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hotdrysunny

quail eggs!

hotdrysunny
13 years ago

sorry, there isn't a single plant in this post, but I thought the other AZ gardeners would enjoy these photos of a quail nest in my backyard!

{{gwi:403851}}From Quail Nest
{{gwi:403853}}From Quail Nest
{{gwi:403855}}From Quail Nest

I think she's in the middle of laying the clutch because she left yesterday afternoon but came back last night to brood. I'm trying to figure out how to screen this part of the yard off from the dogs without freaking out the quail and causing her to abandon the nest. . .

Comments (74)

  • lazy_gardens
    13 years ago

    I saw a new hatch yesterday; 7 babies still in the dandlion sized fluffy stage.

  • caryk
    13 years ago

    I live in Mesa, AZ. My husband found about a dozen eggs in some ornamental grass he was tearing down in our front yard. Sure looks like gambel quail eggs! We put them in a box. We don't know what to do as it gets up to 115 here????

    Help!!!!

    I have 3 girls and they are already naming them...

    P.S. I loved reading all your stories. I will post pictures of mine soon!

  • arizonny
    13 years ago

    What are you doing with the eggs? Perhaps you should have left them where they were!?

    All of these posters live in the valley where it gets 115°.

    Quail obviously do just fine in those temps. If you don't have to interfere with Mother Nature, please don't.

  • lazy_gardens
    13 years ago

    caryk ... the right thing to do when you uncover a nest of quail eggs is to stop whatever you were doing and leave them alone.

    The hens lay one egg a day until the clutch is compl;ete, then they start incubating. They hatch in 30 days, usually less, so check once a week for 5 weeks and if they are unhatched they are dead.

    Put them BACK where you found them, arrange some shade if your husband wrecked the grass the quail was nesting in and the hen might come back and finish incubating. The chicks MIGHT make it.

    Otherwise, explain to your girls that the eggs aren't going to hatch because daddy and mommy made a mistake and explain to them that baby wild animals and birds are best left alone.

  • caryk
    13 years ago

    Sorry, I did not give enough details. My husband was tearing down some ornamental grass in our front yard. Two weekends ago, he tore it just about down to nothing (maybe about 6-12 inches) when it was about 5 feet tall. He decided to finished uprooting the grass the next weekend. He has been hacking that with a hoe for a long time. I'm surprised not all the eggs are cracked! Well, when he went to finish the job is when he found the eggs. There was no leaving them there since he was just about done digging up all the roots by the time he discovered them. He first found some cracked ones so we all examined them. One had just yolk in it. Another had a little chick in it---obviously dead. The rest are still intact. We assume that the mom abandoned them as my husband tore down the protective covering (without knowing it) the week before. We would have left them there if there was something to leave them there with.

    It is by the street and we already ripped apart their home (completely) and discovered it in the grassy mess. I could have reassembled it all and left it there, but it was grass. Not like I could have made the grass stand up again! I don't think you understand unless you would have seen it.

    I am actually on here for advice, no need to tell me what I should have done.

    So, for those of you who care to be nice to me: we now have them in a shoebox with the grass below it to protect it. We read that they should be at 99 degrees. It is getting up to 110-115 here so we figure the shade is best. At night we are putting them in the garage since it stays around 100 all night there. It gets to about 90 outside at night.

    We also read that the mom turns them so the yolk doesn't stick to the egg so my daughter is turning them once a day.

    Who knows? They may all be dead, but maybe not?

  • hotdrysunny
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Who knows - altho I'm sure your husband feels guilty, it's just the way things happen around here. I really wouldn't feel too badly about it - quail and dove can put nests in THE most inappropriate places and us humans can't always be on the watch for every single one of them.

    All that being said, they probably won't hatch without the proper (and consistent) temp of mom sitting on top.

    Please don't beat yourself up about it - it's the desert, life is very harsh for the various species that inhabit it and worse things happen!! :-)

    This can be a good learning experience for your daughter and, if they don't hatch and aren't broken, the insides will eventually dry out and you'll have some very pretty quail egg shells.

