[Quiltysquail]

So in a mad moment of enthusiasm I got a few Quail, initially 3 in fact. What was meant to be 2 females and 1 male turned out to be the opposite, with ensuing mayhem and macho fisticuffs (beaky-cuffs?) being all very traumatic. Back to supplier for 2 more females to keep the boys a bit happier and have their separate little harems.  I went with only two because the winner of the battle seemed to be really bonded with his prize, a lovely lovely girl. The looser seemed to take out his chagrin on the new girls but eventually settled down.

Unfortunately this morning I have gone in to the Greenhouse, where said Quail live in a divided cage, to find the original girl all fluffed up and looking very unwell. Having read that birds hide any illness until its too late, I'm devastated. She looked really well last night at bed time!!!

So now Im in a quail quandary, IF as I suspect she doesn't make a miraculous recovery should I let her mate have one of the other 2 females..OR ...find a good source of girls, (I'm a bit dubious about the original source for other reasons) or just keep one solitary male next to the boy with the two girls? seems a bit mean that option as he clearly is a very enthusiastic lover!

Could he have mated her to death???

these were all young birds and not yet laying.

What would the quail experts here advise?

[in the hills]

Not an expert but kept them for a while now.

They are enthusiastic lovers .. I think it would be best for each boy to have at least 3 wives. Less stressful for the girls!

[landroverroy]

I used to keep quail many years ago  and have an observation to make about your ailing female.
You say they are young birds and not yet laying. But in my experience quail  mature pretty fast and don't usually get to the stage of mating until the female is ready to produce eggs.
So is it possible the female is egg bound? I had this problem on several occasions. If you gently pick up the female you should be able to feel the hard shell of an egg fairly near the vent. If this is the case, the best remedy is to bring her inside and keep her warm (eg near a radiator), as it is more likely to happen in cold weather. 

[Eve]

How old are your quail exactly?


What have they eaten? Any other symptoms?

The boys mature quicker than the girls so she may be due to lay her first egg. But I would also keep several girls per boy, that's easier on the girls (his favourite will still show by the missing feathers on her back).


The boys can fight really viciously. Hormonal little things 

[in the hills]

Mmmmm, or, did you hatch the quail yourself?
Or did you buy them in?

Could it be that she hasnt laid yet because she is actually an old bird?

Was the seller reputable do you think?

I think that they're more difficult to age than hens. You can easily tell a pullet from an old hen but quail aren't quite as easy.

[in the hills]

Our oldies tend to go as you describe just before they pop their clogs.

[Quiltysquail]

Thanks to you all..sadly she popped her clogs 

I did check for any signs of her being egg bound and for signs of a cold - (two hens I also got at the same time from the same supplier had nasty nasty colds by the next morning, with one full of lice around her head...Careful nursing inc antibiotics and the hens now doing okay, hence my reluctance to return to this supplier)

Now you mention age I'm wondering if that would account for one of the quail having a broken beak, two of them having white patches where feathers have regrown as can happen in wild birds? None are laying, by sellers count they are 20 weeks old. Obviously I can't ever be sure of their age, could be they have had a hard paper round? Not yet old enough to lay? the boys have been crowing and mating since I got them back in Feb.

Ive been feeding them on a mix of chick crumb and fine chopped bird seed..Budgie seed and song bird mixed.. plenty of water and cover so they have hiding spots. Offered greens but they were not that fussed about them.

I'd like to up the ratio of boys to girls so need to find a supplier now that I can have confidence in.

And they always say sheep are born to die! sheep have nothing on these little guys!

[in the hills]

They usually start laying at around 6 weeks of age. It is dependent on the time of year though (if not under artificial light). Not sure whereabouts in the country you are. It may make a little difference but we are at about 800 ft and not in a warm spot and mine have been laying for a couple of weeks or so. Normal time is around Easter and mine will lay until late September or thereabouts.

Still time for the girls to start laying. Not sure how long you've had them but the move to a new home could slow laying down possibly.

Our boys tend to start crowing again in the spring as the girls start to lay.

