I got a rooster and two females back in February. The rooster beat up the one due to not enough females so I since got four more females, but one had a broken leg so she has her own cage. Anyways, the rooster hasn't been causing issues since. The are all inside the house since it's cold outside. When will I get eggs? I've had them a few months and have gotten three eggs.
Egg laying woes are commonly a problem of insufficient diet. Quail need 1) higher protein, definitely >20%, and try to shoot for the high 20s, otherwise egg production and body mass/growth will be reduced) [see articles: http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/680578 AND http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00071669508417806?journalCode=cbps20] and 2) higher calcium (>2%) [see journal article: http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/2/657.short]. Regular chicken hen laying crumble won't cut it, unless you supplement it to bring up the protein and the calcium levels. Some people supplement a layer feed with ground up koi/pond food pellets, or soy meal or any other higher protein source that can be had at the bulk bin. To boost calcium, think about bulk ordering some cuttlebone, or saving egg shells and recycling those back into the feed (see http://feathersandfins.weebly.com/diet-and-behavior.html for tips and tricks on that). Other factors that can impact egg laying productivity; --temperature extremes (too hot/too cold), --temperature fluctuations (especially fall to winter and winter to spring) --inadequate access to clean water (check the water system for clogs/leaks) --environmental changes (cage relocations, flock composition modifications. It can take a few weeks for things to settle.), --environmental stresses (sudden noises, predators prowling/terrorizing, cats/dogs, children), --insufficient light to stimulate egg production, --age of the laying hens. Hens begin to taper egg laying after about a year of egg production. Also remember that a quail's lifespan is shorter than a chickens, at around the 2 year range. Hope this helps, or at least gives you some things to troubleshoot/consider.
