odd egg laying schedule...

[TheRealTimShady]

ok, so my 4 hens left are about 11 weeks old i'm guessing, kinda lost count but i know they are around there, 10-12 weeks. I've been getting a steady 2 eggs a day since they were 8 weeks, sometimes i get a 3rd one(at first it was really thin shell then it got thicker as i've been adding vit c and some calcium) but the 3rd one isn't everyday.

my 4th hen is the one i'm wondering about, she has YET to lay an egg, i know its one of them, not sure which. the 2 eggs that i get everyday always look the same, and the 3rd one i get sometimes is always the same, so i know ONE hen isn't laying at all.

i do everything to keep them happy, new sand everyday, i clean the coop every 5 days, they get treats about once a week(or when my son doesn't eat the yolk of a hardboiled egg). Fresh water every other day and manna pro 24% protien food(i'm trying to find a feed supply around that carries purina gbs, no luck yet).

any idea's why a quail won't lay an egg. also, i'm almost positive she is a she, i can post pictures again of the 4 that i have no so everyone can see, but i'm 99% positive they are all hens(as my male just died a few days ago)

 

[TwoCrows]

It could be a protein issue. I have the same problem around here, living in "no mans land" in that I can not always find high protein gamebird food. Sometimes I am stuck with only 22% feed. So I buy dried mealworms and give all the girls a handful a day. (See that ad at the top right of your screen? The one for Happy Hen meal worms?...thats the one) They go pretty far if you aren't feeding a thousand birds. I have found that not only do they go nuts over them, but it ups the protein in the diet enough to get eggs nearly everyday from my girls.

 

[TheRealTimShady]

sounds good, i'll get some for sure, but its still odd to me....not one egg EVER from her <_< almost makes me think she's....a FREAK!

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote:
It can't hurt to try. They will definitely enjoy them anyway. I have a few really sensitive girls and others not so much. Some will lay no matter what they are eating, and others need lots more protein.

Hope this helps and she starts laying soon!

 

[shelleyd2008]

High protein will usually help the hens lay more eggs but I don't know if it will help them start laying. You should be able to tell which one it is by feeling their pelvis. The girls who are laying will have a very wide space between the 2 sides of their pelvis, the one who is not laying will not have as wide of a gap. On a 'normal' sized coturnix it's usually a little over an inch space.

 

[loopy119]

Do you have a way to seperate them? That will tell you which one isn't laying after a day or so. Also, I have read that feeding ground catfood once a week is a good way to give them more protein. I am very new to quail, and this is all based off of things I have read. I also have a "female" that isn't laying, but it could be a male in disguise because it is a tibetan and I haven't had time to beer sex it. Haha! I will just have to hatch more of them from the eggs I DO get from that color (oh darn...) ;D I have really fallen in love with my quail though!! Good luck with that female!!

 

[joe125]

Well....Not sure about the posting reg. now, but any pic will be looked at by myself and others. I promise to give my best assessment! What are we looking at here?