Paper eating button quail

[gwboolean]

I had a batch of button quail and kept two hens as pets. There are two problems I have run into.

The first is that button quail are egg laying machines and I would like to know if there is anyway to shut this off in my pet quail without harming them. I know that light is important (I assume the number of hours of light), but since they are pets and not outside I am unable to reduce the hours of light they have.

The other problem is that for these two quail I have been using shredded paper as bedding. One of them eats the paper like they are worms and she just eats them all day long. I have not noticed this to be harmful for her, but I am concerned that it might be. Does anyone know if paper is bad for them. I know that paper is almost all cellulose and that should not be harmful, but one never really knows.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

While slow release hormone implants exist for chickens and ducks to stop them from laying if they have a disease, I don't know if they work on quail and nobody would insert one unless there was an associated health issue. Laying eggs is a natural bodily function for birds and requires no modifications unless there is a health risk.

If you dislike having quail eggs, scramble them shell and all and give them back to your quails to eat or give them away.

I would worry about the paper getting impacted or reducing their intake of healthy and high-nutrient food.