Ignorant about Quail, Why do people have them, hunting?

I have wondered this for a long time as I see in auctions lots of quail and they are very popular. I own chickens. The eggs are a normal decent size for eating and so is the bird. I know people hunt and eat wild quail but I never have. There seems to be many beautiful varieties and colors. So do you raise and breed them to eat? release to hunt? pets like parakeets? eye candy? or all the above? My husband still doesn't understand why I raise chickens so I totally respect quail raisers it's just that I don't know anyone personally who raise them to ask and the question is from ignorance. Just getting educated I guess. Then when I see Quail eggs selling I'll know why. I'm sure it is a source of income for some. The eggs I'm sure are edible but so tiny. Do they wrap each egg in bubble wrap when they ship? Some auctions are for 100 eggs! I'm baffled.

Well, probably for a lot of different reasons. I just got into them this summer, first starting with a batch of button eggs, then a batch of coturnix eggs. And yes, when shipped, people took the time to wrap EACH EGG in something, most used tissue or paper towel and scotch tape. Very time consuming, and I have the utmost respect for the folks I bought these eggs from, because it took them a lot of time and effort, not to mention packaging supplies, to do this, and frankly, I really didn't pay all that much for any of the batches of eggs I've bought.

I am not an "eater" of my birds, but I have nothing against those that do. I just think they're pretty, interesting little pets. I will use the eggs. My first button quails, hatched early July, and my first Coturnix, hatched at the very end of July, are beginning to lay eggs, which is utterly amazing in and of itself. A chicken or duck takes about 6 months to begin to lay, a quail 5 to 6 weeks.

I've gotten a big color mix in both kinds of quail. It's addictive to see what will pop out of the next egg!

I have button quails.
I keep them just as pets and sometimes sell chicks to people as 'cleaners' in their avaries or eye candy pets.
They arnt exactly a good eating bird, they're smaller than your fist lol you can eat the eggs tho, but you need quite a few to make a decent snack, eggs are about the size of a thumbnail. I know some people pickle them.
I love the colour variations of my birds and adore their little personalities and quirks.
I dont really breed them, i just let nature do its thing.

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WELL NOW LETS SEE..... QUAIL VARY GREATLY FROM 1 SPECES TO THE NEXT AS FAR AS GROW RATES, LAYING RATES, AND HAVE DIFFERENT PURPOSES.... SO ANSWERS CAN VARY GREATLY AS WELL.

BUTTON QUAIL ARE USUALLY PET/ EYE CANDY SORT OF LIL THINGS AS THEY ARE QUITE COLORFUL BUT TINY, SO EATING REALLY ISNT WORTH THE EFFORT.

COTURNIX QUAIL ARE THE UNDISPUTED EGG LAYING CHAMPS OF THE WORLD.... A SINGLE HEN CAN LAY UP TO 300 EGGS A YR WITH PROPER CONDITIONS AND THEY ARE AS CLOSE TO INSTANT GRATIFICATION AS ANYTHING THAT COMES IN AN EGG.... EGGS WHILE SMALL DO EAT WELL, THEY HATCH IN 16-18 DAYS, MOST MATURE IN 6-8 WKS AND CAN BE LAYING AT THAT TIME. SINCE THEY ARE PROLIFIC THEY ARE A GOOD MEAT SOURCE. THEY ARE BY FAR THE EASIEST TO HANDLE AND RAISE OF ALL QUAIL SPECES AND VERY COMMON. EGG SALES FROM THIS SPECES CAN BE PROFITABLE ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THE BREEDING STOCK.

BOB WHITES ARE THE BEST TASTING BIRDS, BUT ARE PRETTY MUCH MIRROR IMAGES OF COTURNIX..... IN COMPARISON NOTHING MUCH HAPPENS FAST WITH BOBS EXCEPT THE EVIL ABUSE THEY CAN DISH OUT ON ONE ANOTHER.... MOST ARE BIGGER THAN COTURNIX AND AS MENTIONED THE BEST TASTING. THE SAME CAN BE SAID OF GAMBLE'S AND CALIFORNIA VALLEY QUAIL--- BOTH ARE QUITE SIMILAR TO BOBS IN GROWTH/ LAYING/ AND REARING OF YOUNG.

MISC SPECES ARE KEPT BY BREEDERS AND ENTHUSIAST MOSTLY FOR PROPAGATION OF THE SPECES---- THIS WOULD BE MEARNES(MONTEZUMA) MOUNTAINS, AND OTHER ASSORTED RARE SPECES

IN MOST AREAS OF THE USA RELEASE IS RARE AND DIFFICULT, A SPECIALTY IN ITS OWN RIGHT IF YOU WILL--- BIRDS MUST BE INDIGENOUS SPECES, MOST STATES REGULATE RELEASE VERY STRICTLY AND REQUIRE SERIOUS PERMITTING/ LICENSURE. BIRDS NEED SPECIAL RAISING TO HELP ENSURE THEIR SURVIVAL IN THE WILD AND THAT TAKES A LIL SPECIAL INTERACTION--- MOST RELEASE RAISES ARE RAISED TO NOT SEE HUMANS IN THE LIGHT OF DAY IN VERY LARGE ENCLOSURES UNTIL OLD ENOUGH TO BE RELEASED, AND OFTEN TIMES THEN GIVEN A BACK UP PLAN SUCH AS FIELD FEED STATIONS OR JONNY HOUSES FOR THEM TO SEEK REFUGE, SAFETY, AND SHELTER.

MOST STATES HAVE THEIR OWN FISH AND WILDLIFE DEPT.'S THAT DO THE RESTOCKING FOR THE WILD AND MOST COMMERCIALLY RAISED RELEASE BIRDS ARE FOR PRIVATE HUNTING RESERVES.

I kina think of my gambles as eye candy my bobs will get eaten just like the coturnix I have sold quiet a few coturnix eggs to asian takeouts close to me. kina offsets the feed costs I know a local guy who sells the coturnix for meat he seems to be doing well with that.

I have several different species and types of quail. They are just for fun, I like the variety. I have coturnix, bobwhite, blue scale, african harlequin and gambels. The coturnix are pretty friendly and it can be soothing to go sit out in their aviary and just watch them. Also, there are several varieties that are quite pretty (i.e. mexican speckled bobwhites, manchurian coturnix, gambels, blue scaled and african harlequin). The eggs of the coturnix are quite delicious and are the ones used at the sushi restaurants (I like them raw, cooked and pickled). Hatching them is also fun and interesting.

Mine are pets first and egg layers second. As a long time vegetarian, I would not consider eating my birds unless we were (quite literally) going to die of starvation otherwise.

We even eat button quail eggs here...

I have coturnix and really enjoy watching them interact with each other, they have the personality of a much larger animal. Hatching and raising them is alot of fun and the eggs are very tasty, not as big as chicken eggs but still pretty substantial if you've got several laying hens. I plan on eating some eventually, but so far have just raised them to sell at auctions and have given some to the neighbors for goodwill. They were the only birds that I had laying during the three weeks of triple digit temperatures we had this summer.

Wow, thanks everyone! Seems like there are many reasons to have Quail and everyone loves raising them. They certainly are pretty and I can relate to how soothing they are to watch and be around. I do a lot of 'observing' with my chickens. I love BYC. So many neat people too. Thanks for the education.

I'd just like to add my story, if that's ok. Personally, I think that a bird smaller than the size of a chicken should not be killed for food. As of today, we still have the original three button quails. They lay eggs which we just collect and eat now. They have amazing color, and the eggs are more convenient. So, we keep the quails for fun and "eye candy" but eat the eggs.