Disturbed nesting hen

M

MrQuail

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Hi Guys,
We have a female CPQ who over the past week or so has disappeared into a small wooden nesting house and rarely comes out. I'm guessing she is sitting on eggs. Earlier on while I was cleaning up in the garden I accidentally tapped the box and she flew out like a cannon ball (scared the living **** out of me to be honest). She stayed out with the other quails for a while pecking up seed but I think she has finally returned to the box. Will this accidental act of disturbing her cause her to abandon her eggs?

Sorry if this is a silly question but I'd thought I'd ask you lovely people as your knowledge far out weighs mine.

Much love - Mr.Quail x
 
Marigold

Marigold

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Hi MrQuail and welcome to the Forum.
Its fairly rare though not unknown for domestic quail to sit and hatch young, but you may be lucky. If she's returned to the eggs you're in with a chance I think. Of course she has to leave the eggs for brief periods daily in any case, to eat and drink and poo, and the eggs are not harmed by a short time without warmth. In fact some modern incubators build in periods when the heat is turned off, to mimic this. If you can try to leave her alone with the eggs for a while they may hatch. Incubation period is around 16 to 18 days, though you may not be sure exactly when she started to sit.
How interesting - do let us know how she gets on. How many quail are there in the coop?
 
M

MrQuail

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Thank you for your swift reply. Currently we have 3 females and one male in our coop. She appears to have had a good feed and went back to her nesting area. I will keep you updated as to the outcome.

Thank you once again for your reply, was very helpful.
 
Marigold

Marigold

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At least with coturnix, they've been bred in captivity for so long that, like hybrid hens, they just lay and lay without usually going broody because their eggs are taken away from them. With CPQs, I'm not sure, probably more common than coturnix because they often form a small family group with a protective male, whereas the coturnix boys are just out for as much sex as possible which is hard on the hens.
How is she getting on? Still sitting?
 
M

MrQuail

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They all hatched yesterday...Image my surprise when I came down to find ALOT of tiny 'bumblebees' running around. At that point I had to think fast and baby proof the coop as they can fit through the tiniest mesh (This became evident when one squeezed through, walked up to me, looked me up and down then hopped back into coop and back to mum). Ive counted around 6/7 at the moment. As you say Dad is very protective at the moment, esp yesterday when he was constantly scaring away the other hens. This morning when I looked in I could see the little ones chasing the other hens like a Benny Hill sketch :)
 
M

MrQuail

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Defo....current pics are not great as on mobile phone but I'll dig out the digital camera and get snapping (then post them asap). We fished out the two that had died over night but we counted 6 little fluffy babies following mum and dad about.
 
M

MrQuail

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Mum is silver (we did have a white female originally a while ago but a daring escape went wrong and ended up in a cats jaws). Here's a photo of the proud parents. Babies are growing fast considering they only hatched on Friday. All appear healthy and well. Feeding and drinking lots so very happy with progress....Never imagined we would have 7 babies hatch.
 

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Marigold

Marigold

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Oh yes I can see she's silver now. Dad looks very proud in this lovely family picture as well. He's a handsome fellow isn't he?

Are all the chicks yellow at the moment? My all-yellow coturnix chicks all went white when they got adult plumage, but the ones you can see in the first pic look mixed colours so it will be interesting to see how they change. Do keep the pics coming, please!
 
M

MrQuail

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Ive just got back from work and been down to put some more feed in and it appears that a couple are begins to shed the yellow fuzz and grow their feathers although far too early for me to see a colour yet. 4 of the babies are yellow, 2 are dark with yellow stripes (the classic bumblebee look) and 1 is yellow with orange/ginger stripes. I will defo add more photos as they progress :)
 
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