African Harlequin Quails. 

The harlequin quail (Coturnix delegorguei) is a species of bird in the Phasianidae family. It is found in Africa..

I have always found to be best kept in pairs when breeding as the Cocks can be very aggressive towards one of the other cocks if you are running more than one pair per cage.

Their diet is mainly seeds and grasses and a fresh supply of Water. I use a quality wild bird seed mix as a base for al my Quail Feeds, and add a selection of extra's to the mix dependant on the Breed of the Quails. The Quails also have a steady supply of live Meal Worms and boiled eggs, beetroot, Carrot & Cheese as a soft food during the Breeding Season.. This Provides Extra protein, Vitamins that are essential for the laying birds..

Incubation

I have found that over the years the egg fertility is at 100%.. But as with all hatching  its at around 80%, some 20% just are not making it out of the pipping stage. 

Hatching is a fine art as you all must know by now with many factors to consider before you even put your eggs in to the incubator to start.. I use a Lincu Auto Turner, Its kept within a incubator room where the outside temperature and humidity is controlled by a dehumidifier and a thermostat. This enables the incubator to run at a steady temperature mostly for the duration. of the hatch or at least until "LOCKDOWN".

Once Lockdown is reached which is 4 days prior to hatch for African Harlequin  the temperature will need to be monitored and may need to be dropped by 1 degree depending on the temp. Add more water to increase the Humidity. Tips for the humidity is to use small bit of cloth soaked in water and squeeze them out slightly and then lay them flat on your tray's. This will increase your humidity quite fast. Open your vent by a qtr turn on day 4..

The Weather is a factor for me if a thunder storm hit i tend to loose all my eggs in the incubator. You have probably;y had this too at some point this is very common to loose eggs during a thunder storm, so i make sure that the long distance weather is ok just for peace of mind..

The Humidity during the first stages of the hatch, if you are having trouble maintaining the 50% and are getting a below reading but the reading in not below 25%. This is fine. Its better to have a steady humidity than that of one rising and falling during the first stages of the eggs growth..

I have incubated eggs at 27% Humidity and ducks at 30% just by keeping a steady humidity. I am a great believer of this and this works for me..

If you would like any further information before i add to this, please drop me a message on 07825870509. Dean

Japanese Quails.

The Japanese quail, also known as Coturnix quail (Coturnix japonica) is a species of Old World quail found in East Asia. First considered a subspecies of the Common quail, it was distinguished as its own species in 1983.[2] The Japanese quail has played an active role in the lives of humanity since the 12th century, and continues to play major roles in industry and scientific research. Where it is found, the species is abundant across most of its range. Currently there are a few true breeding mutations of the Japanese quail, the breeds from the United States are: Texas A&M, English White, Golden Range, Red Range, Italian, Manchurian, Tibetan, Rosetta, Scarlett, Roux Dilute and Golden Tuxedo.