Who sets on quail eggs?

[Jim McDowell]

As you can tell by the number of posts, I am fairly new.  I have been watching and learning from this forum since the spring.  A cousin of mine raises birds for Show Me Birds in SE Kansas, so I ask a lot of questions.  I am just starting to raise bobwhite quail and have approximately 24 at this time.  I recently built a fly pen that is 8 feet long, 6 wide and 6 tall.  I placed a pair of older quail and 14 5 week old quail in the fly pen and they do well together.  I have 4 two week olds in a separate pen and 4 newly hatched in the brooder.  For shelter I placed the top of an plastic dog house on the ground for them to get under.  I had harvested several eggs from the older pair and incubated them and recently hatched some of them.  The other day I noticed that the pair had built a nest under the cover, and every time I look the Male is setting the eggs.  Do they share duties?  The pair has 9 eggs they are watching over.

[power]

delet

[Jim McDowell]

Thanks for the information.  I thought that they shared but did not know for sure.  Will be finishing a 24 X 6 x 6 fly pen this weekend will move the younger quail to it.  I just hatched 3 more and have 9 cooking in the incubator and 9 with the Pair.  I keep the chicks under lights and in an old 55 gallong fish aquarium for 2 - 3 weeks then move them to a 2 X 2 X 3 pen that is shaded for 2 - 3 more weeks, then to the bigger fly pen.  Working so far, have not had many problems.  Keeping the pair in the small fly pen to raise their brood will work okay, then put them together late this fall for the winter.  Plan to keep a few males and all the females, for breeding in the spring.

Thanks again.

Jim

[Reeves]

In the wild Bobwhite hens lay a clutch of eggs & the male sits on them, she then lays a second clutch & sits on them.

I had a male hatch & raise 6 a year ago. At this time I have a hen sitting on eggs. In another pen I have a male & female sitting on the same nest ! Both due in about 2 weeks.

[quailacres]

I agree with power that they should be separated from the other birds after hatching. Of course, your safest bet is to take the eggs just before hatching and place them in an incubator. My own personal experience is that things often happen to the chicks when left with the natural mother although it is a lot of fun to observe them growing up with the parent!