Quail eggs numbers.

Hi,

Due to the fact of very high mortality, I've had to stop my egg trial.

To recap, 26 normal hens were hatched on the 13th November 2007. These were placed in an 8' x 6' shed. The lighting hours after 6 weeks of age was kept at 15 hours minimum.

The first egg layed was 31st December 2007.

I had to end the trial, due to the fact eggs are getting larger and there is a high mortality rate over the last 10 days, this is due to egg binding and prolapses.

Here are the results:-

Total number of eggs was 4204.
Ave eggs per bird was 161.6.
Ave eggs per day was 23.8 ( 176 days)

Looking at the results, I would say on average, a bird may lay over 250 in their first year. But as eggs get larger as the birds grow older, They are more prone to prolapse and egg binding.

Derek.

Derek, do you mind me asking how many birds you lost/what ages? Just curious to know if its worth being a bit careful with my birds who started off indoors late last year and haven't had a laying break yet.

Hi Emma,

I started to lose the odd one on Thursday 26th June, this one was the 1st to die, now being 10th of July I've lost 12 birds.

It's very heart breaking going into the shed to see the insides of a bird being pecked and pulled at. As there were no males in the shed, all the birds were feather perfect, looking nice and healthy.

One thing I noticed over the past few weeks was, eggs were being layed with blood smears, this is the first sign there's going to be a problem.

As eggs get bigger, there will be problems, I've seen it in commercial layers, in cages, barn and free range, the birds are in fact forced to lay with out a break and kept upto 72 weeks, so they are in lay for over one year without a break.Some thing must give at one point, and it's usually the bird.

Derek

do you think this may affect my eggs that are due to hatch on saturday?
neil

Hi,

This will have no effect on your eggs, as this was only a trial, no male birds were used so no fertile eggs came from them. The eggs from this group used to be sold for eating only.

Your eggs came from different birds with males running with them, so they are fertile,

Derek.

woo hoo,
i won't sleep tonight,
today was stop turning day,
i've added water - the humidity is climbing nicely,
some of the eggs feel really heavy, and balanced,
can't wait, one will do,

thanks,
neil

Aw sorry Derek, it sounds really unpleasent Poor birds, its a bit strange as they've not been laying for longer than a standard season really, if you expect your birds to lay Feb/March to Octoberish.

Mine have been laying a little longer than the trial birds, and although I do get a few large eggs, none of them is shockingly large (apart from the couple of double yolkers), so hopefully its not going to happen, maybe the natural light rhythms are different?

Hmm, this is all very interesting! I was wondering about resting hens.
I will be keeping my hens in doors so how many months should I give them ~15 hours of light? I can easily reduce the light they will be getting with some curtains, or similar.
I don't want mine going the same way as yours Derek, its so sad

I wasn't trying to get mine to lay indoors - they started given no extra light, just the curtains open in the morning, closed at night...this left me convinced that the heat has an effect too.

So sad to hear this Derek - as we all know just how much you care for your birds, your long experience with poultry, and your excellent animal husbandry and meticulous recording of each batch of birds.

I can imagine how heartbreaking it is for you - after so much work and effort too - and as you say to walk in to see such beautiful birds in their prime having passed away.

Thank you for thinking of others at this time - and forewarning us of any signs to look out for.

I hope that you can take some comfort from the knowledge that your birds had the best possible care, living conditions, and diet.

xx