Fattening them up and other questions.

I know I ask too many questions, but I do need to start somewhere right?

Anyways, How would I be able to fatten up quail that will be butchered in the future?
If it's a feed when should I start giving it to them?
Can I keep the quail I want to butcher with the quail I want to keep for eggs? (separating them with tags)
What age should I butcher them?
Since the first several eggs that hens lay are kind of a "start up" how long into laying should I start incubating their eggs?
If breeding/laying quails eat food from the butchering quail will it affect their fertility?
Will the feed get to the point where they stop walking as I have seen in many movies about chickens being fattened up?
Can the egg quail and the meat quail all eat the same food just to lower costs?

Lasers said:

I know I ask too many questions, but I do need to start somewhere right?

Anyways, How would I be able to fatten up quail that will be butchered in the future?
If it's a feed when should I start giving it to them?
Can I keep the quail I want to butcher with the quail I want to keep for eggs? (separating them with tags)
What age should I butcher them?
Since the first several eggs that hens lay are kind of a "start up" how long into laying should I start incubating their eggs?
If breeding/laying quails eat food from the butchering quail will it affect their fertility?
Will the feed get to the point where they stop walking as I have seen in many movies about chickens being fattened up?
Can the egg quail and the meat quail all eat the same food just to lower costs?

Click to expand...

Feed them unmedicated 30% started feed until you butcher them.

8 weeks is the top of the growth curve (point where commercial raisers say maximum weight gain per dollar is achieved) I run mine for 12 weeks because they fill out quite a bit more and have a little bit of fat on the carcass. They make for a better cooking bird with little fat on them (it's outside the meat and easily trimmed away) watch the videos in my signature, i give some raising/growing/cooking tips in them.

If you wait two weeks after they start you will surely have fertility throughout. Many hens will establish it sooner, but two weeks is a good safe round number.

You will want to feed you layers 20-24% protein although unmedicated starter wont harm them or fertility. 30% can cause blowout in hens that already lay extra large eggs. We have pushed jumbos to their physical limits so when given too much protein it's not abnormal for them to suffer blowouts. A blowout is a herniation or tear of the laying tract<---(not a scientific term dont quote me but I think its called the ovaduct) and affected birds have to be euthanized. It seems to be most frequent when birds are fed a lower percentage then switched to a 28 or 30%.

Fertility problems only develop in birds fed medicated food for long periods of time. It's hard for most to even find medicated feed.

Those chickens you see are a not hormone fed or anything crazy, they are just a purposeful mutation. It took hundreds of years to reach that point of control in chiken breeding. They grow so quickly if not processed they will die by 16 weeks in most cases. Typically from organ failure. They basically have a tasty version of giantism. There have been breeders in the past that bred too large of bird and ended up with leg joint problems, but i doubt you'll come across any.

As far as food cost goes, 24% quail layer costs the same as 30% usually so you won't save much feeding them out of the same bag, and there are reasons not to that I covered above.