster shell was just too big and I didn't want to ruin my food processor trying to get it smaller. I just dump the crushed egg shells on the ground of their run. I've put it in bowl before but they tossed it out anyway so I don't bother anymore.

 

[purslanegarden]

Well, it’s been 11 days and no improvement on the egg laying. Just the one from my faithful girl. It did seem to wake up one of the boys though. He’s been crowing a few times a day and has started mounting.
I did notice a mouse in the droppings tray last night, going after the food spillage. But one mouse isn’t enough to scare them from laying eggs is it?
Also added some oyster shell to the food on recommendation. Hope that helps.

One mouse may not be scaring them but if you actually see one mouse, there may be many others around already. They are out and about at a time when you can see them because the competition for food is harsh already because of many mice around.

 

[Jacob Duckman]

View attachment 1262282 View attachment 1262283 View attachment 1262284 Totally bummin. Please help?

So I built what thought was an awesome quail coop, but my 5 MONTH old birds are not laying or breeding. I’m getting one egg a day, and I’m not seeing any of the foamy “proof of action” anywhere. They are healthy, big, fat birds doing nothing but costing me money.

I’m certain it’s because they are not getting enough sun. But I’m not sure how to fix it.

They need a roof to allow more sunlight. Any recommendations? I thought pulling the wood off and installing plexi, but that seems like it would magnify the heat and roast them. Also considered just meshing it, but then it won’t protect from rain.

Then the issue of the bottom pen (it’s a double stack). How do I roof the bottom pen to allow sun? Thought maybe I’d just make the bottom for the extra males to be culled/cooked at maturity, but that seems a waste long term for breeding.

Please help! So frustrated... was hoping to be in full breeding, culling, selling, eating cycle by now.

Tried to take some good pics for review. Let me know your thoughts please. I’m not opposed to scratching the whole thing and reworking if needed.

Thank you
Dave

Beautiful coop! Have you tried increasing protein in the diet?

 

[CostaMesaQuail]

Beautiful coop! Have you tried increasing protein in the diet?

Thank you!
The highest protein feed I can get locally is 21.4%. The oyster shells seem to be working along with the light. I’m up to 6 per day and all three of my boys are strutting around and crowing. 6 more girls need to get with the program.

 

[CapricornFarm]

I ordered Juvenile Coturnix quail from @Nyla on byc. She is shipping Monday. She plans to sell out, so any one interested, hit her up.

 

[CostaMesaQuail]

I’m up to 9/12 hens laying consistently everyday. All three boys are crowing and chasing the girls around. Finally a win!! Now if only I can dial in my incubator. I have my first set of my OWN eggs going in Thursday.
Thanks for all advice and encouragement!
Dave

 

[CostaMesaQuail]

Okay. I’ve done everything I can.
Set 57 of my OWN eggs tonight. Finally got the right light and 10 of 12 hens are laying, all three boys are mating.
I cross checked my temperature to three thermometers and added a sponge for minor humidity tweaks.
Thoroughly cleaned and sanitized the entire incubator.
Currently running at 45/100 and will adjust over the next few hours as everything adapts to the new set.
Also will be more mindful of topping off the water daily. Even set the eggs so my straw has clear access to the water reservoirs.
Additionally, the eggs are marked by color in two day intervals (7 days total) so I can see if I have a higher/lower hatch by storage date.
I think I’ve covered everything... I hope.
See ya in a few weeks!