Pros/Cons?

I raise a few chickens and ducks for eggs. I am looking into a couple quail for eggs and was wondering what a couple pros/cons would be for raising them compared to chickens as in egg laying, temperament, health wise etc. Thanks

I believe a lot of that depends on the breed of quail you mean. Did you have one in mind?

If you want quail for eggs get coturnix, they lay year around except during a molt. I live in an extremely hot climate and my chickens almost quit laying in the heat of summer but the quail just kept laying. We are considering getting rid of the chickens and just keeping more quail for eggs.

Raised together they get along pretty well and you don't even need to bother with a roo if you don't want the eggs to be fertile. The hens make adorable soft sounds and can be quite friendly to their keeper though they don't like to be picked up. They love their treats and will eat out of your hand. If you do keep a roo they do crow but not as loud as a chicken. Make sure you have at 4-7 hens per roo and house the roo with his covey separate from other roos.

I keep my quail on wire and don't have any health problems with them. Do know that you will be cleaning their droppings often or they can have an ammonia smell especially during humid weather. In my dry climate their droppings dry out fast so I don't have as much problem with odor as someone that might live in Florida or Oregon.

Giving your quail places to hide as well as rest their feet if they are on wire are important for their well being. Boxes, baskets, leafy plants etc. can be used to make their cage more homey and reduce stress. They will roll and rub like a cat on damp lettuce or greens, fun to watch. A container for dust baths will make for super happy quail!

Yes I was looking into the coturnix. Reading through the forums seems like they are just kept in a brooder type house, do they not like going into a small run with grass?

Quail are from arid climates with loose well draining soil. They have no resistance to the type of parasites and diseases that incubate in compacted moist soil such as under a grassy yard. If you do keep them in such a run you should also make sure that foxes, skunks, bobcats and raccoons can't dig under the edges for entry and you should probably consider worming them since parasites usually spend part of their life in an intermediary host such as mice, rats, flies, earthworms, grubs, crickets, ants etc. Familiarizing yourself with common gamebird diseases so you know what to look for is also probably a good idea.

People, in the name of being humane, sometimes tend to want to keep quail in environments that are not ideal for them. A "quail palace" type cage where birds get sick is really no kind of palace at all.

To keep them more safely on the ground put their cage in a well drained area and put a few inches of clean play sand in the bottom, if you can put a bed of crushed gravel beneath the sand to further improve drainage. This way they are't staying on moist soil all the time where diseases like to incubate. Parasites while more common on birds kept over soil are a risk for any bird in any cage so it's a good idea to get familiar with them when you start keeping gamebirds.

dc3085 said:

Quail are from arid climates with loose well draining soil. They have no resistance to the type of parasites and diseases that incubate in compacted moist soil such as under a grassy yard. If you do keep them in such a run you should also make sure that foxes, skunks, bobcats and raccoons can't dig under the edges for entry and you should probably consider worming them since parasites usually spend part of their life in an intermediary host such as mice, rats, flies, earthworms, grubs, crickets, ants etc. Familiarizing yourself with common gamebird diseases so you know what to look for is also probably a good idea. 

People, in the name of being humane, sometimes tend to want to keep quail in environments that are not ideal for them. A "quail palace" type cage where birds get sick is really no kind of palace at all. 

To keep them more safely on the ground put their cage in a well drained area and put a few inches of clean play sand in the bottom, if you can put a bed of crushed gravel beneath the sand to further improve drainage. This way they are't staying on moist soil all the time where diseases like to incubate. Parasites while more common on birds kept over soil are a risk for any bird in any cage so it's a good idea to get familiar with them when you start keeping gamebirds. 

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Thanks. What I ment by a run is keeping them in an above ground brooder, but them having access to a small inclosed run that I can shut/open just like you would a chicken coop/run.

As coturnix age they will often use boxes and nesting structures more but young coturnix honestly don't have the instinct to care about such things. However locking them up at night in a coop is def a good idea since most predators love quail like kids love cake. They don't care for ramps or perches since they only go vertical in times of fear.

dc3085 said:

Quail are from arid climates with loose well draining soil. They have no resistance to the type of parasites and diseases that incubate in compacted moist soil such as under a grassy yard. If you do keep them in such a run you should also make sure that foxes, skunks, bobcats and raccoons can't dig under the edges for entry and you should probably consider worming them since parasites usually spend part of their life in an intermediary host such as mice, rats, flies, earthworms, grubs, crickets, ants etc. Familiarizing yourself with common gamebird diseases so you know what to look for is also probably a good idea.

People, in the name of being humane, sometimes tend to want to keep quail in environments that are not ideal for them. A "quail palace" type cage where birds get sick is really no kind of palace at all.

To keep them more safely on the ground put their cage in a well drained area and put a few inches of clean play sand in the bottom, if you can put a bed of crushed gravel beneath the sand to further improve drainage. This way they are't staying on moist soil all the time where diseases like to incubate. Parasites while more common on birds kept over soil are a risk for any bird in any cage so it's a good idea to get familiar with them when you start keeping gamebirds.

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What or where can I find info on"gamebird diseases" so I can familiarize myself with them please?

I'm sorry it's normally in my signature I must have removed at some point and not realized.

Common Gamebird Diseases

This site is the most comprehensive index of poultry diseases, although not all are common almost all can affect gamebirds as easily as they do chickens or other galliformes.

This site covers most common poultry parasites and parasitic diseases.

dc3085 said:

As coturnix age they will often use boxes and nesting structures more but young coturnix honestly don't have the instinct to care about such things. However locking them up at night in a coop is def a good idea since most predators love quail like kids love cake. They don't care for ramps or perches since they only go vertical in times of fear. 

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Thanks. Housing seems pretty simple then. I'll go through the quail pen page for ideas