Outdoor Quail Not Laying?

[Quailwhatdowehavehere]

Hello!

I’m a new quail owner and purchased some great layers from a friend but when they show up in my coop they stop laying.

Here’s some info:
They began indoors with heat and lights,

Now they are:
Outside, with a 16.7x12.2” 167 degrees Fahrenheit heater (but it doesn’t seem the heat reaches very far). They live in Washington. There are some outdoor neighborhood cats and dogs but they don’t seem to pay my quail any mind.

The coop is about 10 sq feet but I only count 7 square feet because that is the lower floor and the upper floor I removed so all they have is the ramp. I have 7 quail in my coop, 2 males 5 females.

Something I’ve changed in the past few days is add wood planks to the cage which borders them in more, changed their feed from 16 percent protein to 27, added a leafy branch, gave them a dust bowl and strung Christmas lights all around the cage which I leave on until 10pm.

Now that I’ve added these features will it just be a matter of time? Or is there something else I should be doing?

Please let me know if you have any answers for me ^<^ thank you!

 

[007Sean]

I will assume you have Coturnix quail? How long have you had them and when did you move them outside? All the changes you made 'all at once' will definitely upset their 'normal' routine. They will need time to settle back down and feel comfortable again in their 'changed surroundings'.

Also, with winter coming on, they are getting less light, so this will also make them slack off or entirely quit laying until the length of daylight changes or artifical lighting is provided. A ratio of 1 male to 5 females are usually recommended for Coturnix but if you have 2 males, just keep an eye on them and at the first sign of aggression, be prepared to remove the aggressor(s) to another cage or pen.

Instead of 27% protein feed, a 24% protein feed would be better, if it's a complete and balanced feed and you can find it at your local feed store.
If they are protected from drafts, rain, snow, and have a dry floor....they shouldn't need any augmeted heat, they can handle temps down to -20°F, if the above parameters are met.

 

[BrandonsBirbs]

How old are they?

Don't supplement heating after 3 or 4 weeks, quail are very hardy. Layer quail do not need such high protein, they need a strong amount of calcium. I would recommend a chicken layer feed over such a high protein feed, my layers thrive on the chicken feed. My feed is 16% protein. The chicks under 6-8 weeks need the high protein to support fast growth.

Most importantly, how much light are they getting. If they were laying before but not now then it's most likely they aren't getting enough light. They need around 14 hours of a light a day to lay, some of us (me) use supplemented lighting. I just have a very low watt light bulb that turns on at 8am and off at 10pm, used to use Christmas lights and both work just as well as each other.

If the quail are all friendly with one another I wouldn't worry too much about the 2:5 ratio, 1:5 is "perfect" but most my setups don't follow that rule and are doing great.