Quail is broody but still layers everyday!

[ShellyBear]

I have a quail who got broody with one egg and she is sitting on that egg and keeps laying. I am worries the the quail chicks will all hatchet on different days. Please help, thank you!

 

[The Quail Guru]

I find that the first eggs that have hatched turn into the strongest chicks, the later eggs don't usually hatch for me. Just leave the quail to it and don't worry, you probably won't get a lot of chicks anyway. I've had only 1 chick hatch in a 7 egg clutch before.

 

[DK newbie]

If she really is incubating the eggs, chances are you will only get one chick(the first fertile egg she incubates properly) - she will then probably leave the nest a few hours after this chick got dry and any remaining fertile eggs will die. However, I wouldn't intervene either. Her biological clock might need some adjustment, but perhaps she'll get it right next time she tries ^^
On a side note, one of my button hens just hatched chicks yesterday - I haven't exactly been able to count the chicks yet, but there were 10! empty eggshells and two eggs left in the nest - of which I think one had actually pipped, but it was cold by the time I found it. I did put it in a nest with a hen that was till incubating though, just to give it a chance. Her incubation is going to get screwed up by all the chicks running around anyway, that's the bad part of having several hens in an enclosure. The chicks have no sense what so ever of who mom is, they see a button and then they go hide under it - and in the case of my hens at least, they just seem to accept this and help taking care of the chicks.

 

[The Quail Guru]

Agreed with the user above about button chicks having no sense of who mom is. My buttons second hatch had a female in it and I kept them together. When the mother hen became broody again once her second hatch all grew up she decided to hatch some more chicks. She hatched 2 chicks and they seemed to go under their sister a few times instead of their mother. The mother did call her chicks back though so I think they got to know who was their mother.

 

[DK newbie]

I had one more hen hatching eggs today(not the one I put the pipped egg(which did not hatch, by the way) under, she didn't start incubating till about 10 days ago), she had 7 chicks and 3 eggs didn't hatch. She left her nest before number 7 was dry though, so I took that one inside, but now I have 16 button chicks running around with 3 hens(as expected, the one that started incubating last, left her nest when the first one hatched chicks - their nests were only 10 cm. apart) and their dad. I wonder what I'm going to do about all those birds

I still have their older siblings(4 roos and 2 hens), I tried putting the roos up for sale(thought I was going to keep the hens - I'm not too sure about that anymore ^^ ), but so far no one has shown any interest.. I might end up giving the roos away, but it should be possible to sell the hens. I've started building one more cage today, but it's only meant for a single pair or a trio(1½ m x 60 cm).
The chick I brought inside is doing okay, but I doubt it is going to be able to keep up with its siblings. I will put it back with its parents tonight though, tomorrow will tell if it is a survivor or not.

 

[ShellyBear]

My hen has 3 eggs under her and she is on them like she wants to hatch them, but I have had her abandon her last clutch of 7. The male tries to help her incubate its cute.

 

[The Quail Guru]

I love when buttons have chicks, they're adorable! When people say that buttons aren't good natural mothers I don't think that's true at all, all my buttons do fine when they're raising chicks.

 

[ShellyBear]

You have the same breed but different quail. Some peoples quails aren't as mother like as others, that's all.

 

[ShellyBear]

Sorry for the blurry pic but hear are some of my quail when they where chicks.