As with most poultry, Coturnix Quail lay eggs based on the seasons. Without intervention, they stop laying eggs in fall and winter when the days are shorter. With a little extra care, they will continue to lay eggs all winter though.
The Importance Of Light
Light is the single most important thing in determining whether your birds will continue to lay eggs all year long or not. Quail need at least 14 hours a day of light to stimulate them to lay eggs consistently. So once the days start getting shorter in fall, they stop laying eggs.
You can combat this by adding an artificial light to their hutch or cage to help extend the daylight. If you can get the total daylight up to 14 to 15 hours a day (combination of natural and artificial light) your birds will continue to lay eggs almost all winter long.
What Kind Of Light Do You Need?
There are many different types of light that will work. You don’t need to worry about any special spectrums but I would try to stay away from strange colored lights like red, green, or blue and try to stick with lighting that is more of a daylight tone though.
The light doesn’t need to be super bright either. As long as it illuminates the entire hutch or cage to a level that it would be comfortable to read by, it is plenty bright enough. Many people simply use a string of LED Christmas lights but you might need more if you have a bigger hutch.
If you have your quail in your garage or a shed that has power to it, adding a light is pretty simple. Your standard overhead lights might work just fine. On thing to consider with this type of set up is to make sure the light actually gets to the back of the cages. I had stacking cages in my garage at one time and the bottom cages didn’t get much light from the overhead lights and were pretty much in shade all day long. I had to add a small fluorescent light on top of the bottom cages to make sure that they had enough light to lay eggs. I highly suggest adding a cheap digital timer (like this one from Amazon https://amzn.to/31dlxLR) to whatever light you use so you don’t have to manually turn the lights on and off.
If your quail are outside and no electricity is available, there are several options available in solar lights. I have used a solar powered shed light on my hutches and had great success with it. Here is a link to one on Amazon that automatically comes on when the sun goes down https://amzn.to/3ciJCHp. The only issues I have had with solar lights is during the shortest days of the year. It seems that the battery just can’t get charged up enough on those days to provide enough light for the birds. I usually find that they stop laying around mid December and start back up again around late January to early February. I am in Southwest Missouri and our days get down to around 8.5 hours of sunlight on those days so you may not have as many problems depending on where you live.
Get Your Light Set Up Before They Stop Laying
It is much easier to keep quail laying eggs than it is to get them to start laying eggs again once they have shut down for the season. Make sure to add the lighting to the cages when the days start getting down to about 15 hours of daylight so they continue laying when the days get even shorter.
If you are trying to get them to start laying again, I find that it takes about 2 weeks of consistent 14 to 15 hours a day of light. When they do start laying again, they will be a little inconsistent for the first week or two and may not lay every single day. Just give them some time and they will get back into consistent egg production.
Wake Them Up Early
If you have the ability, it really is best to have the lights come on early in the morning rather than staying on later at night.
Although quail don’t roost at night like many other types of poultry, they are very active when the lights are on. You don’t want your birds to be eating away and then suddenly be plunged into darkness. It is much better for them to get situated during the slow decent of the sun so they are well prepared when darkness gradually takes over.
If you are using lights on a timer, this is simple. Just set the timer to come on a few hours before the sun is up and go off a half hour after sun rise.
If you are using solar lights that come on automatically at night, the good news is that they usually only run for 4 or 5 hours and then gradually go out as the battery dies. So it simulates the sun going down and gives the birds time to adjust before it gets completely dark.
Give Them A Break
Too much light can be bad for your birds. If the birds are not given a period of darkness each day it can impact their sleep cycle and that can lead to higher aggression in your birds and cause stress. Aside from the obvious health issues with stress and aggression, stressed-out birds tend to not lay eggs or at least not lay them consistently.
It is best to give them a more natural day and night cycle by limiting the amount of light to a total of 15 to 16 hours a day and try not to go too much over that.
Minimize Stress
As already alluded to, stress is the second factor that has the most impact on whether your birds will lay eggs or not. If your birds are stressed out they will almost always shut down and quit laying eggs, or never start in the first place.
Moving is one of the leading factors of stress in your quail. Quail are creatures of habit and tend to be somewhat territorial. Moving them to a new location or a new cage causes them to quit laying eggs until they have settled in, which usually takes about two weeks. To avoid these issues and keep your birds laying all year long, avoid moving your birds around a lot.
Predators can be another problem that stresses out your birds. Although they tend to deal with predator pressure fairly well, if you have a problem with a wild animal or neighborhood dog that is constantly pestering your birds it can lead to issues with egg production. Giving your birds a secure hiding place can help to alleviate this kind of stress. You can also use things like electric fence to deter predators. Luckily, predators usually give up and move on if they are not successful in grabbing your birds after a few attempts.
Keep Them Fed And Watered
Of course your birds need to be well fed and watered to maintain a healthy body weight but it is very important that you really make sure that they never run out of food. Food seems to be the number one motivator for quail. If they run out of food, even for a short time, they tend to get aggressive and start picking on each other. They can start pulling feathers or pecking at each others eyes and face and can do some real damage. This of course stresses the birds out and, as we have already discussed, stress causes them to quit laying. Just make sure that you have a feeder that holds enough food to ensure that they never run out.
Water is a little more forgiving. Depending on your climate, water tends to freeze in the winter time. The birds are fine as long as they can get a good drink a few times a day. I use an automatic watering system run off of a five gallon bucket in the summer time but in the winter I switch to water containers and just bring water out to them a few times a day.
Make Them Comfortable
Coturnix quail are very cold hardy but they do need a place that they can get to that is protected from the wind and other elements. If your hutch is located outside, you need to make sure that it has a section that is closed on all sides. This can be a closed off section of your hutch or can be a large box with a hole cut in it for them to enter and exit as long as they can get out of the elements, it will work just fine. This can also double as a hide from predators and help them to feel safer.
Genetics Can Make A Difference
Not all birds are created equal. Professional breeders have been working for years to improve the genetics of their birds. They have made drastic improvements in both size of birds and their egg laying ability. If you have tried all of the tips above and are still not getting good results from your birds, it may be time to look at getting some better breeding stock that is genetically more suitable for egg laying. My favorite “breeds” are the Jumbo Pharaoh and Jumbo Meat Makers.