francesca88 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Hi everyone, I have had a broody quail hen for five days now, she is sitting on 16 eggs!! Has anyone ever had a broody quail before? I know they are notoriously bad for hatching their own eggs, so I am not expecting her to sit on them for the whole seventeen days! But I thought it would be nice to watch a quail mothering her own chicks rather than having them hatch in an incubator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dahato3 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 We have recently found ourselves in the same situation!! One of my chinese painted quail went broody. She ended up sitting on 9 eggs before I separated her. I must confess that I too never expected her to sit tight but she did and it has been amazing to watch and share the experience with her. She is now the proud and incredibly protective mum to four chicks!! (1 egg broke mid way through incubation, 1 chick died on the nest shortly after hatching and the remaining 3 eggs were abandoned, which was a real shame as all were close to hatching but I wonder whether she was only able to care for 4 properly??) The chicks are now 3 weeks old and and almost fully feathered. It has been incredible as I never expected them to hatch let alone for mum to care for them so well. Good luck!! I shall watch this space!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francesca88 Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 Aww that's really good to hear! I had to put her by herself as she was being so protective of her eggs that she kept pecking the cocks' eyes This is her trying to sit on all of her sixteen eggs!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quailtastic Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 good luck! Looking forward to hearing some good news soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dahato3 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Just wondering how things went with your broody quail? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francesca88 Posted August 6, 2011 Author Share Posted August 6, 2011 Nothing happening yet - although I'm not sure whether the 17th day was yesterday or today! I'm keeping an eye on her, trying not to bother her too much though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francesca88 Posted August 6, 2011 Author Share Posted August 6, 2011 Just wondering how things went with your broody quail? One has pipped! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dahato3 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Any news? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
