# Which is more efficient, chicken or quail?



## 2kidsdad (Sep 27, 2009)

We currently have a few chickens for eggs. We are considering getting some meat birds. I hear that you can order some fryers that will grow off in about 7 weeks (but you can't hatch them). I also understand that corntex (sp) or A&M quail will also raise off in about the same time. But, the quail are very fertile and produce lots of eggs. So which is the more cost effective bird to raise for meat? Advantages and disadvantages of each? Thanks


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

Cornish Cross chickens have a slight edge for feed conversion and you get more meat for the work of cleaning them.

However, quail is really delicious, so what I suggest is that you get both.


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## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

A&M is a color variety of coturnix quail. It is supposed to be a strain, there were 2 white strains, the big A&M and the small British white, but the strain got so crossbred that now it's pretty much a just color. People use that name because the strain sold so well.

I agree with oregon woodsmoke. Get both. You'll use them differently. Quail are kind off self-sustaining. They lay lots of fertile eggs, but less then one in 100 will set on them. They are very easy to hatch, as forgiving as hatching chicken eggs and they ship better. Quail eggs are tasty too. But there's nothing like that big broiler chicken you raised on pasture - yum!


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

Chickens can be free ranged in many places. Quail can't be. They will have to be caged.
Many chickens will set and raise their own young. Coturnix will very sledon set, hatch, and raise their young. I have had only about two do it and that was in large planted aviaries.
Without selective breeding, special equipment and knowledge coturnix will revert back to the smaller size in a couple of generations.
Chickens are larger and louder than quail.
Both have their advantages and disadvantages.


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## 2kidsdad (Sep 27, 2009)

The consent I have with free range at my place is a dog and foxes (they have gotten in the pen in the past). Both may be a good idea. I did not know that the quail would revert back to a smaller size? Can this be prevented? If so, how? Thanks


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

2kidsdad said:


> The consent I have with free range at my place is a dog and foxes (they have gotten in the pen in the past). Both may be a good idea. I did not know that the quail would revert back to a smaller size? Can this be prevented? If so, how? Thanks


It is pretty easy to keep them from going back to the smaller size but most people find it is a lot of trouble.

Always choose the largest birds for breeders. 
The young will continue to grow until they reach sexual maturity.
How long that takes depends on the amount of light they are exposed to.
The easiest way to get and keep larger birds is to limit the light to two hours on and two hours off. Use red lights.
The birds will continue to grow much longer and get much larger than birds raised in normal light.
To do this type of raising coturnix you will need an enclosed area where there is no light. Use timers to allow two hours of light followed by two hours of darkness.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Pigeons, bigger and easier to raise, breed like rabbits....James


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## notasnowballs (Dec 28, 2010)

But what do pigeons taste like?


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Chicken of course, ha ha ha. Never had squab?...James


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## sunflower-n-ks (Aug 7, 2006)

pancho said:


> It is pretty easy to keep them from going back to the smaller size but most people find it is a lot of trouble.
> 
> Always choose the largest birds for breeders.
> The young will continue to grow until they reach sexual maturity.
> ...


If you grow larger quail with controlled light, how does that affect the size of their chicks? Do they also have to have controlled light to grow larger?


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

I prefer chickens to quail for raising. 

As for raising them for meat and letting some grow on to become egg layers and produce more chicks. May I suggest Freedom Rangers?
JM Hatchery have them. There is a thread by Ladycat on here about them.

They grow out quick, do not die or become deformed. Tasty and delicious.


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

sunflower-n-ks said:


> If you grow larger quail with controlled light, how does that affect the size of their chicks? Do they also have to have controlled light to grow larger?


Yes.
Without controlled lighting any coturnix will return to normal coturnix size.
Those birds raised under controlled lighting will lay larger eggs. Larger eggs means larger chicks. How the chicks grow will depend on the conditions. Just because they are larger when they hatch does not mean they will grow to the same size as their parents who were grown under different conditions.


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## DayBird (Jul 26, 2004)

Nothing will beat the CornishX for effieciently converting feed to meat in a short amount of time. There seems to be an almost nonending discussion here about them. They are a terminal cross though. They are hard to keep until they are sexually mature but we have had hens to lay eggs. They do not breed true. We have tried it many times. We have also crossed the hens with roosters of other breeds with varying success.

Our newest project is to keep a white laced cornish rooster in with several white rock hens. The resulting chicks grow slower than the commercial broilers but still get to a large enough size. The white rocks go broody and will raise their own chicks.

We also keep quail. We have them in almost all of our parrot aviaries as part of the clean up crew. We've never had one go broody and try to hatch eggs on her own. We incubate them. They are highly fertile, easy to keep and very tasty. If you do not have an aviary full of cockatiels or parakeets, just keep them in a cage. Build something like a hanging, all wire rabbit cage. Try for something about two feet from front to back so that you can reach each of the back corners. If you slope the floor, the eggs will roll towards the front and make collection very easy. 

We also keep pigeons. Squab is very tasty. It's very "flavorful" but not at all gamey like harvested wild birds would be. We simply remove the breast meat and pan sear it like a steak. It's all dark meat and very good. If you try the pigeons you can keep your quail on the floor of their pen.


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