How long does a Bobwhite Quail live for?

stormylady

Songster
11 Years
Dec 27, 2008
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Illinois
Hi there, I was wondering how long a Bobwhite quail lives for, I have one male and one female, 15 months old, and she just laid her very first egg, yes I know! she should have started laying over a year ago, LOL but what can I say. She just didn't. Anyway now that she has started laying how long will she live for , and do you think she can hatch out her own eggs? One more ? if ya don't mind, Do Bobwhites go broody like chickens or do they just naturally sit on the eggs and hatch them out after they get a big enough clutch to be worth her while? Thanks in Advance for the answers. Sandy
 
I'm a total noob at the quail thing...but I'm a good googler (is that a word?).
My searches turned up 2-5 year life span for a Bobwhite quail. I'm sure someone who knows more will chime in here.
2-5 years seems like a pretty big span.
 
Hi there Mudmonkey, thanks for responding. I did a little searching too, and i found that in the wild they live about 7 months is average with predation and all, but I was curious as too the life of quails in captivity. They saidthat 5 years was very common, and 10 and 15 years (with proper feeding and housing/care) wasn't unheard of, but it just said Quail and not "Bob whites" in particular.
So i was kinda wondering what some of the breeders had to say about there experiences with them. I think that 2-5 years seems like a reasonable life span more so than the 10 to 15 years. I just don't want to lose her and him now after all this time waiting for them to start breeding.
I have to admit I have never seen them breed, not once.
So are quail like chickens in that they don't need a male to breed them in order to lay eggs?
I do know that they are just starting into the breeding season now according to what I read.
She now has 2 eggs in her nest and seems to be kinda sitting on them or at least next to them, I wonder if that is to keep them from getting too cold until she has enough eggs until she is ready to start setting in earnest so they will all hatch at the same time? Thanks again, Sandy
 
Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I'd like to know the answer to this as well. I'm raising bobwhites for the first time and want to know what to expect in terms of lifespan; most every source I've found has said that they usually live less than a year but that can't be right for birds kept safe in captivity. Anyone have any better estimates?
 
Quote:
Bobwhites can have a long lifespan of 2-5 years if they are not used in huge production, they can go broody and hatch their own young.
 
I had a pair of gambels quail, the hen lived to be 11 and the male lived to be 13. A valley quail lived to be 15.
My bobwhite house quail, one hen 7 1/2 years, one male almost 6 years and just the other day another hen at 6 years.
These were all loved and pampered house quail and are sorely missed. One remaining hen who is 6 years and appears to be doing just fine.

 
I know this is an old bumped thread but I wanted to say how lovely it is to see how well quaillady has kept her quail. If you could share your tips/tricks & inspirations for keeping the quail that you did indoors, it may be able to help others for their indoor & even outdoor quail.

Thank you so much for the pictures as well. They looked lovely.^^
 
House quail are the ultimate in pet birds. Georgie, who just passed away at age 6, loved to ride in the car, take naps with me, sleep with me at night, follow me around the house, and when I went in to the kitchen, she flew up on the center island to see what I was preparing. An empty wine glass was guarded until it was poured full, then in went the beak for multiple drinks. I never once saw her intoxicated. All of my housequail have loved ice cream, from a spoon, not our of a common dish.
Georgie would take naps with me and often after crawling under a blanket and spewing forth nesting sounds, would present me with a clean white egg. Awesome. My valley quail lived to be 15 and I wrote a book about him from his perspective, 'Diary of a California Valley Quail' and I am still selling them now. Bottom line, Valley Quail and Gambel's quail do live longer than bobwhites, my Randee lived to be 7 1/2 years old. She is missed enormously.
Jan Endsley,Eatonville WA \[email protected]
 

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