Ok so I have been researching quail and I am really wanting to get started, but Dh is putting a damper on things. He keeps asking whats the point when the eggs are so tiny? Can you all tell me what benifits quail have over chickens?
Quail VS Chickens
- Thread starter namastemama
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for me it came down to mostly space, noise and time invested that talked me in to it.
space: they don't need much, 1sq ft per bird is plenty, cages can be stacked, no worries about them running lose and getting in to neighbors yards or animals getting to them
noise: roosters drive me nuts, quail seem pretty chill
time invested: you can go from egg to fully grown egg laying bird in a little more than two months, constantly processing/hatching more
I don't have a huge property, basically in a 'country' neighborhood, and I've started gardening recently and wanted some small meat production going on so quail became my top choice. I'm still early in the process but so far I'm enjoying it.
space: they don't need much, 1sq ft per bird is plenty, cages can be stacked, no worries about them running lose and getting in to neighbors yards or animals getting to them
noise: roosters drive me nuts, quail seem pretty chill
time invested: you can go from egg to fully grown egg laying bird in a little more than two months, constantly processing/hatching more
I don't have a huge property, basically in a 'country' neighborhood, and I've started gardening recently and wanted some small meat production going on so quail became my top choice. I'm still early in the process but so far I'm enjoying it.
Quote:
x2
Also 4-5 quail eggs equals one chicken egg and they are prolific layers. The feed to meat ratio is less too...so economically it cost less per bird for fryer size than it would a chicken. down size, GBS feed is higher cost than chicken feed...but you use less per animal.
just my thoughts...
x2
Also 4-5 quail eggs equals one chicken egg and they are prolific layers. The feed to meat ratio is less too...so economically it cost less per bird for fryer size than it would a chicken. down size, GBS feed is higher cost than chicken feed...but you use less per animal.
just my thoughts...
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So most of you all butcher your quail eventually? thats one thing I would have a rough time with.
If you figure a quail starts laying on average at 5-8 weeks and a chicken starts at 24-30 weeks typically then you will have eggs almost every day from a coturnix for four + months before you ever get a chicken egg, thats alot of eggs and you can start hatching them when they start laying so if you only hatched one "bunch" of eggs a month you can have up to four more hatches of quail or even more before the chicken starts laying eggs and you can already be butchering 2 generations or more of the quail for meat.
I am not trying to talk you out of chickens, I keep quail and chickens but quail are neat, take less space, eat ALOT less, lay alot of cool eggs you can eat, sell, or hatch, and they are quiet which is a lure to people who live in the city and want to keep a few in their backyard or shed without anyone knowing
I am not trying to talk you out of chickens, I keep quail and chickens but quail are neat, take less space, eat ALOT less, lay alot of cool eggs you can eat, sell, or hatch, and they are quiet which is a lure to people who live in the city and want to keep a few in their backyard or shed without anyone knowing
I thought I'd add that they aren't silent. The boys do crow. But since the sound is not generally recognized, unlike a rooster, it's harder for people to complain.
I have a few in my house (the pets) and more in the garage (the livestock). When I had 20 boys crowing in the garage it was a ruckus. They would crow only when I opened the garage door to drive my car in. I quickly closed it to keep from disturbing our neighbor.
I made a deal with my husband. I raise them, he processes them. It was a lot easier when we had a lot of quail (37 birds). We processed 18 and had dinner. Even the kids ate them, which I was happy and surprised about. I thought they were going to have a hard time with it. I thought I was going to have a hard time with it.
We love the eggs. They are great for just popping in your mouth when hard boiled. I usually have a container of peeled hard boiled eggs in the fridge for snacking. I deviled about 16 yesterday for dinner and my 7 year old took them to the table. By the time I got there, half the eggs were gone.
My only comment about the eggs is that I'm not used to using them for baking. They are richer than chicken eggs so I prefer to use chicken eggs in cakes.
I have a few in my house (the pets) and more in the garage (the livestock). When I had 20 boys crowing in the garage it was a ruckus. They would crow only when I opened the garage door to drive my car in. I quickly closed it to keep from disturbing our neighbor.
I made a deal with my husband. I raise them, he processes them. It was a lot easier when we had a lot of quail (37 birds). We processed 18 and had dinner. Even the kids ate them, which I was happy and surprised about. I thought they were going to have a hard time with it. I thought I was going to have a hard time with it.
We love the eggs. They are great for just popping in your mouth when hard boiled. I usually have a container of peeled hard boiled eggs in the fridge for snacking. I deviled about 16 yesterday for dinner and my 7 year old took them to the table. By the time I got there, half the eggs were gone.
My only comment about the eggs is that I'm not used to using them for baking. They are richer than chicken eggs so I prefer to use chicken eggs in cakes.
I don't keep quail for the meat or the eggs. Just the pleasure in keeping them. So one does not need a big reason to keep them.
All this being said, quail being smaller than chickens, you can keep more quail in smaller spaces and should you desire to use them for meat, you can keep incubating the eggs and making a lot of quail quickly.
I am not down playing chickens either, as I also keep chickens and they can offer you more in the friendliness department...getting on your lap, coming running to see you, etc.
So I say go with both of them. I had a hard time with the hubby, convincing him we needed more poulty, having originally started with quail.
But in the end, he doesn't mind either of them and I get to enjoy all these birds!
Good luck!
All this being said, quail being smaller than chickens, you can keep more quail in smaller spaces and should you desire to use them for meat, you can keep incubating the eggs and making a lot of quail quickly.
I am not down playing chickens either, as I also keep chickens and they can offer you more in the friendliness department...getting on your lap, coming running to see you, etc.
So I say go with both of them. I had a hard time with the hubby, convincing him we needed more poulty, having originally started with quail.
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