Ours are fed layers mash and seem to do well on it. I also throw them a tiny amount of mixed corn each day to scratch around for. They have chick grit in a little pot.

[Quiltysquail]

They went straight under light when I got them in Feb. So plenty of light. Id read somewhere that layers pellets could be detrimental to the boys which was why I was avoiding them. I know they don't like sunflower seeds if they are not pre husked...lol love them now they get the husks taken off One sits happily in my hand to feed. My big worry is doing anything wrong!

I've just ordered 24 fertile eggs. may be hatching my own is a way to go..though what to do with a surplus of boys will be an issue for the future..with no females around can they co-exist with out maiming each other or might I end up with 24 separate pens??

Kittens are way easier to rear!!!

[Eve]

Sorry to hear she died.

They've been under light since February, are now 20 weeks old but are not laying yet? Hmmm...     
How did the seller keep these quail? Aviary? Breeding pens? Smelly or clean?

Where are the patches of feathers that are growing back? On their backs?

Can the bird with the broken beak eat properly?

Why are they under light? Let them develop naturally, they'll be stronger for it.

You need to give them layers feed, they need it. If their bodies don't have enough calcium for the shells they won't be able to lay the eggs - soft eggs don't get pushed through the system that easily - and the birds may well end up with peritonitis and die.

The male quail will NOT be able to live together peacefully. So before hatching these 24 eggs you've ordered you need to have an outlet for the males. You may well hatch 20 males! Sod and his law and all that.   
Have you hatched eggs before? Only asking as I'm trying to get a feel for your experience, you may have hatched other birds and be an old hand at this?  

Nice to hear one's tame enough to eat out of your hand     Mine like budgie seed too as a treat. So are you the one taking the sunflower seed husks off?   
Mine really like soft lettuce, btw.

[in the hills]

The boys are really aggressive.

Look out for fighting from 5 weeks of age. I have never tried keeping a pen of just males. Maybe it would work if they were out of sight and sound of females but I somehow doubt it. Seem to be much more difficult in that way than cockerels.

You can buy special quail pellets. I think it was Marriages that made  them.
Just not easy to purchase where I live.

If 20 weeks and under artificial light then I would have thought they should be laying now.

[YorkshireLass]

They need higher protein than chicken pellets etc have, but "game bird feed" is a lot more expensive.
A few years ago I did keep all that I hatched together until the females started laying. Then discovered my quail-egg allergy, so ate the birds instead. There was no aggression at that point, but perhaps they were only a week or so away from maturing into it 
Bald patches on the back are usually from the males treading (mating) - if you have more females per male this should be spread out a bit.

[Quiltysquail]

The seller kept them in very small low cages.
The girl that died  had her white feather on the nape of her neck (where the males would have gripped to tread) others in a similar place.

Since Feb was cold I added a light to keep them warm as much as stimulate any egg production, now its warmer they are not having the light.

The girl with the broken beak is the one who eats out my hand so I have no worries there on that score.

I'm resigned now that they will probably never lay and any eggs are a bonus. as a learning curve its been interesting. I have a few hen chicks rearing now in the brooder and previous chicks growing on well (hens not Quail) so a small amount of hatching exp'.

Fate will deliver her own mix of males and females if any Quail eggs do hatch, no point stressing over it yet, I think. Long as I'm prepared for separating them all out safely when the time comes, plenty of room could end up being the key there for any coterie of males.

 With chick crumb being higher protien I will give mostly that and start weaning in a few  layers pellets.

[Quiltysquail]

9 chicks out this morning...possibly a couple more to come..
my one remaining female from the first lot is laying and the mateless male keeps the hen chicks company. They are slightly bigger than him and all get along rather well..

[Charlie1234]

Great news on the hatch. 

I kept quail for a number of years and fed them on Heygates Quail + Partridge Layers Pellets.
Also tried keeping males together as I sold them to a local Restaurant.
They would rape eachother and fight like mad,i gave up on that idea and would only keep females.

The breeding birds I kept at 8 hens + 1 cock so he had plenty of choice.