  • Angelpoems_aol_com
    12 years ago

    Hello. I was excited to see your post. I have a momma quail that has nested under my hose holder. We put a cut small cardboard box around it as she kept running off when we entered our front door. Does anyone know how long she can be off her eggs? Seems like she leaves for hours and then back to sit. Too, no daddy has been noticed... is this normal in some cases? Have loved reading all your posts, learned a lot! Thank you!! Vicki

  • grant_in_arizona
    12 years ago

    Yup, it's that time of year again: quail nesting season! I love/hate it, LOL. I have one in a deeeeeeeep pot planted with portulacaria by my front door, and another in a pot with a palm tree and tons of asparagus ferns in the back yard. I can't get away, LOL. I did put in a little rock stairway in the one pot where the soil line is super low compared to the pot edge, so the babies can climb up/out rather than be trapped. I did it when the mom was off the nest.

    I don't have any scientific information for you, but I do know that the mother birds often leave the eggs for what seems like a long time and everything works out fine. They don't even sit on them that much until they've laid them all, so that they all get in synch and hatch in the same day or so, but even after that she spends a fair bit of time away.

    There's usually a dad quail around.

    I'm glad that most of the quail eggs hatch in 3 or 4 weeks so I don't have to deal with this too long, LOL. The first week or so I keep forgetting they're there and they spook me (and vice versa!), but now I'm trying to remember to stay away when I can. Plus I'm going to have houseguests soon and I hope the "nest" out front is long empty by then, a month away.

    The babies are awfully cute though, as are the big fat parents!

    Take care all of you softies out there (me included, grrr),
    Grant

  • angelpoems
    12 years ago

    Grant,
    Thanks for your reply!! I'm doing my best to leave her alone and hope all goes well. I worry about the neighborhood cats,... ours being one of them. So far I don't believe they've discovered her.
    Happy Saturday to you!!

    Vicki R ~ in Arizona ~

  • AndiQs
    12 years ago

    Hi, I'm new to posting here, but I have been learning a great deal from various threads on this forum. Thank you!

    Does anyone know if a coyote finding a quail's nest will scare off the momma quail such that she doesn't come back?

    I just frightened a coyote off my back patio, but not before he had eaten one or two of the eggs. There are 8 or 9 eggs left in the nest, so it doesn't look like it was a full clutch yet, so maybe there is hope the parents will return???

    I haven't touched the nest, now I am just trying to figure out how to prevent the coyotes from making a return visit while still allowing access for the quail.

    If anyone has any insight, I'd be most grateful!

    Andrea

    P.S. I have appreciated reading, and learning from, **ALL** the posts on this thread. Thank you to everybody for sharing your experiences, especially the folks for whom it was more of a "cycle of life" kind of lesson, because those are really important too! Thank you.

  • AndiQs
    12 years ago

    Good News!

    Yesterday, I built a little chicken wire fence all the way around the bushes the Quail are nesting in, and cut-out little 5-6 inch spaces at the bottom of the fence every so often so Quail can get in, but coyotes cannot, and voila...

    ...This morning the momma Quail was setting her eggs again!

    I'm so happy - I wanted to share with all of you (in case you wanted to know what happened!)

  • grant_in_arizona
    12 years ago

    Fun update AndiQs! Glad everything worked out. Hopefully the rest of the eggs and babies will make it. Thanks for the update.

    As cute as the parents and the babies are, I'll be glad when they're hatched and gone, the stress is killing me, LOL. :)

    Take care all you quail lovers,
    Grant

  • ampiazzoni_live_com
    12 years ago

    I literally just got home and my mom was out watering plants and she saw my dog get a bird. It flew away, but there were feathers everywhere. I was looking for the bird in case it was in our backyard, but instead my mom found a nest where the dog got the bird. They are definitely quail eggs, but I don't know what to do about them! I won't let them die, but I was told you aren't supposed to disturb the nest. What should I do? There are 4 eggs in the little nest and one rolled out and is a few inches away from the nest. Any suggestions/help is welcome!

  • CLSB
    11 years ago

    We have a clutch of 9 quail eggs outside our house and it appears that the mom has been gone for 2 days. Is that normal? Do you think the eggs are still viable? I am wondering if I should get a heat lamp for them. We are in Lake Havasu where the temperature drops quite a bit at night so I am concerned they are not warm without their mom.

    Thanks!

