japanese quails

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NoURdeadRight

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hello,
ive had my Quails for a couple of months now and they are yet to lay eggs.
Ive built a wire floored 3 walled inclosure with a roof. about 1.5 m x 1 m.
i put an empty beer cartoon or cardboard box which i replace regularly.
DO i need to make a nest box for them? what do they lay eggs in?
 
they will just nest on the ground, naturally in clumps of grass but in captivity just in the corner of the avairy
 
so if i cut some long green grass and put in in the corner of my inclosure they might nest?
I thought they lay infert eggs regulary. I have one male and two females. the male is real flighty.
 
jap quail are very flighty, bob whites are alot calmer and will incubate their own eggs too
just be patient they will lay when their ready and I use an upside down pot with a hole cut in the side but the jap quail dont always use it to lay in
 
You tend to find most jap quails don't nest as such you'll find there eggs here there and everywhere. What feed are you giving them and how old are they?
 
I was told these jap quail can incubate there own eggs. can i make an icubator? bob whites sound good. they look like big fellas. Is there any incubators you recommend? brookfields poltory have them.
how and when can i tell if the eggs are fertile or infertile?
 
You tend to find most jap quails don't nest as such you'll find there eggs here there and everywhere. What feed are you giving them and how old are they?
I feed them crushed pellets i got from the stockfeeds as well as finch seed. they waste alot of it. i dont know ther age. i think they are fully grown but not sure.
What do you feed them?
 
Its pretty rare to have jap quails that incubate there own eggs and an incubator is the best option, And yes brookfield have the hobavtor that would suit. The Advantage with jap quails is that they grow really fast and they can start laying at approximately 6 weeks but I've found the ownes i've owned before don't start laying properly till 7-8 weeks. You will only know if they are fertile Upon either candling which is hard with Jap quail eggs because of there speckling or until hatching. Best advice would be 3 females to one male as far as pairing for fertility.
 
yeah i might hang my poltury feeder from the roof tomorro. that will stop em. everytime i feed them i have to unscrew the mesh from the cage. it takes awhile and they get abit spooked. could this be a hinderence to their egg laying activitys. Have you ever killed one? how? i might have to chop one up. I could chop one up, but i dont like the idea of killing one. they look at me funny.
 
they should be alright I used to scare the hell out of mine everythime I went near them and they kept on laying, I've killed plenty for snake food, I don't bother with quails to much anymore all my snakes are big enough for chickens, It isn't uncommon for the jap quails to pick on one bird till they kill it, they can act this way towards new birds introduced quite often aswell.
 
yeah, i brought them home in a cardboard box and one of the hens was bauld from the others peaking her. her feathers have grown back now. well ill give them a few more months. after that if unsucessfull i might try a different quail species. thanks for the advice. cheers.
 
if you don't have any luck let me know, Is your male producing foam yet? From the sound of you mentioning brookfield poultry your in brisbane?
 
you said that they are in a wire floored cage, quails of any species should not be kept on wire floors they need a solid floor, and this would be upsetting them and is more than likley the reason they arn't laying.
 
if you don't have any luck let me know, Is your male producing foam yet? From the sound of you mentioning brookfield poultry your in brisbane?
NO i havn't noticed any foam. i didnt know they foamed.
thanks BJC i might put some cardboard down to make the floor more stable.
 
you said that they are in a wire floored cage, quails of any species should not be kept on wire floors they need a solid floor, and this would be upsetting them and is more than likley the reason they arn't laying.


Sorry but you couldnt be more wrong!!!
All commercial Quail are kept on wire for breeding/laying, the chicks spend the first 2weeks on a floored pen then they are placed on elevated wire floored cages to grow and in a dark room.
Breeding birds need 18 hours of light to maintain good fertility and be kept at a constant temp and are kept on sloped wire floored cages.
But hey i wouldnt know much about them, my family produced these birds commercially for over 30 years producing on average 2000 birds a week.

Just as a side note ther is no"S" in QUAIL it is both the plural and the singular in the one word.
 
Sorry but you couldnt be more wrong!!!
All commercial Quail are kept on wire for breeding/laying, the chicks spend the first 2weeks on a floored pen then they are placed on elevated wire floored cages to grow and in a dark room.
Breeding birds need 18 hours of light to maintain good fertility and be kept at a constant temp and are kept on sloped wire floored cages.
But hey i wouldnt know much about them, my family produced these birds commercially for over 30 years producing on average 2000 birds a week.

Just as a side note ther is no"S" in QUAIL it is both the plural and the singular in the one word.
hi beeman
i have mine at the side of the shed where they get sun light shining through the front of the cage during the morning hours. I think the cage maintains a constant temp. I might add a thermometer to get some readings tommorro. i guess it stays at 30 degree all day as it has good shade in the afternoon. my floors arnt sloped they are flat. Im glad the wire floor isn't a problem. Mine isn't sloped, its flat mice wire. it is elevated 5 foot off the ground. it is 4 foot x 3 foot. 2 foot high.
Today i flaten out a beer cartoon for them and cut long grass and floored the cage. i also put one beer cartoon in their half full of grass for them for them to hop in.
the male tryed to escape. he jumped out of the cage. i grabed him and he leaped straight out of my hands i grabbed him again and thats when i checked for foam at his anus. there was some there. which iam happy about.
Do they breed all year outside? what temps can they withstand? i live near proserpine on the coast.
 
Are you supplying the correct amount of light? As mentioned they need a long period of light to breed well. As adults they seem to be fine all year in Brisbane without any heating. Apart from the light they also need suitable food to breed, i use chicken laying food with good succes. The slope in the floor is only to make the eggs roll to one spot, being flat is ok, just takes more time to get the eggs.

For an incubator i use a fridge, heat cord, small computer fan and dimming thermostat. I used to use a foam esky to start with but it started to stink and was too hard to clean after a few months.
 
You must drink a lot of beer.. :p

We have only just got into quails so can't offer much info sorry.
 
hi beeman
i have mine at the side of the shed where they get sun light shining through the front of the cage during the morning hours. I think the cage maintains a constant temp. I might add a thermometer to get some readings tommorro. i guess it stays at 30 degree all day as it has good shade in the afternoon. my floors arnt sloped they are flat. Im glad the wire floor isn't a problem. Mine isn't sloped, its flat mice wire. it is elevated 5 foot off the ground. it is 4 foot x 3 foot. 2 foot high.
Today i flaten out a beer cartoon for them and cut long grass and floored the cage. i also put one beer cartoon in their half full of grass for them for them to hop in.
the male tryed to escape. he jumped out of the cage. i grabed him and he leaped straight out of my hands i grabbed him again and thats when i checked for foam at his anus. there was some there. which iam happy about.
Do they breed all year outside? what temps can they withstand? i live near proserpine on the coast.


They will breed all year round if kept in a climate controlled shed situation, Once the temp gets over 28dg C the fertility and egg production drops off and its the same on the other end of the scale with the cold
There is a Game bird breeder ration available from several manufacturers i would suggest
you try and find it as its a proper balanced ration for breeding birds.
 
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