You did not say what species of quail that you have. That makes a difference as to the age that they will begin to lay. Also, light is a big factor to laying. They will need at least 10 to 14 hours of light each day, otherwise they will stop laying. They will also stop or reduce laying significantly in cold winter months. They may not start laying again until spring.

Don't know about your feed. Maybe someone else here can help with that.

The lump could be an egg and that is what it sounds like. If so, it will soon pass.

Hello everyone ....
I am new to  raising quail , although i have raised chickens and pigeons for some time (during my school yrs , now I'm in college)
I bought 6 Quails on Sept 1 , 2 males and 4 females (wat the shopkeeper told me) , then again 4 (2 M & 2 F) quails ... (i lost two of them  , one flew away in my absence and the other died , may be both were males) ..... now they are more than 2 months old ....... but they havnt started laying eggs yet ..... this is concerning me somewat ....
I guess it is bcuz it is the beginning of winter now (winter can get very cold here but never snows) ....
I dont know if the diet is proper or not , since I live in Bangladesh , we dont have very good access to good pet foods and stuffs (the ones I read on the internet) ... so i make a mix of  different foods like lentils , gram , rice , wheat , mustard and also add a feed that i buy from the quail shopkeeper (he said it is made specially for the quails to lay) ... water is always available , ...... i give them soil, sand and hay to play in and scratch and also used to give some bugs and earthworms (now too busy becuz of exams)  ... i also make the feed lactofermented and give dem sometimes
I kept them at first in an empty room which had good access to sunlight and fresh air ... now temporarily in a large chicken coop or house which is a bit dark  ...... wen i had time i used to open them in my netted/caged garden during the day

More concerning is another fact - even from over a month ago , i could feel a hard lump inside their bellies (many of them , i guess not in the males) , i thought it could b an egg , but no eggs laid  ..... there is still a lump inside nearer to the vent and now it is larger ... could it be an egg or is it something else

any plz help 

I see I registered in 2004 - 10 years ago.  I remember registering when I first got my quail and neither I or my wife can remember what happened to my quail.  Anyway, I'm an empty-nester now and of course I'm drifting back to what I love, filling the dang place up with birds.  I have three parrots which I consider my children as they are intellectually higher that some humans.  We started raising chickens again.  My wife mentioned the other day she wanted silkies for the backyard as pet birds.  So we went to a breeder that has silkies and damned if he doesn't sell quail.  I came home with button, Gambels (my true love besides my African Grey and the other parrots) and a couple other types of quail that my wife was wanting (gotta lover her).  So I'm back into the quail.   

My whole reason for this thread - how active is this forum?   With Facebook and the other new media out there I've noticed forums are dying all over the place.  What's the scoop here?   I went directly into Buy and Sell and noticed not much....

Couple more questions:

- My username is very antiquated.  Is it possible I can change it?
- Is eggbid still a place to find birds/hatching eggs?

Galaxie - I am interested in buying some of your quail.

 I aquired two Tuxedo Quail, just wondering if anyone could give me some information about them. Feed, nesting, size of cage etc etc???

If anyone out there's done quail showmanship for a 4-h project, please tell me what you know about it. 4-H offers a quail project (which is why I'm getting quail), and I'm wondering how you do quail showmanship. THANKS!

is it posible to sex white button quail,if so how  :?

I think it seams interesting to let the quails walk free around the pens.
I have read that it has to be call back quails left in the pen. Which sex should it be?
Is this working with the coturnix?
Over how long time can they go free?

my dad has been picking the eggs and there seem to be  a  cracked egg every so offen  and he just cant throw it away so he saves them and eats them . my question is eggsbeater healther then  quail eggs?  thanks

I will have adult quail for sale the 1st of Oct. I use these myself for training dogs, but hatched plenty extra to sell. I am asking $5/bird. They have plenty of flight room in the pens I raise them in and the birds I have put out this year so far have flown pretty well. Please let me know if you are interested.