new quail mom-please help

[Thefosterfivefarm]

hello everyone! I have recently been given some quail by some family. I don't know anything about quail so I need your help. First of all, I don't even know what type of quail they are, but they lay little blue eggs with black speckles. Next, lets talk about coops. Currently I have just built a quick little hodgepodge run type of scenario. I'm still working on a coop part but I have noticed they sleep in the grass anyway. Due to this, I would like to expand the run, make is more secure, and put some hiding spots in it. I would love to see some images of your quail coops! I live in Maryland, USA, so we can get some decent winters (low 20's F.) I was reading that they are some pretty hardy buggers though. Basically I'm just wondering if you guys do anything different for them in the colder months? yesterday I got 5 eggs so I'm thinking I have at least 5 gals and I know 1 of them is a boy, but I have 8 total so I'm not sure about the others. Is there an easy was to tell the difference? Also some of them are missing quite a few feathers, how do I stop the bullying? That's all I can think of right now but I'll let you know if I think of any more questions.
Thanks in advance!

 

[muddy75]

hello everyone! I have recently been given some quail by some family. I don't know anything about quail so I need your help. First of all, I don't even know what type of quail they are, but they lay little blue eggs with black speckles. Next, lets talk about coops. Currently I have just built a quick little hodgepodge run type of scenario. I'm still working on a coop part but I have noticed they sleep in the grass anyway. Due to this, I would like to expand the run, make is more secure, and put some hiding spots in it. I would love to see some images of your quail coops! I live in Maryland, USA, so we can get some decent winters (low 20's F.) I was reading that they are some pretty hardy buggers though. Basically I'm just wondering if you guys do anything different for them in the colder months? yesterday I got 5 eggs so I'm thinking I have at least 5 gals and I know 1 of them is a boy, but I have 8 total so I'm not sure about the others. Is there an easy was to tell the difference? Also some of them are missing quite a few feathers, how do I stop the bullying? That's all I can think of right now but I'll let you know if I think of any more questions.
Thanks in advance!

Mine are kept outside in a netted aviary setting but many keep quail in cages. It sounds like you have adults and possibly celadon layers if your eggs are blue. They should be fine through the winter as they are hardy……but you’ll want to make sure they have hideaways or 1 nice relatively draft-free area to escape weather. The feather loss could either be bullying or molt right now…….if you post some pictures, we may be able to better help with some of the questions breed, gender, etc

 

[007Sean]

Sounds like you have Celadon layers. Can you post some pics of your birds and your current set up, ie; coop and run...would help in advising you on what would work best.

 

[Thefosterfivefarm]

Here are some pics. I haven’t finished building it so it’s still a work in progress. I’m going to replace the metal crate thing with essentially a wooden box but I was also thinking when I expand the run I could just put the box/coop right on the ground and they might like that better.

 

[007Sean]

I'm by no way an expert on the particular color variations of your birds, I'll defer that to the to the 'experts'! Yep, you have a 'bully' in your pen, I'd sit by the pen and watch to find out which one(s) are being aggressive and remove them from the pen.

If the hardware cloth is being held on with staples?...that in no way will keep predators such as raccoons, coyotes, foxes or rogue neighborhood dogs from ripping it off and decimating your birds. I would reinforce it with 1" sheet metal screws & washers. Also, I would install an apron all around the bottom of the entire coop and run...keep the digging predators out. Here's a pic of how I attach the wire to my pens. The flooring wire is attached with 1" poultry netting staples.

 

[quailheart]

Looks like you have some celadon layers! Celadon quail have a rare recessive gene that makes their eggs a beautiful blue, or blue with speckles. The celadon gene can be found in any coloration of coturnix.
It looks like you have some Tibetans (the dark brown birds with no markings except for a white spot or two), some Tibetan tuxedos (Tibetan colored on top and white on bottom) and I can also see a red tuxedo. I’m not sure what the pale colored quail is (possibly a Schofield silver) or the reddish brown one, although he looks kind of looks like a brown coturnix. Coturnix colors are hard to learn at first, but they are fun to identify once you get the hang of it.
Like Sean said, you should give them a draft free area or place to hide in when the weather gets colder. I have a nesting box attached to the side of my quail pen that they rarely use to lay in, but I’ll find them hiding in it a lot when the get spooked by a hawk or cat or when the weather is bad. In the corner of the pen I have a mini woven hammock looking thing that they like to sit on to get a better view of everything or to hide under. I also have some logs arranged that provide a little shelter or a good hiding or resting place. For only 8 quail, just a good hide or two and a decent place to shelter would be fine.
During winter my quail make it just fine with a heated waterer. On cold nights they all sleep in a big pile to stay warm. I have used heat lamps outdoors for them before, but they do fine without.
Winter is a peaceful time for my quail because my roosters only bother to bully anyone during mating season, although some people just have really aggressive roosters that are always causing problems. If you continue to have bullying problems, I would get rid of a couple roosters if I were you. If you are only keeping the quail for eggs and not for breeding you might even want to get rid of all your roosters. The best ratio for roosters to hens is 1 rooster to 4-5 hens. Keeping any more roosters together, theres bound to be a bullying problem. Hope this helps! Let us know if you have any more questions, we’ll be glad to help!

 

[Thefosterfivefarm]

Looks like you have some celadon layers! Celadon quail have a rare recessive gene that makes their eggs a beautiful blue, or blue with speckles. The celadon gene can be found in any coloration of coturnix.
It looks like you have some Tibetans (the dark brown birds with no markings except for a white spot or two), some Tibetan tuxedos (Tibetan colored on top and white on bottom) and I can also see a red tuxedo. I’m not sure what the pale colored quail is (possibly a Schofield silver) or the reddish brown one, although he looks kind of looks like a brown coturnix. Coturnix colors are hard to learn at first, but they are fun to identify once you get the hang of it.
Like Sean said, you should give them a draft free area or place to hide in when the weather gets colder. I have a nesting box attached to the side of my quail pen that they rarely use to lay in, but I’ll find them hiding in it a lot when the get spooked by a hawk or cat or when the weather is bad. In the corner of the pen I have a mini woven hammock looking thing that they like to sit on to get a better view of everything or to hide under. I also have some logs arranged that provide a little shelter or a good hiding or resting place. For only 8 quail, just a good hide or two and a decent place to shelter would be fine.
During winter my quail make it just fine with a heated waterer. On cold nights they all sleep in a big pile to stay warm. I have used heat lamps outdoors for them before, but they do fine without.
Winter is a peaceful time for my quail because my roosters only bother to bully anyone during mating season, although some people just have really aggressive roosters that are always causing problems. If you continue to have bullying problems, I would get rid of a couple roosters if I were you. If you are only keeping the quail for eggs and not for breeding you might even want to get rid of all your roosters. The best ratio for roosters to hens is 1 rooster to 4-5 hens. Keeping any more roosters together, theres bound to be a bullying problem. Hope this helps! Let us know if you have any more questions, we’ll be glad to help!

Awesome thank you! How do I know which ones are roosters?

 

[quailheart]

I would watch them for a little while and wait till you hear which ones crow. If you’re not familiar with the coturnix male’s call, there’s videos on YouTube that you can listen to. It’s a loud, screechy sound. The colors you have are not able to be feather sexed. Another way you can sex them is by looking at their vent, some people find this way the easiest but I don’t, so I don’t have any tips for you on that but I’m sure there’s videos on how to do that.