  • alison9
    10 years ago

    I have 9 quail eggs in my backyard with a happy mommy quail sitting on them daily... My concern (it is definitely worrying me now), is that it's been over 30 days and no babies have hatched. When does the mom know they aren't going to hatch and does she just abandon them? Is there anything I can do? I've been so looking forward to this little family arriving!

  • AZGardenQueen
    10 years ago

    All righty, you crazy nuts that want to hatch quail eggs with no Momma need to get yourselves to a crazy nuts that want to hatch chickens website such as backyardchickens.com where you can learn about incubating chicken and yes, quail eggs. They do have a section for the game bird and the duck people, too. Very open-minded folk, we chicken people are!

    For those of you who have found older abandoned eggs or disturbed nests, we need to remember that mother nature does have a plan, and not everything is meant to hatch.

    That said, I AM the idiot who as a youngster made my mother drive me and a baby squirrel I found 60 miles in one direction to a wildlife rescue...

  • Laura81
    10 years ago

    It was a spa day for the quail babies!

  • AZGardenQueen
    10 years ago

    Awwww! They are so adorable! Thanks for sharing, and for providing such a wonderful habitat for the little guys!

  • grant_in_arizona
    10 years ago

    Love the quail spa, thanks for posting it! I did have another batch in my crown of thorns pot this spring, just like last year. Happily the babies all hatched and jumped down off the plant stand safely and joined mom and dad quail. So cute. That poor crown of thorns only got watered once or twice in the 30 days there were eggs, but it held up okay. So cute. Thanks for the fun updates all!

    Take care,
    Grant

  • grant_in_arizona
    10 years ago

    Here's the pot up on a plant stand where they laid eggs (tennis ball to show size). Several years ago people on this forum told me to NOT WORRY about a pot being too high as momma and daddy know to not nest too high. So far that has seemed true. This one is about 3.5 feet off the patio, but babies all hatched and jumped out and were fine. Cuteness!

    Happy gardening all,
    Grant

  • AZGardenQueen
    10 years ago

    OK, now the joke's on me, because today I went out to grab some straw from the bale we keep a canvas tarp over to discourage the birds from taking off with all of it for their nests. What do you suppose flew out when I pulled the tarp back?

    Yup, Mama Quail, and it's quite a clutch she's brooding in there! I put the tarp back and apologized to her, and she was back in short order to sit on her nest.

    Now I am going to need tips from zzini on building a doggie barrier from assorted lawn furniture since this nest is conveniently located right in the middle of the dogs' potty area - LOL!

  • grant_in_arizona
    10 years ago

    Hah! Fun update Queenie, keep us posted on what you do and how it works out. I'm always surprised when a quail has already been nesting enough to have eggs before I've even noticed, LOL. Good luck and keep us posted!

  • AZGardenQueen
    10 years ago

    Well, here's my update, Grant - no babies yet but Momma still appears to be nesting under that tarp. We will see...also, I am apparently now running a quail-breeding sanctuary.

    Yesterday, hubby went into one of our chicken coops' nesting boxes to retrieve eggs and came out with - one chicken and 2 quail eggs! I told him to put the quail eggs back, and today there was a third quail egg in that box and our hens have apparently decided that they like the new "roomie" and are now laying in a different box, even though that one was their "favorite".

    Haven't seen the momma quail yet, but I figure that she must be coming and going and my hen that's always "broody" will probably hatch 'em herownself if this silly bird "flies the coop" permanently! This could get really weird - chickens are not the brightest creatures and if my hen thinks these chicks are hers...I guess I'll have laying quail hens. I wonder if I'll have to buy "quail scratch" at the feed store...

  • grant_in_arizona
    10 years ago

    Hah! Fun update, AZGardenQueen, definitely keep us posted on how things go and who does what!

    I did find a new, second set of quail eggs this week, this time in a huge 36 inch pot with a self-sown Mexican fan palm that I dug up from the garden and put in the pot two years ago, and a huge ring of asparagus ferns around it. The ferns totally obscure the soil surface but I've seen momma coming and going for several days, and during one of her morning excursions I took a peak and saw a nice big clutch of eggs. Now she's staying on them, so I think she's done laying and is now hatching. I just can't deal with the stress of worrying, LOL.

