king quail breeding

[tom07]

hello i was wondering if king quails sat on their eggs coz mine laid about 5 in a warm spot and left them would they be fertile???

[GregH]

I can't answer this from experience but I did buy a cock & 2 hens yesterday and did some reading up. Of course they will only be fertile if the cock bird has been doing his job. Apparently the hens lay continiously only stopping to incubate and raise young. If they are all in one spot then there is a chance that she hasn't finished laying her clutch - 5 is a little low and incubation doesn't start until she has finished (8-12 eggs). They aren't as bad as other quail in that generally they will incubate their eggs but results vary with the individual.

[Will_36]

They will be fine. The hen will lay up to 12 eggs (have seen more,but usually 5).Some lay in the one spot, some lay all over the place then she will roll them together and make a nest.
She won't start sitting till the last egg is laid so it could be a week or so that the eggs just lay there. They will be fine and when the male joins her the night before they should all hatch together the next morning.
Hope that helps.

[Mattyboy]

Yeah these should be fine. As mentioned she only starts sitting when she's finished laying. Unless she's an egg laying machine with no sitting instinct... but King Quail are usually pretty reliable mums in my experience.

[gomer]

If you get as far as hatching them they can walk through 12mm X12mm wire.

[Mattyboy]

And it might be smart to remove the cock. Sometimes they'll kill the chicks.

[tom07]

i have put all of the eggs in wood shavings in a small kennel wich the quails sleep in i put the eggs about 3 cm deep s they keep warm will this still work

[gomer]

Years ago when i had them i would somtimes put the eggs in a dark spot like a cardboard box as a kennel,with a entrance cut in it.They use to nest in long grass when available.

[Will_36]

Here is what mine are doing.

[flippenheck]

I have a pair of King Quail, but so far they have not laid a single egg. What time of the year do they breed and are there any hints when it comes to keeping them? (eg livefood etc?)

rgds
Andre'