quail advise please

[Marigold]

They look very comfortable in there, don't they? I think you'll find they'll start to lay once the days get longer, (though I'm not sure how they'll know, in a dark garage!) and once they do start they should go on laying through NEXT autumn and winter, even under artificial light. It's quite normal for younger birds not to start laying if they're hatched fairly late in the year, it happens with chickens as well as quails and other poultry. By next Spring they should be good strong birds that will lay well, especially once you can get them out in some sunshine again.

 

[dye29]

yayy have my first egg from the quail at last hope they keep laying , is there any other ways of giving quail abit of heat without a lamp as they cost fortune to leave on and my heat hen is in action .

 

[Marigold]

CONGRATULATIONS! Wow, that was a nice surprise, after all your hard work! Keep giving them plenty of light, and the others should soon lay as well - (or turn into boys and start crowing and being a nuisance!)

One way to heat a brooder or cage is a ceramic lamp, also called a dull emitter. It plugs in to a normal lamp socket but only gives out heat, not light. But the most economical way is undoubtedly an Ecoglow chick brooder, which runs on a tiny trickle of low power and emits infrared heat. Sometimes you can get a second hand one on eBay. Quails do like them, mine used to snuggle under when it was cold.
They won't need much heat, if any, so long as the temperature stays above freezing, so whatever you give them, it doesn't have to be on all the time. They don't like damp cold conditions but they should be OK in their cage so long as it's not really cold.

 

[dye29]

oh ye one more egg hope these little beautys keep it up , ye ill invest in a echoglow brooder then they have the option if there cool , strange question i have my quail on game feed as high protein can i give them a boiled hen egg now and then also ive read up give quail oyster shell once laying but i tryed before and they never touched it

 

[Marigold]

It depends on what is in the game feed that you're giving them. If it contains the same proportion of added calcium as in layers pellets for chickens, it shouldn't need supplementing, but to be sure, you could get some powdered oystershell, which might be easier for them to tackle than the bigger pieces in oystershell for chickens. See http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/202166921730?clk_rvr_id=1407532479806&vectorid=229508&lgeo=1&item=202166921730&rmvSB=true
and mix it in with their chick grit, so they can help themselves when they feel the need. Don't add it to their normal feed as you shouldn't overdose them. Have you got a pot of flint chick grit to help their digestion? I hung one on the side of the cage, above the ground, so they didn't spill it all over the floor and waste it.
Or you could use some of the Nettex Mineral Powder, if you're getting some for your hens.
i think an Ecoglow is a very good investment for quails as well as chicks. It will save its cost in energy within a year or so. Is the light in their cage an LED? That's very economical as well.

 

[dye29]

it is yes

 

[Marigold]

Are you just getting one egg a day ATM? It's impossible to tell who is laying it!
You could try a bit of crumbled boiled egg yolk to see if they like it. i don't think mine ate it, but no harm done for trying.

 

[dye29]

ye just the 1 , i presume its the bigger one as 2 are half size of the other defo all female though , its all exciting now hehe

 

[dye29]

hy does White A&M Coturnix lay good or are they no good for eggs

 

[Marigold]

I don't know what you mean by A&M, but I had one or two whites and they laid the same as all the others. How many eggs are you getting now?

 

[dye29]

just 2 eggs a day from 3 so presume one isnt laying yet