Why arent they laying?!

[TinyTotsSeramas]

I was given a red breasted female 5 months ago, it took her 2 months to start laying after she came and then her male flew away an she went "momma" on me when she adopted 3 babies and stopped laying.. I then got 3 more buttons (2 more girls an 1 boy) and put her in with them an now I have 3 females who have not been laying for the past 2 1/2 - 3 months... why?!
I know the new females are girls because there is no red vent feathers (1 splash and 1 pure white).. so I know 3 of 4 are girls!

The Girls

Red Breasted -

Splash -

White -

The Boy[/img]

 

[Stellar]

You need some more boys. Button quail are monagamous and do best in pairs. They get more stressed when there are more in the pen then the 1:1 ratio.

 

[TinyTotsSeramas]

Quote:
I have 2 more young boys who are rounding 6-7 weeks old, but the 1 I think I asked you about before when he was first hatched, he came from a rediculously small egg an was a small baby an you said he was a runt an wouldnt be able to breed and should be kept as a pet only.. he's still small an I have to crush his food up extra fine because I just had to do quail CPR on him because he decided to try an stuff his face an started choking.. but because the chick turned out to be a male, would he be able to breed then? I would be able to pair them off then. but not with the Red Breasted... Thats his mother! he turned out to be a Silver Cinnamon and is just now getting his chin strap in! the other is a Wild Phase blue breasted Pied.. is it normal for them not to have a chin strap? I've heard him call like a male but he doesnt have the strap..

 

[Stellar]

White button quail can only be sexed by vent sexing, they do not have red or pink vent feathers, they are all white. Splash are the same way.

 

[shelleyd2008]

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Quaillady, did you miss the colors on these 2?? Splash and white?

Most likely you have 3 BOYS and your girl isn't laying because they are harassing her too much. Whites do not get red vent feathers and I'm pretty sure splashes don't either. Remove the white and the splash from the pen and leave the red breast with the silver redbreast male. If you want to 'know' for sure the sex of the white and the splash, remove them from the pen and put them somewhere isolated. They will call and hopefully crow if they are male, letting you know for sure what sex they are. Check out the "Do's and Don'ts of Button Quail" sticky for some links to youtube videos of button quail crowing.

 

[TinyTotsSeramas]

But thats another problem I forgot to mention. the guy I picked them up from had them in pairs and the white was with the Silver and the Splash was in with another Silver male (who I didnt get) an he said that he's been getting eggs from them and there was an egg in both cages when I picked them up..

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Welcome to the world of shady dealers. Many sellers will trick you into believing anything to make a sale. Granted, he could be honest, but I have no idea why hens would wait months to start laying unless they are very very old or male.

 

[TinyTotsSeramas]

Quote:
Welcome to the world of shady dealers. Many sellers will trick you into believing anything to make a sale. Granted, he could be honest, but I have no idea why hens would wait months to start laying unless they are very very old or male.

My female Red Breasted waited 2 months to lay when I first got her... we just knocked it off to the raccoon attack that killed the other female she was with but when we replaced the dead one with a male, she waited another month to finally lay her first egg!! I got 3 eggs from them before he flew off an I placed her in with 1 week olds to act as momma, I got 1 egg from her that day an ever since then she hasnt laid an egg (Last egg was August 8th)

 

[shelleyd2008]

I know that the red breasted is a female. What I'm saying is that the white and splash are probably not. Just because there were eggs in the pen when you got there and the guy said the birds were in pairs does not mean it is true. Did he know you were coming to pick up X number of birds of X sex and X color? He could have planted those eggs.

Separate them like I said and see what happens. Females cannot 'fake' male crows.

 

[TinyTotsSeramas]

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Alright! I'll separate them tomorrow. how far should I put them away from the red breasted an the Silver?
An he just new I was coming to look at them I didnt say what I wanted or if I was even buying any.