Quail advise

[Feather_head]

Hello!
I was given 2x quails on Sunday. Was told 1 was male and 1 was female. Obviously the grey is male but I'm not sure about the white??. I can't see any rust colour around the underside but she isn't laying any eggs. Could this be because she has been recently moved? They have chicken pellets atm (that's what I was given) but I'm changing it up to game food tonight. Ive been giving them a few meal worms and egg biscuit to bring up the protein. They have oyster shell, cover and a dust bath. They have also had greens this week. Am I being impatient!? Probably The previous owner had them in an aviary with barely any light. I don't know the age of the birds, do female birds stop laying?? At what age?
Thank you!!!

 

[CliftonQuail]

Quail will typically take a break in laying after a stressful event like being moved to a new location. They also need about 14 hours of light to encourage laying. Older hens will eventually quit laying as well. It's good that your changing their food from chicken to game bird, but you should probably go slow with that to minimize digestive issues. Mix about 1/4 game bird to 3/4 chicken for a day or two, then 1/2 to 1/2, then 3/4 to 1/4 and finally all game bird. I'm no expert with telling sex on quail, but I'm sure someone who is will come along eventually. Good luck with your new birds.

 

[Nabiki]

Can you post a better pic of the bird's face and chest? As you said, the one in front is definitely male. I suspect the other is female, but I can't see the front well enough.

 

[Feather_head]

Quail will typically take a break in laying after a stressful event like being moved to a new location. They also need about 14 hours of light to encourage laying. Older hens will eventually quit laying as well. It's good that your changing their food from chicken to game bird, but you should probably go slow with that to minimize digestive issues. Mix about 1/4 game bird to 3/4 chicken for a day or two, then 1/2 to 1/2, then 3/4 to 1/4 and finally all game bird. I'm no expert with telling sex on quail, but I'm sure someone who is will come along eventually. Good luck with your new birds.

Thank you - yes, i'll give them slow change over! They are in an aviary outside now so have sunlight as long as the day

 

[Feather_head]

Can you post a better pic of the bird's face and chest? As you said, the one in front is definitely male. I suspect the other is female, but I can't see the front well enough.

I will give it a go this evening

 

[Feather_head]

Can you post a better pic of the bird's face and chest? As you said, the one in front is definitely male. I suspect the other is female, but I can't see the front well enough.

 

[WildNectarine]

A good, cheap, spacious and safe indoor enclosure you can use for them is a “pop-up” bed mosquito net. They make smaller ones for bivy sacks if you have little space, or even king sized ones if you want to go all out. Trust me, cages suck. They can easily kill themselves if they flush and hit the top. And they’re always so small and expensive! And line the bottom with a few paper massage table covers, wood shavings can be toxic and dusty, are hard to walk on, and will stick to their feet with the poop, same for paper pulp small pet bedding, sand is too dusty, dirt grows too much bacteria, and their poop doesn’t wash out of blankets well, disposable paper is the best way to go. And check out Make Your Own Bird Toys, foraging toys are amazing enrichment, as are sand baths, pop-up ferret tunnels, and hay piles, just make sure the sand is “construction” or a sand with multiple grain sizes, as “play” sand can cause crop impactions since it clumps. I wish you luck in your quail journey! You’ll have so much fun.

 

[catesquire]

If wood shavings "stick to their feet with the poop", you needed to clean your cage awhile ago.

AKA I've found wood shavings to be the best bedding for my own quail, so far, and I strongly doubt I'm alone.

 

[Feather_head]

A good, cheap, spacious and safe indoor enclosure you can use for them is a “pop-up” bed mosquito net. They make smaller ones for bivy sacks if you have little space, or even king sized ones if you want to go all out. Trust me, cages suck. They can easily kill themselves if they flush and hit the top. And they’re always so small and expensive! And line the bottom with a few paper massage table covers, wood shavings can be toxic and dusty, are hard to walk on, and will stick to their feet with the poop, same for paper pulp small pet bedding, sand is too dusty, dirt grows too much bacteria, and their poop doesn’t wash out of blankets well, disposable paper is the best way to go. And check out Make Your Own Bird Toys, foraging toys are amazing enrichment, as are sand baths, pop-up ferret tunnels, and hay piles, just make sure the sand is “construction” or a sand with multiple grain sizes, as “play” sand can cause crop impactions since it clumps. I wish you luck in your quail journey! You’ll have so much fun.

Thank you for your response, they are actually in an aviary so have plenty of space to roam - what you see on those pictures is the c&c cage structure I use for the budgies to perch on, but they have full access into the aviary. I have used construction sand for their dust bath - we had loads left over after putting the patio under the aviary. What I use for the floor are outdoor mats. They are easy to remove and jet wash weekly.!

 

[WildNectarine]

If wood shavings "stick to their feet with the poop", you needed to clean your cage awhile ago.

AKA I've found wood shavings to be the best bedding for my own quail, so far, and I strongly doubt I'm alone.

They have multiple cecal poops daily, they are wet, they will step in them, it’s inevitable, wood is also toxic due to the scent oils according to my vet. And, I never cage my birds, I use pop-up bed mosquito nets only, any cage is too small and too hard. Not safe.