quail school project

[pigeoner]

for my 12th year in high school i was wondering if i could do a detailed report on coturnix quail to prove scientist wrong that coturnix quail don't go broody, and actually try it. will it work or will the project/study be useless? pictures or ideas will be much appreciated.

 

[lena_]

for my 12th year in high school i was wondering if i could do a detailed report on coturnix quail to prove scientist wrong that coturnix quail don't go broody, and actually try it. will it work or will the project/study be useless? pictures or ideas will be much appreciated.

They can go broody, my italian hen Alby went broody. She was raised by me with no other quail. Sadly her two babies died about a week later. They certainly can go broody, I believe there are certain grasses that trigger broodiness, although my girl hatched hers in a box inside my house. Good luck on your expiriment!
Do you have any quail yourself?

 

[pigeoner]

i have had them before but a weasel got to them.............what do you mean by "certain grasses?"

 

[lena_]

i have had them before but a weasel got to them.............what do you mean by "certain grasses?"

Someone did an experiment on it, I'll try to find the article.

 

[lena_]

Here it is:
https://permies.com/t/37444/critters/Triggers-Broody-Quail

 

[pigeoner]

thanks!............anyone else

 

[Scratchychiken]

What I am amazed by is how scientists think (Any) quail don’t go broody, I have never owned quail but surely they are not that far into domestication. :O

 

[Plip]

What I am amazed by is how scientists think (Any) quail don’t go broody, I have never owned quail but surely they are not that far into domestication. :O

I don't think any scientists actually think that.

 

[007Sean]

Here it is:
https://permies.com/t/37444/critters/Triggers-Broody-Quail

It's not just the Johnson grass that sparked the broodyness. It was the total habitation environment. She felt safe enough in a more natural habitat to go broody and raise some chicks. It doesn't surprise me at all that she would do this....given the right habitat, most caged birds will regress to their natural instincts.

 

[purslanegarden]

I think your hypothesis needs to be more refined, you'll need a large sample, and you'll want to do some other additional research first.

It's not that you will never have a broody quail, it's that they usually don't. And that is usually how it is described, not with the "never ever broody" statement.

So you'll have to refine your statement...eg "I will show that coturnix quail can go broody with the Johnson grass in various environments that are listed: a, b, c, d, etc". But keep in mind, one way to fully prove that would be, you have to have a bird that is usually not broody, and add Johnson grass, and verify that she is now broody. Your sample size will need to show that the same bird in all these nesting conditions, was not broody, but once you introduce the right conditions, such as the grass, she was broody.

Otherwise, you may have a fallacy because you already had a broody bird even without the grass, or that the environment was already condusive to going broody for that bird.


These are just some ideas off the top of my head and that's why I think your hypothesis will need a bit more research and refinement.