Quail have never laid eggs

[iheartquail]

Hi there-
I currently have 8 quail, mostly hens that I got in October. They were about 3 months old when I obtained them and the person I purchased them from said they had started laying. My birds have never ever laid a single egg for me!
I do not have any artificial light on them, just 2 tiny solar lights in the pen that probably are not enough to induce laying. I feed them a high protein crumble, birdseed, mealworms daily.
I have read that quail are very very picky and do not like any changes to their houses, so I'm guessing that is why they stopped laying (also daylight decreasing). I'm debating on adding light or just letting them rest from laying.

My question is, if I don't provide any artificial light, will I not see a single egg until daylight hours approach 14 hours?
Also, if I do provide artificial light, how long will this take for them to start laying?
Thanks!

 

[SeptemberQuail]

It depends where your at.
My quail started laying late last year, during the middle of spring... It took them a month to get settled in and start laying eggs.

Quail only lay during Winter under an artificial light on, but it's suggested for the quails health that you don't give them the artificial during Winter, and stop them from laying for that three month period. (So I've heard but it's good to let them rest.)

But seeing that it's been two months now, it's probably the lighting. If you want them to lay, then I suggest giving them that extra few hours of light. Without the light, I doubt any eggs will appear, but I could be mistaken.

How long it'd take for them to lay an egg depends on your quail. Like I said, mine took about month (even though it was natural lighting).
It could be a few days, or a few weeks. But it wouldn't take long.
Just remember to give them extra calcium supplements like crushed egg shell, or oyster shell grit. It's very important. :]
(I'm sorry if I'm not much of a help, this is just from experience. I'm still a beginner at quail raising. ^.^")

 

[FenDruadin]

I agree with SeptemberQuail. Under natural light conditions, you won't have to wait for a full 14 hours of sunlight. They will be triggered to lay by *increasing* day length, so as soon as the days start to get longer, they start to gear up for laying. It's hard to predict how long, though--could be February, could be April. I'm guessing it'll be somewhere in between.

I keep mine largely as pets, so I don't try to artificially increase laying. It does wear them out faster. For efficiency purposes, it makes sense to go ahead and let them lay straight through until they are worn out and die. For pets, it's nicer to let them live a little longer.

Not that quail live long anyway. Females usually last a couple years. Males can live five to six years. Do you know how old yours were when you got them?

Good luck with them.

 

[iheartquail]

Thanks- I think I'll give them another few weeks and then add some light. I got my quail for pets but pets that I want to lay eggs. But I don't want to wear them out too badly. I used to raise chickens, and they laid eggs no matter what. In the winter, a reduced amount but they laid year round.
The quail were about 3 months when I got them in October. So they are at least 6 months old now. It's like they went on strike with the disruption when I got them into their new pen and never started back up due to day length.