My Quails! And a question.

[KrystleLuvsBirdies]

I was wondering if there is any way to encourage my quails to lay? I used to have button quails and they laid well but that's probably because they had boys nextdoor. Now i have two japanese quails who appear to be female but so far no eggies.

Anyways here's a video i made of my quailies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWnxeHFb4LQ

[Tashk]

Nice video, I love the sound of the budgies coming in for landing.
But same here... I have button quails that lay eggs no prob, but my japanese couple haven't layed anything so far (the female is qute new though). Do you have any hiding spots for them in their cage? I use tree and palm tree branches and turn the corners into hiding places for them... my buttons love that... maybe your big girls will too??

[KrystleLuvsBirdies]

Yeah they've got heaps of hidey holes, carboard boxes etc. which they love. Mine are fairly new as well but recently i have seen them beggining to nest, since spring is just beggining possibly they only lay in the hotter seasons.

[boothcreek]

Cortunix should be laying all year around if provided layer crumble, oyster shell and grit. Also they need at least 15 hrs of light a day.

Are you sure they are hens? Colours other then Wild type are harder to sex. How old are they?

[luvourpets]

My quails lays lots of eggs but they never hatch. How do I hatch them?

[boothcreek]

Cortunix quail do not go broody, that has been bred out of them(just like with todays commercial laying chickens). You need to get an Incubator if you want to hatch them.
Cortunix have a 17-18 day incubation period.

[luvourpets]

I don't think mines a Cortunix quail. I have painted quails thats what I was told when I bought them. Not sure if its the same type but different name. My friends always hatched without an incubator.

[boothcreek]

I heard that Buttons are sometimes referred to as painted quail. Buttons are also hard to get to go broody, usually they need a large planted aviary. Also Buttons that have been hatched naturally have more of a tendency to go broody then the ones hatched in the incubator.
If your group is too large there might not be enough peace for any of the hens to go broody. Or maybe too many males, then the hens have no time for brooding cause they get raped constantly.

[LilacCrownedAmazonLover]

my chickens and ducks went broody so did my friend's quails.

Depends on the bird.

[gbwf.org]

Originally Posted by boothcreek

I heard that Buttons are sometimes referred to as painted quail. Buttons are also hard to get to go broody, usually they need a large planted aviary. Also Buttons that have been hatched naturally have more of a tendency to go broody then the ones hatched in the incubator.

Button Quail are known by several names - Chinese Painted, King Quail, Asian Blue Quail, to name a few.

Agree with the planted aviary statement. Before a mink wiped out my quail last year, I kept a colony in an 16x16 outdoor aviary from March through October. Needless to say, I always brought way more inside than I would put out!! I found them to be (including the mutations) great parents, with even the males helping out (happens with many galliforme species). The chicks are very tiny and can slip through rather small mesh.

Dan