New To Quail - Advise required

[makarim]

Hello Everyone

Thank you for reading my post. I am very new to quails and have 8 ( 6 females + 2 males ) in my backyard. They are kept in a coop which is cleaned weekly and is quite large so the quails have plenty of space to run around. It has hay bedding and plenty of hiding places but I seem to have the following problem.

I brought my quails about three weeks ago from a respected quail breeder and I was told the quails were 6 - 7 weeks old. When I went to purchse them there was plenty of eggs inside his coop where the quils came from and he informed me that they were breed for laying. However as of yet my 6 quils have not layed a single egg. They are getting plently of natural daylight as in the UK now the daylight is about 16 hours long. They get plenty of food and fresh clean water but no eggs

I am feeding them Dodson & Horrell Layer Pellets which has 16% protein. Could it be that this has such a low protein rate for quails thats why they are not laying. They only layed the first day I purchased them and then stopped. I am now going to chage to a tradional Quail Layers Pellets which has 20% protein. Would this make a difference

Quail eggs are very expensive in the UK so I purchased them for the eggs but not a egg in sight

I dont tend to use artifical lighting to force them to lay

Please advise on what the issue could be

I know they may be happy in the coop because they are always running around, eating, drinking and cheerping

Also I noticed that their poo is a dark black - brown colour. Not runny but a paste like. Is this normal

Thank you.

 

[miss_thenorth]

16% protein. Could it be that this has such a low protein rate for quails thats why they are not laying

yes, quail need alot more protein. See if you can get game bird starter-- my memeory is not great, but I think they need about 22% Also, moving quail can disrupt their laying cylcle. Once moved, it may take up to three weeks for them to settle in. but they need tohe high protein feed.

As far as the poop is concerned, it the males are fertile, it will have a foam on it (sperm). But they need the protein. If you can't get feed with higher protein, then you might have to supplement with scrambles eggs, or bugs. to get it up.​

 

[JJMR794]

You Have Broken Quail Law. I Will Summize By Your Post They Are Coturnix Speces Quail? As Those Are Usually The Best Layers... "production Birds Of The Quail World If You Will?" Anyhow. #1 Max Protien.. It Seems To Me From My Reading Here Y'all Over There In The Uk Dont Have Very High Protien Feeds Like We Here In The Us Have, But Give Them A Diet Geared Towards Gamebirds (not Chickens) In As High A Protien As You Can Obtain. We Routinely Feed Them Gamebird Starter Here Which Runs Between 26 And 30% Protien Life-long Here In The States As This Helps Support Max Egg Laying.

Now Back To The Quail Law... Coturnix Especially, But Any Quail Speces In General Are The Lovers Of Perpetual Sameness.... And Change In That Is The Most Serious Infraction In Quail Law... A Major Felony If You Will...

Since You Purchased These Birds And Promptly Relocated Them To Your Home And Changed Everything In Their Known World From Housing To Environment To Feed You Have CommitED A Lengthy List Of Felonies My Friend

Your Sentance Enforced By The Birds Them Selves Is Common... "change My Pen? - Bad Keeper! No Eggs For You!"
"change My Roommates? - Bad Keeper! No Eggs For You!"
"change My Feed? - Bad Keeper! No Eggs For You!"
"change My Environment And Surroundings?---- Well I Think You Should Be Getting The Picture By Now

Not To Worry, Get Them Settled Into Their Pen, Change Their Diet To The Best You Can Obtain Without Fail (remember Changes Upset Them And If You Run Out And Give Them Something Else Thats A Change...) Make All Your Changes Now And Get Them Set And Leave Them Be From Here On Out And Once Your Sentence Has Been Served For All These Felonies You Will Start To Receive Eggs. Sometimes Its A Merciful And Short Sentance, Sometimes Its Horribly Long= This Is Strictly At The Birds Discretion.

This, My Friend, Is Standard Coturnix (and Almost All Other Quail Speces) Behavior... They'll Get Over It In A Few Weeks And It'll Be Business As Usual. Until Then Your Stuck Eggless In The Uk

 

[Jschaaff]

Quote:
LOL! Informative yet funny

. I learn so much from your posts!!!
-Jessa

 

[makarim]

Quote:
Hello

Thank you very much for your reply. It has been very informative and makes a lot of sense. I will make one last chage for them which is a higher protein feed. Unfortunatly as you have mentioned in your post in regards to UK quail feed, the protien I could find max is 20% which has no GM, artificial or animal by products. It still a boost from 16%. I will add few dried mealworms once a week as a treat

One last question in regards to changes, I have to clean the coop out once a week as a agreement between my mum and me in order for me to keep quails in the backyard. As I will have new hay and bedding and their hiding places slightly changed, would they consider that to be a change or just be happy with clean bedding - ( Might be a silly question but just curious

As you rightfully mentioned my quails are Coturnix - Manchurian Golden quail, known by many as Italian Coturnix. Same as the Japanese Coturnix but jusy cream white in colour
Thanks

 

[La Mike]

Most coturnix are raised on wire so as not to bother them as well as Bobwhites. I think you will be ok and JJ is another story

He knows what hes talking about. Also you said they are 6-7 weeks so they are still in early age of giving away their treats lol Give them a bit and they should get to laying prolific for you

 

[saddina]

JJ has hit on it on the head, quail loathe change more than a consertive church mum. Mine appericiate a sunday brunch of scrambled hen eggs (leftover from cooking family breakfast), and that suppliments the slightly low protien feed they get.

 

[JJMR794]

ALL OF MINE ARE ELEVATED ON WIRE... I DONT KNOW IF THEY'LL SEE BEDDING CHANGES AS AN INFRACTION OF QUAIL LAW? NEVER HAD TO WORRY ABOUT THAT

WIFEZILLA KEEPS HERS ON THE GROUND AND PROVIDES HAY FOR BEDDING... PERHAPS SHE WILL BE ALONG SHORTLY AND CAN HELP YOU WITH THIS 1?

 

[MobyQuail]

X2 + sandbox. mine enjoy the sandbox. eggs usually in the sandbox.

 

[leahthor]

I keep mine on shavings that are changed weekly and as long as that is the only thing I change on them they don't stop laying for me. But I don't move their mates and they go back to the original cage. Maybe I'm lucky and my birds associate the clean shavings with their weekly dust bath.

I will say that several months ago, I too committed the horrid infraction of moving the quail from one room in my shop to the other side of the shop in a different room. They sentenced me to almost 4 weeks of no eggs.