    Happy gardening, and bird watching, all!
    Grant

  • grant_in_arizona
    10 years ago

    Here's a couple of quick and dirty pics of the LATEST spot for a quail, um, "nest" (depression, LOL). It's actually very nicely hidden and in a good part of the garden (it's the large pot at right with a self sown Mexican fan palm in it that I surrounded with some asparagus ferns). Momma hides under the asparagus fern (she leaves for twenty minutes each morning at 5:30 a.m. while I'm out on the patio having coffee and reading the paper). Hopefully there will be yet another crop of babies. So cute. Happy gardening all!

    {{gwi:403866}}

    {{gwi:403868}}

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my garden June 2013

  • grant_in_arizona
    10 years ago

    Hah, this latest batch hatched yesterday and now the babies are running all over the garden with mom and dad. There were a couple of "dud" eggs, but most hatched and those cute little puffballs are running all over the garden. So cute. I'll dig a small depression as usual, under the side gate to make sure they can get out of the garden if they want. I just hope no bunnies make it IN!

    Happy gardening all!
    Grant

  • akeleven
    10 years ago

    I have quail eggs nestled in a stand of cactus - just about dead center in the picture. (I'm southeast of Tucson.) Have not seen any parent yet - nobody is sitting on the nest. Since we have lots of stray cats I'm really concerned whether the parents are still alive. I put a plastic fence around the area to hopefully give some protection - with space to slip underneath. Worrying whether it is a good idea or too late. When can I expect to see the parent on the nest?

  • newtoucan
    10 years ago

    So cute pictures. I'd love some quail visitors. I only see doves at my house.

  • lazy_gardens
    10 years ago

    Akeleven ... they lay one a day until they have a full set, and only then sit on the eggs to incubate.

    Count the eggs daily for a week ... if the number isn't rising they may be abandoned eggs, or ones that got too hot and died before hatching.

  • grant_in_arizona
    10 years ago

    Neat pic of the cactus and "nest", I can definitely see the eggs. Like Lazy mentioned, they lay an egg or two a day until they're done, and only then do they sit on them. Keep us posted!

  • Weeyahneh
    9 years ago

    Thank you all for all the previous postings with info on finding quail eggs in a potted plant. I found one yesterday in a huge pot of geraniums on a planter stand on my front porch yesterday and there is a second egg there today. I'd noticed the pair of quail hanging around some of my pots on the patio so I wasn't surprised to find the beginnings of a scratch (clutch). I watered the geraniums at the front of the pot before I found the first egg at the back of the pot. Does anyone know if it is okay to slowly water the front of the plant and ensure that no water runs to the back of the pot? It is a 24" diameter pot so there is lots of room to try to water it. Thanks for any ideas.
    I'm excited that there are eggs as we adore watching the baby quail running around our lot.
    I have a gila monster that comes up on our front patio every year so I'm glad the eggs are high enough it can't get to them.

  • grant_in_arizona
    9 years ago

    It's okay to lightly water the plant as long as you don't submerge the eggs. Once mamma starts sitting on the clutch I stop watering plants, and for things like petunias and geraniums it speeds their decline, but they're going to croak in the heat anyway, so I just do it and replace with a heat lover after the babies leave the "nest". Let us know what you do and how it works out! Happy gardening, and good luck! :)

  • Weeyahneh
    9 years ago

    Thanks for the encouragement Grant. The mama quail laid 9 eggs and has been sitting on them since April 20th. I figure she has about 4 to 7 days more to sit on them before they hatch. My little neighbor boys were watering all my potted plants while we were out of town last week and they even watered the very front of the geranium plant while mama was on the nest and she wasn't disturbed. So, I've been slowly trickling some water in that pot every few days, ensuring it doesn't flow past the middle of the pot. She stays on her nest while the plant is being watered. The geraniums only get morning sun so they aren't drying out badly yet anyway.

    I had to remove a huge gopher snake which was resting under a table with many potted plants on it which is right next to the elevated iron stand that holds the mama quail in the geranium pot. I love having a gopher snake around, but moved him about a 1/2 mile away just so he won't get to the quail eggs!

    The painter thinks I'm insane, as I've delayed getting the house painted until the babies are out of their nest! As long as it is painted before the monsoons, we're fine!

    Happy gardening!

