Variety of coturnix not laying!

[Whitehouse Quail]

I have about half and half of my barn laying right now!

On the laying side, are all browns and goldens and tibetans who are over 5 months old. On the other side is a whole wall of tuxedos and young tibetans that were hatched on May 9, which makes them 9 weeks old! All of my quail, when clocked, lay at 7.5 weeks exactly, some even earlier, but I haven't seen one egg out of 30 quail!

Any ideas? They have enough light because the others are laying, the males are still mixed in, I just can't put my finger on it! (They must have been stunted when they were young, for they were in large tubs. Maybe they didn't get enough food or something?)

 

[Quailfamah]

what are you feeding theese birds?

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

Normal flock raiser, the same all my others were/are on

 

[Quailfamah]

wats the protein percentage?

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

18% o 20%, I can't remember.

 

[spikennipper]

Are you sure all your tibetans and tuxedos are hens?

 

[Quailfamah]

22% seems to work great for me, i raise them to 5 weeks on 28% then switch to 22% and there laying at 6.5 weeks. only 18% mighty set them back a few weeks, id say wait till 10 weeks then switch them

 

[JJMR794]

They Will Lay When They Are Ready, And No Sooner.... Oh If They Know Your Anxiously Awaiting Then They Will Wait Even Longer To Lay

When It Comes To Eggs, You're Not Only At The Mercy Of A Bird, But A Female Bird At That.

 

[crash0330]

Or maybe the heat is causing them to take longer. Here in southern cali weve been having 110 heat and my hens stopped laying.

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
THIS IS VERY TRUE! HERE IN THE SWAMPS MY GIRLS WILL SLACK OFF WHEN THE HEAT AND HUMIDITY KICKS IN. YOU CAN TRY ADDING A LIL VITAMIN C TO THEIR WATER AS THIS IS PROVEN TO HELP BOLSTER LAYING RATES DURING TIMES OF HEAT STRESS--- WORKS LIKE A CHARM HERE...

ALSO YOU'LL FIND MUCH BETTER LAYING RATES WITH HIGHER PROTIEN FEEDS--- TRIED FLOCK RAISER, IT REALLY SUCKED! MINE ARE QUITE HOOKED ON PROTIEN AND ANYTHING LESS THAN STARTER THEY COME TO A NEAR STOP ON LAYING. KEEP IN MIND, THERE'S MORE TO IT THAN JUST A PROTIEN PERCENTAGE--- THESE ARE GAME BIRDS, NOT CHICKENS. THEY NEED DIFFERING AMOUNTS AND TYPES OF NUTRITION THAN CHICKENS DO... MORE INGREDIENTS AND IN DIFFERENT FORMS THAN JUST PROTIEN. THEIR SYSTEMS ARE DIFFERENT THAN CHICKENS AND THE FORM OF 1 NUTRIENT USED IN CHICKEN FOOD MAY NOT BE READILY ABSORBED IN A QUAILS GUT, THESE DIFFERENCES ARE NATURE'S DESIGN TO HELP THEM SURVIVE IN THEIR NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS--- JUST AN EXAMPLE COTURNIX QUAIL DO NOT SEE CORN IN THEIR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, THEY WOULD SEE DIFFERING TYPES OF WHEAT, RICE, OF SOYBEAN SO IF YOUR FLOCK RAISER IS USING HIGH AMOUNTS OF CORN IN THEIR FORMULA THEN THE BIRDS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ABSORB IT ONCE INGESTED--- THEREBY RENDERING IT A USELESS FILLER, OR INCOMPLETE NUTRITION. THIS IS 1 OF THE MANY REASONS THEY SELL MULTIPLE FORMULAS OF BIRD FOOD. WHEN IT COMES TO CHICKEN FEED OR FLOCK RAISER--- I LIKE TO SAY THAT QUAIL DONT FLOCK, THEY COVEY.