Quail not laying

[pinksapphire]

I have 21 coturnix quail which I hatched eight months ago and have as of yet got no eggs from them, any idea what the problem might be and how I can get them to lay?

They have a large 65m2 outdoor run with a sheltered glass house they get locked into at night.
There are probably about 50% male to female.
They are very happy, friendly and don't seem stressed, although the females do get a bit harassed by the males.
They are feed an unmedicated organic chick crumb with 25% protein( I can't get game bird feed or turkey at the moment)
They get a full kale plant few times a week from my garden.
I have recently started supplementing them with oyster shell for calcium and have added some straw for nesting.

Any idea of where I am going wrong or what I can do to encourage them to lay?

 

[muddy75]

I have 21 coturnix quail which I hatched eight months ago and have as of yet got no eggs from them, any idea what the problem might be and how I can get them to lay?

They have a large 65m2 outdoor run with a sheltered glass house they get locked into at night.
There are probably about 50% male to female.
They are very happy, friendly and don't seem stressed, although the females do get a bit harassed by the males.
They are feed an unmedicated organic chick crumb with 25% protein( I can't get game bird feed or turkey at the moment)
They get a full kale plant few times a week from my garden.
I have recently started supplementing them with oyster shell for calcium and have added some straw for nesting.

Any idea of where I am going wrong or what I can do to encourage them to lay?

Should consider switching to a layer feed, ensure they are getting enough light, and that there are no predators stressing them out. You should also reduce the ratio to 1 male : 5 hens. Too many males can also cause overbreeding and stress that prevents laying. Be careful with oyster shell as large pieces can cause impacted crop.

 

[FloorCandy]

I have 21 coturnix quail which I hatched eight months ago and have as of yet got no eggs from them, any idea what the problem might be and how I can get them to lay?

They have a large 65m2 outdoor run with a sheltered glass house they get locked into at night.
There are probably about 50% male to female.
They are very happy, friendly and don't seem stressed, although the females do get a bit harassed by the males.
They are feed an unmedicated organic chick crumb with 25% protein( I can't get game bird feed or turkey at the moment)
They get a full kale plant few times a week from my garden.
I have recently started supplementing them with oyster shell for calcium and have added some straw for nesting.

Any idea of where I am going wrong or what I can do to encourage them to lay?

My suggestion is to change your m/f ratio to 3-5 hens per male. Also how do you get them into the house thing to lock them in? Forcing them in and chasing them can stress them and stop their laying. if the pen is safe from predators, you should just let them come and go as they want.

 

[vall]

Agree with above & are you sure they're not hiding eggs somewhere? That's a huge space.

 

[pinksapphire]

Should consider switching to a layer feed, ensure they are getting enough light, and that there are no predators stressing them out. You should also reduce the ratio to 1 male : 5 hens. Too many males can also cause overbreeding and stress that prevents laying. Be careful with oyster shell as large pieces can cause impacted crop.

Thank you so much, I am working on getting rid of some of the males as I think I have about ten, and I think you are right they do seem to be causing them stress. I have been grinding course oyster shell up as I can not find fine stuff but it is a bit labour intensive, someone suggested giving them baked and gained egg shells from my hens would this be ok?

 

[pinksapphire]

My suggestion is to change your m/f ratio to 3-5 hens per male. Also how do you get them into the house thing to lock them in? Forcing them in and chasing them can stress them and stop their laying. if the pen is safe from predators, you should just let them come and go as they want.

Thank you for your response, now working on reducing my males. I am worried about rats getting them at night so I put them in, they go in very easily I just throw a handful of food in and they all go straight in.

 

[pinksapphire]

Agree with above & are you sure they're not hiding eggs somewhere? That's a huge space.

Thank you for your response, I don't think they are, I had them in my glass house for a few months which is a smaller space and still no eggs I only moved them to there bigger pen a few weeks ago.