  • teamfratt
    8 years ago

    The first day I saw 4 eggs and a couple if days later I saw 2 more.
    Every day she was laying one more. She's stopped at 10 eggs around May 11. I can see the eggs and mama quail through a window. I want to see the babies hatching... How many days/weeks to hatch? How long will the hatching process take?



  • lazy_gardens
    8 years ago

    TeamFratt ... about 30 days after the last egg is laid, and they seem to all hatch in a couple of hours.

    Then the parents lead them away from any unhatched eggs to a nearby dense shelter. Any late-hatching eggs are out of luck - they are orphans.

  • teamfratt
    8 years ago

    I hope we get 10 out of 10! 2 hrs to hatch is not a long time.. I'll be on egg hatching watch but the odds are not in my favor! :(

  • teamfratt
    8 years ago

    We got quail babies!!!!! (taken with my iphone through the glass door pannel with minimal quail disturbance) They are soooo cute <3


  • cwlucking
    8 years ago

    That was taken with an iphone? It looks like a painting!


  • lazy_gardens
    8 years ago

    WOW ... fabulous picture

  • Mia King
    8 years ago

    I found these beauties in a hanging basket on my back patio this morning! I haven't seen any sign of a momma, but this thread has given me some hope! Maybe there will be another egg tomorrow.

  • Mia King
    8 years ago

    There hasn't been anymore eggs laid, and she only seems to be on the nest once in awhile. Not sure if these guys are going to make it.

  • lazy_gardens
    8 years ago

    Mia - when it's this warm out, mom on the nest is not critical.

    Give it 30 days from when you see the last egg laid and see what happe4ned.

  • annmic2
    8 years ago

    Love the blog BECAUSE yesterday I drove to a Tucson wildlife rehab home and gave them one orphaned Gambel's quail chick. I had it for one day and then was told by the feed store that is was illegal to raise it. "Pipsqueek" showed up first in my garden compound and then, six hours later in my garage at which time I caught it and brought it inside to rest on a low temp heating pad. I was thrilled to read comments on how it is possible for numerous eggs to hatch at once when only one a day is laid. Thanks for that. Here is a suggestion to discourage any birds from laying eggs in pots or other containers you want to be off limits: Partially crush aluminum cans and lay around the plants, totally covering the possible nesting site. The birds can't fit in there now and should find a more suitable site. I have used this for years, even placing cans on top of the patio fan where some dumbbells want to roost! It is unsightly but very effective. Replace when a strong wind blows the can(s) off. Here are 2

    photos of "Pipsqueek" I took yesterday. I placed a toy Hush Puppy dog in the box because it had droopy ears like a bird's wing and that did the trick to comfort the baby quail. The mirror initially helped, too. I don't know how to include a video I took.




  • annmic2
    8 years ago

    Here is a link to a video slideshow I just created and uploaded to YouTube. It is about the baby quail pictured above and its adventure at my house. Click on THIS. Best viewed in "theater mode", not full screen. ............. Anne M.

  • Susan Morrison
    7 years ago

    Hi. I'm new to this. We're in Southern Oregon and have a nest in our lily. Mom's been away for a bit and now I see all the eggs appear to be cracked. Still in position in the nest with shell together but cracked completely around. Any idea what happened? My first quail nest so I am very curious. Thank you....Susan

  • annmic2
    7 years ago

    I am not an expert and originally thought it could have been another bird pecking at them. However, it would have finished the job, opened and eaten the contents. Very strange! I have no idea! Maybe something heavy such as a cat sat on them. Possible?

  • Susan Morrison
    7 years ago

    Hi Annmic2,

    Thanks for the response. I have no idea what a normal nest looks like after the babies have gone. If eaten, I would expect some mess. Ugh. Here is a photo of what's left in the nest.

  • Michelle Phillips
    3 years ago

    10 . 20 . Eggs. Eggs I gotten . Could ?

  • HU-910281952
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Hi, i have an active quail nest in my planter, mama laid her 6 th egg today, she was scratching the dirt ( found on the ground) and kicked 2eggs out of the nest!!! what should i do? should i put the eggs back in the nest??😳

  • Terri Connolly
    last year

    yes i would have put the eggs back in nest

    how did the hatching go?

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