MamaBirds_Quail
Chirping
- Aug 25, 2022
- 89
- 201
- 86
Does anyone have any insight into how long after a stress hens will resume laying? My poor birds have had a really rough month, I did collect 3 eggs last week… but also had to remove 6 murdered birds the same day 
My 3 remaining hens have not laid since. They have been getting lots of food an extras, have the probiotic/electrolyte stuff mixed in their water, I added hidey boxes and a forest of leafy cover. They’ve had supplemental light throughout (16 hours total light is what was recommended to me for egg production, I’m open to suggestions of that seems wrong though!)
The roo who caused the ruckus seems to have chilled out, I’ve spent a lot of time watching them and while the hens seems to avoid the Roos most of the time (girl, RELATABLE!) they aren’t being chased, it’s more like they give the guys a wide berth. The hens are all missing some feathers at the back of their head— a s that just normal for mating birds? Or for young Roos? Do they learn to be more gentle over time? Are my roos still being jerks and I just don’t know what I’m looking at? Maybe I should just dispatch them (or all but one?) and start over?
My ratio is off right now because we’ve lost so many birds (most to predators, the last 6 we’re killed by one of my roos, though) but I’ve been trying to give everyone a chance to recover before making any decisions since the violence seems to have resolved— can that affect egg production?
Here’s 5/6 cuddling. It *is* very cold here— mid 30’s— but they’re inside an out building and are completely protected from drafts and precipitation. I feel like lots of y’all keep quail in colder places so this probably isn’t the issue, correct?
My 3 remaining hens have not laid since. They have been getting lots of food an extras, have the probiotic/electrolyte stuff mixed in their water, I added hidey boxes and a forest of leafy cover. They’ve had supplemental light throughout (16 hours total light is what was recommended to me for egg production, I’m open to suggestions of that seems wrong though!)
The roo who caused the ruckus seems to have chilled out, I’ve spent a lot of time watching them and while the hens seems to avoid the Roos most of the time (girl, RELATABLE!) they aren’t being chased, it’s more like they give the guys a wide berth. The hens are all missing some feathers at the back of their head— a s that just normal for mating birds? Or for young Roos? Do they learn to be more gentle over time? Are my roos still being jerks and I just don’t know what I’m looking at? Maybe I should just dispatch them (or all but one?) and start over?
My ratio is off right now because we’ve lost so many birds (most to predators, the last 6 we’re killed by one of my roos, though) but I’ve been trying to give everyone a chance to recover before making any decisions since the violence seems to have resolved— can that affect egg production?
Here’s 5/6 cuddling. It *is* very cold here— mid 30’s— but they’re inside an out building and are completely protected from drafts and precipitation. I feel like lots of y’all keep quail in colder places so this probably isn’t the issue, correct?
