Where will quail lay their eggs? Easy collection methods?

[cupman]

So I was going to start building a quail pen during my winter break from college and I was looking at everyone's pens in the sticky(very creative) and one thing I didn't quite understand was the collection of quail eggs. I would hate to build my pen then have the eggs a hassle to get to. Are there any things you did/would have done different to make egg collection easy? They don't use little nest boxes do they? I really am not sure. Thanks.

 

[TedJan92_in_Idaho]

I built mine to roll out when laid

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=588420

 

[cupman]

that's really cool. I might have to give something like that a try.

 

[CoCkYone88]

Quote:
X2
I built my with an angled floor so the eggs would roll out to the tray. Works great as long as they lay on the floor and not in the sand box.

 

[kahlertm]

At first I paid for those rabbit grass caves...then they went up in price. The Coturnix loved them full of shavings and to snuggle in with a buddy. Then I got wise after i saw them lay in a regular old sort of tortilla basket. Went to the thrift store found every 25 cent basket small enough to put in with shavings in it and viola. They lay eggs in those or their sand box (which at my place is any sort of plastic container...old tupperware, milk jug with top cut off (saves on flinging sand out), cat litter jug with top cut off, any big bowl that Target dollar section or dollar stores have.

Shavings, straw, sand in it or even just nothing in it and the little girls are in there. Funny little buggers. Of course they will lay right on the wire. But the majority at our place is in the baskets with pine shavings.

 

[chickbird]

Quote:
I BOUGHT 6 OF THOSE JACK O LANTERNS BUCKETS THAT KIDS USE FOR HALLOWEEN CANDY, TURNED IT ON IT'S SIDE AND PUT SOME SAND IN, JUST LOOKED LIKE IT OUGHT TO BE A PLACE THEY WOULD LAY, THEY DO LAY IN IT , BUT THEY LOVE GETTING IN AND OUT. I GOT THEM FOR 25 CENTS EACH, THEY DO NOT LAY HERE AT ALL TIMES, THEY LAY ON THE PEN FLOOR AND THE SAND BOXES (THESE MOST OFTEN). I WIRED THE BUCKETS TO THE PEN SIDES TO KEEP IT IN PLACE AS THE BUCKETS ARE ROUND.

 

[Stellar]

I use kitty litter pans. If I run out of those I use the tin ones used for bbqing.

 

[The Critter Place]

My girls lay their eggs where ever they happen to be 2 minutes after my son checks for eggs!

They are stinkers and I swear they tease him!! He will check and before he's left the room they've laid a new egg. Every time!

I will tell him he missed an egg! :lol

They use the sand box alot to lay eggs too.

I will be moving them to a planted aviary that has logs and tree roots/stumps. Plenty of places to lay eggs, and try and put a few nest baskets around and see how it goes.

 

[mhwc56]

i also use kitty litter pans but they sometimes like to just make a nest in the hay and then everyone'll drop their eggs into that nest.
if you make a BIG cage( like a "grow out "pen) for your birds pay attention to the door size. There's nothing more annoying than having a door too small for you to really get in there for cleaning and egg collecting .

 

[thekid]

I just reach in and grab them.