New to quail

[Terriewh]

Hi all,iv recently got 4 quail, I absolutely adore them they are in an indoor rabbit hutch in my bedroom at the minute but me and my partner are building them a penthouse outside ready for the summer.
I'm finding all the posts very helpful on reading them.
I have one male to 3 girls which I believe is a good ratio.
Iv added lots of conifer branches for them to hide in but they are very cheeky and hardly ever hide. I have even added a box with a small cut out doorway in one corner and covered it with branches they do go in but very rare.
Each one has its own personality. I could sit and watch them for hours.
My male has just mated with Betsie and I'm wonder how long after mating will she lay her eggs.
Does one mating fertilise all the eggs she kays or will they mate several times before she lays.
I am feeding pellets from my local store,oats,bran,meal worm as a treat,fruit and veg as a treat.
They are all very happy and the male crows every morning at sunrise and has just started at sun set.
I love my babies.

 

[007Sean]

The hens can 'store' the sperm from 1 mating for up to 14 days. Whether or not she lays eggs during that period and providing the male is viable, they could potentially be fertilized.
The hens can also reject/expel the sperm, if they choose too!

 

[Pequena ave]

Mating has nothing to do with when the hen will start laying eggs, the roo is just being a roo, he will mate continuously, thus providing a lot of DNA. The mating will provide enough DNA for a period of 10-14 days.
Assuming you have Japanese quail, if she is not laying any eggs yet, shes still not mature enough. Hens will most likely be between 6 to 9 weeks old before they start laying providing they have at least 9-10+ hours of sunlight or artificial light. I have a lamp on a timer to provide early morning light as that is better then providing it late into the night. If this is an older bird that's not laying then you need to increase the amount of light. Also when quail are re-homed it is stressful and they will stop laying for awhile, maybe a week or two before laying resumes or even sooner.
It is best to wait at least 2 weeks before collecting eggs if you are wanting to incubate as this gives the hen time to get her system working and the rate of fertilization will be much higher.
I love my quail too, I have 8, 2 males and 6 females and a lot of eggs!!
Enjoy your babies.