# Quail?? anyone do these?



## Dogwoodhill (Feb 27, 2011)

Hi, we were thinking about getting in to quail, for eggs and meat both but know NOTHING about it. just wondering if anyone keep them and how are they to keep? easy keepers? good egg production? could we keep them in a tractor like house so they can get on to the ground? or in cages? i really have no idea how it works, but would really like to get some


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

There are different kinds of quail. Which did you have in mind?

There are coturnix quail that hatch in 17days and then begin laying themselves by 8 weeks, we have Texas A&M White Giant Coturnix. They are excellent layers through warm weather and live well in a rabbit hutch type cage and as adults they can be in a chicken tractor like pen, just be sure to plug holes on uneven ground. They can be quite fragile as chicks.


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## Dogwoodhill (Feb 27, 2011)

wolffeathers said:


> There are different kinds of quail. Which did you have in mind?
> 
> There are coturnix quail that hatch in 17days and then begin laying themselves by 8 weeks, we have Texas A&M White Giant Coturnix. They are excellent layers through warm weather and live well in a rabbit hutch type cage and as adults they can be in a chicken tractor like pen, just be sure to plug holes on uneven ground. They can be quite fragile as chicks.


oh thas good, do they eat the grass and bugs like the chickens? and i really have no idea about what kind, i just like them and really like quail eggs and meat as well.


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

We only put ones that we were growing out to eat in the tractor. That way we could avoid exposing the breeders to anything and avoid having to medicate any. They lay little teeny speckled eggs, easy to find in a cage, really hard to find in grass. They do not lay in a nest box, they kind of lay wherever.

I never saw mine eating bugs or grass. They more enjoyed playing in the grass and looking at the dirt, it sounds silly, but they thought it was great fun to wedge themselves under even the short lawn grass. They still got all the gamebird/chick grower they could eat in the chicken tractor.

Even the fat meat coturnix fly, so be ready to run far and wide and dive after escapees. We kept them for a couple of years and only a couple really escaped. They didn't get far because the next morning feathers would be everywhere. White cage raised coturnix do not last long.


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## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

I've just started but so far I'm loving mine.
A while back, I got 5 Coturnix at a swap meet to see if I liked keeping them. If they were too much of a PITA, if they were too loud, too, dusty, etc.
They're really easy and I liked them a lot. The last pair I let run around in the rabbit colony where they were very happy, but didn't eat anything but their gamebird feed - which the rabbits liked a _lot_. They do LOVE to dust bathe.

Also, while I understand the wild coturnix is a migratory bird, the domestic ones are what I call "cat bait" they can get maybe 3 feet up and 6 feet forward and they crash on landing. Lots of people keep them in 12 inch or shorter cages so they don't kill themselves doing it.

Plenty of people just use rabbit cages. Adult coturnix need about 1 square foot of floorspace each and do best with at least 4,5 females per male. If there are too many males, birds start scalping each other - not pretty.

Right now I've got 18 just turned laying age and 25 more in the brooder. I've got Brown, White, Gold and now Fawn. My DD loves the different colors.

You can raise bobwhites, but you need a permit and they are harder and more aggressive. Coturnix are easy.


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## Truckinguy (Mar 8, 2008)

I"m interested in this also. Can you keep males and females together? How do they handle high and low temperatures?


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## Rannod (Mar 20, 2011)

I am in southwest Al they handle the heat well lost a few to the cold wet windy weather' Wrapped the cage (wire rabbit cage) with sheets to block the wind. The year before had them in an unheated building no wind and they were ok. Looking for a good recipe for pickled quail eggs.


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## Dogwoodhill (Feb 27, 2011)

thats great thank you all so much, are will deff look into getting some. where did you guys get them? a hatchery or a local breeder?


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## TooManyHobbies! (Mar 27, 2011)

I keep coturnix quail. You can order eggs online to hatch out in an incubator, but you do not want to order chicks. Even if you find someone willing to ship them, the chicks will NOT survive. They do not have the reserves of chicken chicks. (While chicken chicks that are newly hatched can survive 2-3 days without food and water, this is not the case for quail chicks. They must be fed and watered in the first 24 hours. Sooner than that is better!)

If you are wanting birds for eggs and meat, you want coturnix. Bobwhites take much longer to lay eggs and to grow to a harvestable size. Coturnix are the producers of the quail world.

Something that should be pointed out is that you need a PERMIT in many states in order to legally keep quail of any type, including coturnix. The fines can be very large in some states if you do not have this. Begin by checking your state laws with your fish and game department. Some states regulate ALL varieties of quail. Others just regulate NATIVE varieties. Coturnix are not native to the U.S. Also, recognize that some states have tight controls on how coturnix or any other type of quail are housed. In some states this makes it less worthwhile as a project. It is illegal in most places to "release" any quail, except with permit and by following a strict set of procedures. You "must" be familiar with these laws or risk heavy fines.

For good production and growth, quail need higher levels of protein than other poultry. In a pinch, you can use non-medicated turkey starter. However, you really should look for a non-medicated GAME BIRD starter with a MINIMUM of 24% protein. Purina makes a starter that is 30% protein. Verify that it is NON MEDICATED.

For best results, keep coturnix OFF the ground. You'll have to worm your breeding flock if you keep them on ground. This is something I can't help you with. Most people use wire bottom cages. I have multiple types, but do not keep any birds outside on the ground.

Coturnix quail MUST be heavily protected from predators. They are far more highly susceptible to predation than the most vulnerable of chickens. 1" poultry wire is NOT sufficient. You really need hardware wire for quail. Most people use raised hutches. (Wrap the legs to keep predators from getting UNDER the cages. It's amazing how small an area a raccoon can reach through and harm a quail...)

There are concerns about keeping quail and chickens together. Chickens can carry some diseases that they may not show symptoms of themselves. However, they can pass these to quail. This can and will be fatal for your quail flock. If you keep both, keep them separated by distance and practice strict biosecurity. Tend your quail FIRST. You'll see stories and videos of people who violate this. It may work for them, for now. However, they stand a good chance of eventually finding out just why it isn't such a good idea. If you choose to keep quail and chickens close together or ignore biosecurity, then you should expect losses, possibly all your quail, though it may be in five years, or ten years....though you may be a lucky one who escapes this permanently.


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