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It's a 150 square foot aviary—the roofed, walled section was the first try, which I added the "garden" on to after realizing none of the plants they liked were surviving under the roof. This is the bigger section, the only one the birds have decided to brood in. The grasses get bigger every...

For an outdoor cage exposed to the elements, I've found wood mulch and/or chipped bark on dirt to be great at both controlling droppings and avoiding mold. I fully change out my aviary bedding 2-3 times a year and turn it over (scoop and flip, or muss it up with a metal rake) at least every...

I really hope they do! But I also don't want to deceive you and say it will happen every year...it took my first hens a year before they felt safe enough to make nests and sit clutches. But the hens who figured it out went on to try every year after, regardless of whether or not I had fertile...

Every broody Coturnix I've seen, mine or otherwise, was on clean bedding with lots of space and places to hide. I'm not sold on the idea that broodiness has been "bred out" of these birds. What if the reason we don't see brooding often is because few people keep Coturnix in an environment...

Coturnix (Japanese quail).

They all sat diligently the whole time, and made peculiar calls when the babies hatched. Aside from the first mama (who seemed to sometimes forget that her babies were not in fact weird little mice), all three were excellent mothers. Sheltered chicks, led them to food and water, tidbitting for...

I've had three natural hatches in my aviary—all the quail in my curent flock were hatched under their broody Coturnix mothers.

They have nowhere to hide, no means of self-separating from aggressive behavior. Whatever you raise them for, they'll likely do it better in a bigger cage with more "furniture." And quail don't need to learn anything from chickens—they're running their own "program." If that male is aggressive...

I've seen a spectrum of brown-to-gray for the wild-type (regular gene expression) pharaoh pattern, can't tell you which is most "normal." The only birds I've seen change pattern or color have been the pearls, who seem to lose and gain spots between molts.

A chunk of my standard-size Coturnix flock goes broody every year, and I've been letting them hatch out for the last few years. I'd put most of down to an environment that minimizes aggression and maximizes feelings of safety—a planted aviary with lots of hidey-holes and a roomy bird density.

Just looks like a heavy bloom. I've had hens "spatter coat" eggs now and again. Here's a clutch with a couple bloom-heavy eggs in the top corners, next to two celedon eggs.

Their cage could do with a cleaning, but that looks like broody behavior to me!

Thank you! Opal may be my last photogenic bird—the others are downright feral 🙃

Getting ready for winter. Took the pumpkins out yesterday. Tarping up the "old aviary" and filling it with straw. Birds seem happy.

One of my mama hens went through a "how far can I throw my own children" phase a few days after she hatched her chicks. It got better, but was really surprising. She was incubator-hatched and I think she got overwhelmed by them always wanting to be under her.

...also, if you haven't already, see about getting them a pan/box of dirt/sand for bathing. Putting it under a cardboard box might cut back on how much dust they spread when they bathe, too.

That looks very nice! Word of warning, the rock overhead is a crushing risk—you might even get away with only two big (steady!) rocks on either side, or rather something thin and light like a cardboard box in that spot. Best of luck!

Space isn't the only factor. They will chase each other in circles if their nice big cage is empty. What hides do you provide? Because if there's plenty, we get closer to ruling out their environment as a factor in the bullying. My aviary is right across from a streetlamp, too, but it's never...

Great! What's their space/cage/cover situation? Fighting over resources can happen in any size cage, but they have a much better chance of sorting themselves out spatially if they have hiding places and cover that breaks line of sight.

Sure, a mixed bag. I'd bet the panmixia state pre-domestication trended toward a natural selection for broodiness—otherwise the species would have dwindled in the wild, right? But what "paper trail" do we have that this species of quail has been selectively bred out of being broody over the...