Ive had my quails for a while now and only had 1 egg and that was in the car when i picked them up,they are eating well and seem happy they dont flapp wen i go into feed them. i have also noticed at night one stands guard while the rest huddle together and its a different one every night is this what they do i have not read this anywhere?
Farming Friends Forum » Quail
when will i get eggs?
(12 posts)-
Posted 3 years ago #
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Are they Japanese quail? How old are they? I've had my two quail for about three weeks and they laid for the first four days but haven't laid since then (I think it's because they're moulting). They're in a rabbit hutch and they come out at night into the "run" area rather than sleep in the separate compartment inside where presumably it's cosier. Weird.
Posted 3 years ago # -
They are chinese painted and i think they are 3month old. They dont like to sleep inside either funny little things but great to watch.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Hi Nick and Mara,
Welcome to the farmingfriends forum.
Nick quail can start to lay from 6 to 8 weeks old but if the weather is getting colder and the daylight hours are shortening as it is in the UK, then this may be why your quail are not laying. How many do you have and do you know how many male and females you have?
Mara and Nick I have some quail in an aviary and as the light starts to fade the quail will become more active. This is obviously what they do in the wild. As ground nesting birds they probably feel safer exploring at night so they still show this behaviour when we have them in a hut.
Kind regards
sara @ farmingfriendsPosted 3 years ago # -
Hi All,
My quail are starting to go off lay. Eggs down from 12 to 8 in one week so I think the daylight etc is affecting them. Nick and Mara you may have to wait for next spring before they begin to lay in earnest. Sorry. My lot have a 6 x 4 ft kennel to go into at night but they never do. They all sleep in the 12 x 6 run exposed to the weather and seem very happy. They do lay mostly in the kennel though so egg collecting is easy.
Hope you have a crop of eggs next year.
Kind regards
Sallie.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Hi all, oh thats really annoying I didn't realise that they stop laying in the winter months - do they stop completely?? Also I've only got two female quails they seem v.happy and smiley but I have room for more - do you think they would be happier in a larger crowd or is it fine just to have two??
Also I have them in a run with Rosie Rabbit and Romeo Guinea pig at night - the bottom of the run has mulch on it which they seem to like - is this safe for them?kind regardsPosted 3 years ago # -
Hi Joe,
yes I am afraid that they do stop laying in the Winter months. Two quail are fine together. If you got more then you don't want to have many males as too many males together will fight. Also sometimes mixing different groups of quail can cause fighting as quail are territorial although I know Sallie hasn't had problems adding more quail to her flock and I managed to successfully integrate 20 quail in with my female quail that I house in the free to roam barn.
Great minds think alike as I just asked what names you have for your rabbit and guinea pig on the other post!
I keep my quail on straw and have had them on wood shavings. The quail I have in the barn where on sandy soil and they are now on straw. I am not sure about mulch I will check the books I have about typs of litter to use with quail.
Kind regards
sara @ farmingfriendsPosted 3 years ago # -
Thanks Sara this is all useful info - yes I'm going to just stick with female quails, don't want to breed at the mo it sounds a bit complicated! Yes My rabbit is Rosie (although I subsequently realised it is a male) and we inherited the name of the guinea pig - Romeo - was already its name when we adopted it! They are very happy together I think although the poor guinea pig does get rather too much "attention" from the rabbit during the spring months and we sometimes need to give the little guy a break on his own!!
kind regardsPosted 3 years ago # -
Hi Joe,
I have had a look at my quail books and they just mention using wood shavings and saw dust as the litter but that doesn't mean to say that mulch cannot be used. With regards to wood shavings what it does say is that they need to be ones that are safe for use with poultry / game birds as some wood is treated and this may be harmful to quail or other birds.
Glad that your rabbit and guinea pig get on well. I have heard that rabbits can bully guinea pigs.
Here is Guiness my guinea pig which I was given as a gift from a friend.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriendsPosted 3 years ago # -
Hi Joe,
My quail are on peat in the run and hay in the kennel where they tend to lay. I only use hay because it is free but would use chopped straw if I had a choice. The problem with adding quail is that you cannot tell if they are girls or boys until maturity and most people sell them at 4 weeks which isn't old enough to sex them. I had had no problems integrating new quail until this last batch that I hatched in an incubator. The older quail killed one chick (3 weeks old) so I sent the old quail away and kept the babies (all 36 of them) I did have a very aggressive female quail though, she used to attack my shoes and I suspect she was the problem as I saw her chasing the babies.
Hope all well with all the animals, I have 8 dogs, 17 quail now (I had to get rid of some lads) and 1 horse. Plenty to keep me busy.
Sara's website is brilliant for getting information from lots of people, she has helped me with my problems.
Best wishes
Sallie.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Hi Sallie thanks again for your adviceI think I will just use hay to as they keep flicking the sw dust everywhere leaving the garden in a state!! Also i'm just going to stick with my two female quails for now and then maybe add more in spring - not much point getting more now with no eggs!! (I think they are female - at least one must be as there were a few eggs!)
kind regardsPosted 3 years ago # -
Hi Joe,
You would know if you had a boy as he would be singing, the females just tweet quietly. I had to reduce my numbers as the boys were competing day and night and keeping me awake as well as annoying the neighbours!! One asked me if I had a parrot as it was such an odd sound. I think the boys were a bit hoarse so their call went from bubbling to a rather nasty croaky sound. Not pleasant to listen to. I think you are right to wait for spring to increase your flock. Hope all goes well.
Sallie.
Posted 3 years ago #
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