Interested in raising quail

I'll follow this thread! I wish I could give you pointers but I will be able to after my order comes in around April 5th..... I ordered 250 baby quail chicks...... I have 4 hutches go put them in and will set up brooder lights, etc. I have not a clue what I'm doing!! But I'm sure I will have lots of info soon. I'm hoping they are similar to rising baby chicks only smaller. . Hoping but we will see!!! Good luck to you as well if you decide to take the plunge as I have!!

What type of quail did you get?

 

purplequeenvt, PM me and I'll give you more info...you've asked good question

 

Jumbo brown cotournix....... I want info too!!

I'm following this thread too.  Been thinking about quail for eggs.  Looking forward to reading the replies.  Thanks!

So you ordered 250 Jumbo Browns? 4 hutches..and no clue...wow. They are not like baby chicks...except they both need food and water. They have a rapid growth and will require a lot of attention. With that many you will have to watch that some do not get squashed or stampeded. What are your goals with having so many? Are you going to butcher them all and keep a few breeders?

 

For food your going to need 24% or greater Game bird starter, 28-30% is great! If you are going to butcher the lot of them 6-8 weeks you won't need to worry about space or ratios. If you are going to keep some back for breeders...1:5 is optimal...people do more and they do less...but each adult bird needs at least 1 square of space...ie, a 3'x4' hutch has 12 square feet....12 birds right? Wrong. You have to subtract the area that the feeder and water take up from the gross total...so realistically that amount of space could house 10 adult birds.

 

To answer the OP's question...there is a game bird directory in the stickies...I would start there for where to purchase...ebay would not be my first choice, lol.

 

On housing, there are as many thoughts and ideas as there are stars in the sky. If doing a hutch, elevated system. 1/2" hardware cloth for the floors and sides to keep out critters. build it tall enough to keep from breaking your back bending and also help keep raccoons and such out. (some folks even wire around the legs to keep things from going in from the bottom.) build it narrow enough that you can reach in and touch the back wall. It's easier gathering eggs, feed/water, coop maintenance and catching birds for whatever reason. Dust bath a must. rest boards are good and a shelter to get out of the elements.

 

Saying all that I'm a ground person...3' x12' covered runs...9' at the tallest peak...check out the thread "show me your coops" or "ground vs.wire" for additional ideas...

 

Good luck and well wishes!

 

What have I left out or other questions you may have?

 

 

Edited by bfrancis - 3/28/12 at 12:19pm

WOW! That's a lot of birds! 

 

I can't say about that many, but, found that in tiny starter batches of only 6-8 at once, they weren't too different than chicken chicks for me. But with so few, I just had them drinking from a water bottle and eating out of a chick feeder their through adult hood. I can't imagine doing 250 of chicks of any type at the moment! 

 

If I were to compare them to any type of chicken, they would be the cornish x meat bird type. Eat and grow like mad, poop their weight in no time. LOL I just had mine in a 30gallon tote on our balcony and butchered most at 4-5 weeks ( I know, small birds) to give the special 4 space. I'd say the three girls and boy were a bit cramped in a 30 gallon tote, but didn't kill one another when I had them all. 

@bfrancis and silky...... Yes...250!!! As I was contemplating hitting the submit to order button...I thought to myself....this is crazy!!!! But when I did the math on 100 quills with 2 each per adult that's 8 because there are 4 adults plus two kids.... That's only enough for like 10 meals and we love quails!! Sooooo I hit that dang submit button and still thought....what have I done!!!!!!!!!! If you two don't mind, I might pm you as I have questions. My goal was to raise most for meat...butcher at 5 weeks and then like you wrote keep about 10-12 to lay eggs and hopefully multiply. Thanks so much for ant insight you can offer! Don't laugh but after quail my next project is rabbit raising. . I'm still not sure why I do this to myself!!! I love challenges!! Thanks again!!! Great info and things I really wanted to know!!!!!

I am curious how your 250 quail experiment went? I am thinking of starting up some quail this Spring, though in much smaller amounts.