Question about Quail Nesting? Maybe?

[jywel417]

I just got my first chickens back in Feb and I got a few coturnix quail back in march. I got my first two eggs on the first of July and since I don't want to eat the eggs and I don't have an incubator I left the 2 eggs in with the roo and 2 hens. The eggs seem to get moved around and are often half covered in the quail bedding (I have them inside in a temporary housing situation while I deal with possible cocci outside in my chickens, didn't want to exposed the quail if they hadn't been already) so I guess my real question here is: what are the nesting habits of quail? I haven't seen either hen sitting, do they sit? I have no problems waiting 18 or so days to see if the eggs hatch, if they are fertile (i know the boy is doing his job lol) but am totally new to quail, I had skimmed the coturnix info page but didn't see anything on hens hatching eggs. Thanks for any info, hope this makes sense b/c I think I am about half asleep!

 

[kycowgirlchick]

PM ShelleyD2008. I know she raises them. But I have no experience with them. Sorry.

 

[Emilys3guppies]

I'm still very much a newbie...don't even own a quail yet, still in the planning phases. However, the reading I've done suggests that coturnix quail generally don't get broody and probably won't sit. It's just been bred out of them, for the most part.

Now, I've seen videos on youtube of a mama coturnix being followed around by her babies! So some of them must get broody.

All the best!
Emily

 

[shelleyd2008]

I would say it is highly unlikely that they will set the eggs. There was someone a while back that had posted pics of one of their A&M hens with babies that she had hatched, but this is definitely the exception, not the rule. Now if your quail have a rather large area with plenty of hiding places, it is possible that they will. But I wouldn't hold my breath, nesting in coturnix just doesn't happen.

I plan on having one of my hens (chicken) hatch and raise some coturnix eggs this summer, I'm hoping this will give me some quail that will hatch and raise chicks. I have an OEGB hen that is a very good mama, and not much bigger than my jumbo browns are, so she should do well with them. She just started laying again after raising her last chicks (chicken), so she will be going broody again in about 2 weeks. She's pretty predictable like that

 

[monarc23]

I have a FEW hens who after they lay an egg sit on them all puffed up and happy sitting however I only see these select hens do this everyonce in a while... and its almost always when im collecting eggs for customers so I need them

Well after talking to my buddy Citalk2much today I explained what some of my hens are doing, and me considering letting one brood IF it will... and she told me to go for it. So my one project pen, that has only one hen and a roo, when I went up today to collect eggs I saw her poofed up in her plastic container I made as a shelter for them in their pen... and I kneeled and waited.. and viola! egg under her!

Since I also fed them in that area, I found a quail feeder and filled it up with feed and put it away from her container.. once I closed it up she came out and ate happily...so I took that opportunity to collect some dried leaves and put them in there with teh egg nestled where she was sitting on it at...so tomorrow morning I HOPE to see her still brooding it or it feeling warm....if it's not, I'm still leaving it in there and going to let her lay a few more and hope that stimulates her broodiness i'd LOVE a broody coturnix hen but yes, like shelley basically said, you're one lucky duck if you can get it to happen its' all up to the hen no amount o fbegging will make it so...but it HAS been done theres actually videos on youtube about it

Mimic their natural environment as much as possible and or offer a shelter like a nestbox and may just get what you want!

 

[shelleyd2008]

One of my A&M hens does the poofy thing, and she tries to peck me when I'm taking the eggs, but she doesn't ever seem to have the eggs under her, they are just in the pan with her. But I'm hoping to have some broody coturnix, I think that would be neat

Plus it would save me from having to brood the little stinkers

 

[monarc23]

Quote:
my reason for wanting it is so i can giggle and point at a hen walking around with a bunch of little babies

honestly that's my only reason is the cute factor

 

[jywel417]

hahaha ! that is awesome !! They laid another egg yesterday and I found one of the original 2 eggs all deflated and dead in the pen too, so I still have 2 eggs, just different 2 than I started with. I figure I will just leave them in there atm to see what happens since I have no incubator and none of my chickens are broody/old enough to decide they want to be broody. I know the boy in there is at least trying to do his job because I have been finding spots of foamy sperm in the box with them atm. They are in a larger brooder type box atm since I have had something (prob cocci) going thru my chicken run and have lost 8 chickens in the past week and a half. My quail pen is right next to the chicken run and I didn't want to move them out there until I cleared up the chickens, haven't had anyone die on me since Friday so here is hoping I can move them outside where they will be happier soon.

 

[funnyfarm]

A while back I had a quail hen go broody and set on six eggs the entire incubation period. howerver, she wasnt very good at it and none of them hatched because she would let them roll out of the nest beside her. I felt sorry for her and switched out her eggs for some that were begining to hatch in my incubator and she did a great job with the chicks.

 

[monarc23]

Quote:
well it's always good that they lay more eggs for you to try somemore with her sitting them

Also, that foam isnt sperm, it's just a gland lubrication that the roo expells during mating and pooping

Scientists have removed that gland on roos before and the roos are still able to fertilize eggs

*just a nerdy tidbit*