Which quail are laying?

[VickieB57]

If you have 7 female quail in a cage, and you're only getting 4 eggs a day, how can you tell which of the quail are laying?

 

[gamebirdsonly]

 

[Weirdness555]

Watch them? Though I understand that birds will refuse to lay while you're watching just out of spite. If it came down to guess work, I would imagine that the biggest ones would be the first to lay, however there's every chance that that is totally wrong. Unless you ever see one lay an egg I suppose you'll never be sure. However, the spot pattern and shade of the eggs varies between individuals, but seems to remain similar for all of their eggs, so if you see a hen lay an egg and you compare that egg to others you've already got you might be able to tell if she has laid before.

 

[Weirdness555]

Also, if you have a roo, put him in with them and his behaviour towards different hens can be a good indicator of whether or not they're laying, of course if they're all the same age and the others are due to lay too then he might show interest in all of them.