Broody for the forth time in a row. Do I stop her?

[Quailobsessed]

I have a king quail hen who has been broody since July.

She went broody on eight eggs and hatched out three chicks in July.
One chick was rejected the moment she hatched so we hand raised her.
The other two were rejected at two and a half weeks old. One died, the other we found half dead but we revived her and raised her.

As soon as we put the mother back with her mate, we'd separated him because he attacked the chicks, she laid another clutch and went broody again.
One chick hatched from that clutch and she successfully raised her.
When the chick grew up, we put her with her sisters, who live together, and put the mother with her mate again (we'd separated him again).
The day we put them together, the hen started laying a clutch and went broody AGAIN.

Two chicks hatched from this third clutch, though one mysteriously disappeared.
When the remaining chick was two weeks old, I noticed the mother had been plucking the chick and she was missing half her down, so I removed the chick and put the mother with her mate again.
The chick is now three weeks old and very sad and lonely. She calls daily for her mother and I don't know how to comfort her.

The mother, after being reunited with her mate has laid a clutch and is broody for a FOURTH time!
She's been laying clutches, incubating and raising chicks (the raising not so well) for five months.
Is it bad for her to be broody non-stop for that long? Should I somehow prevent her from incubating eggs?

Also interesting, she has the poorest of hatch rates with her chicks, and so far (not sure about this latest one though), I've only gotten girls. She's a tight sitter and does a good job incubating. Could she and her mate be a poor genetic match? Could that explain only getting girls? Or is it just a coincidence?

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Serin]

They get broody when their environment suits them and they are not stressed. It is a good thing. They lay eggs regardless, brooding gives them a rest from laying and is better for their health. Sitting is not physically demanding.

She may be a poor match. He may have low fertility. She may not sit well or turn her eggs causing embryo death. As she is a bad mom I recommend letting her continue brooding but boil her eggs before she begins brooding and then let her sit to her hearts content.

My quail has gone broody 5 times in 3 months including the latest time this week but hatched none as she gets bored quickly. But it means she is at least happy and comfortable in her environment.

I have finches which love to brood. I let them sit on plastic eggs basically year round or else the hens just keep laying.

 

[Quailobsessed]

She is my tightest sitter out of all my hens. She turns her eggs regularly too.
I think she and her mate are just a poor match, though its too late to separate them now.

The chicks that do survive seem to be very healthy though. We've still got one from each clutch. We've only lost live chicks twice from her, when she rejected one and it chilled and died, and the one that disappeared.

 

[blackoaktammy]

Buttons are notorious for being bad parents. Sometimes they do well, most times not. If she were my hen, I would break her from being broody. It's an incredible stress on their body, especially after going at it for so long.

 

[Quailobsessed]

Buttons are notorious for being bad parents. Sometimes they do well, most times not. If she were my hen, I would break her from being broody. It's an incredible stress on their body, especially after going at it for so long.

That's what I was concerned about. If I were to kick her off the nest, What should I do with the eggs? Should I incubate them myself since she's already started?

 

[RoosterML]

I would cull her, doesn’t sound like you want any of her passing down into her offspring.

 

[Serin]

As far as brooding it is not stressful. It is a time where the bird rests from egg laying. A bird that broods will outlive a bird that lays an egg a day.

 

[Quailobsessed]

I would cull her, doesn’t sound like you want any of her passing down into her offspring.

Sorry, I don't think I could do that. She is very bonded to her mate and I would cause him a lot of stress if I culled her. I've had quails loose their mate/siblings/mother/chicks and it is not fun to watch. I am concerned about the potential poor genetic match and that being passed into the chicks, but so far her chicks that have grown up seem healthy. Does anyone have any advice on that?

 

[blackoaktammy]

That's what I was concerned about. If I were to kick her off the nest, What should I do with the eggs? Should I incubate them myself since she's already started?

If you have an incubator handy and you want the chicks, then you can set the eggs.

Out of curiosity, what are the mutations and ages of the pair? Males' fertility drops markedly at a year.

 

[blackoaktammy]

As far as brooding it is not stressful. It is a time where the bird rests from egg laying. A bird that broods will outlive a bird that lays an egg a day.

That may hold true for cage birds, but I've seen poultry die on the nest from brooding for too long. Silkies are notorious for that, but other breeds of poultry/game birds will do it too. Unlike finches and other cage birds, poultry and game birds do not have mates that will feed them enough to survive and/or thrive on.