➡ Quail Hatch Along🥚

[BantyChooks]

Guys I've asked this question in another thread but just in case, I'll post here as well. It is getting cold here and I keep the quails outside. What is the lowest temperature they can live at outside? I don't want to freeze them..
I read 2 articles. One said - minimum 18-19°C = 65°F and the other one said minimum 10°C = 50°F

Coturnix quail? I've had mine outside in weather under -17*C. They all survived. Keep them out of drafts and keep their bedding dry. They should do fine. Note that this is for FULLY mature quail only. Even if they look fully feathered, I think they should be grown out to their full size before experiencing weather like that.

My quail have much more trouble in heat than cold.

 

[CoturnixComplex]

Coturnix quail? I've had mine outside in weather under -17*C. They all survived. Keep them out of drafts and keep their bedding dry. They should do fine. Note that this is for FULLY mature quail only. Even if they look fully feathered, I think they should be grown out to their full size before experiencing weather like that.

My quail have much more trouble in heat than cold.

I'm glad - I chose them because my research indicated I'd be able to move them outside for the winters without trouble at some point. I was going to feel stupid if I was wrong.

You'll be fine @Maiahr ! I second the thing about them being fully grown, though. I had a customer take some of my fully-feathered 3 week olds outside in early spring and they did not do as well as I thought they would Indoor living until ~5-6 weeks except in the summer for me.


Okay, I will be setting eggs the 16th or 17th for sure. Going to be gone for the next few weekends in a row and was about to accidentally schedule a hatch right across one again like a dummy. Phew, avoided!


I'm gone on the weekend of the 21st because I'm picking up a purebred blue Flemish doe up near Redding. I am so excited. She is a brilliant match for him. I had started to give up hope thinking I was going to have to hardcore compromise on what I wanted, and then I lucked out by catching a reserved one where the buyer had backed out at the exact right time. Of course now there is a...five month difference in the ages of my pair? So no babies till next summer.


It's also a good thing my partner and I had already planned to celebrate our five year anniversary a week late already - he's a sweetheart for spending the actual day driving 150 miles to pick up a rabbit.

 

[mixedUPturk]

Coturnix quail? I've had mine outside in weather under -17*C. They all survived. Keep them out of drafts and keep their bedding dry. They should do fine. Note that this is for FULLY mature quail only. Even if they look fully feathered, I think they should be grown out to their full size before experiencing weather like that.

My quail have much more trouble in heat than cold.

I was hoping you would weigh in. Ive been wondering if i should tryn close up my quail cages with plastic. You know i live in the south we battle the heat for all u do with the snow. We had just a handful of days under freezing last year but the year before we had Two Freak snowstorms. Ive seen snow like a handful of times in my whole life and that was a Really Insane winter. Many days it will be 50-70*F. I understand ill have to take precations with the waterers, aside from that though. My coops are all built for serious airflow in our heat. Not one heat stroke all year with indices regularly at 110* no fans just good shade and constant water. Two are compleatly open all the way around, four have solid backs one of those has solid sides and 5 have wire bottoms. Its normal for us to have swings of 50*F in a single day and swings of 70*F in a week isnt uncommon.

 

[BantyChooks]

I'm glad - I chose them because my research indicated I'd be able to move them outside for the winters without trouble at some point. I was going to feel stupid if I was wrong.

You'll be fine @Maiahr ! I second the thing about them being fully grown, though. I had a customer take some of my fully-feathered 3 week olds outside in early spring and they did not do as well as I thought they would Indoor living until ~5-6 weeks except in the summer for me.


Okay, I will be setting eggs the 16th or 17th for sure. Going to be gone for the next few weekends in a row and was about to accidentally schedule a hatch right across one again like a dummy. Phew, avoided!


I'm gone on the weekend of the 21st because I'm picking up a purebred blue Flemish doe up near Redding. I am so excited. She is a brilliant match for him. I had started to give up hope thinking I was going to have to hardcore compromise on what I wanted, and then I lucked out by catching a reserved one where the buyer had backed out at the exact right time. Of course now there is a...five month difference in the ages of my pair? So no babies till next summer.


It's also a good thing my partner and I had already planned to celebrate our five year anniversary a week late already - he's a sweetheart for spending the actual day driving 150 miles to pick up a rabbit.

Agreed, I lost one baby and nearly lost more when I put them outside early. They were fully feathered, and it was barely below freezing, but it was still too much. (The one that died got stuck in a feeder, so it wasn't able to huddle with the others.) I prefer to hatch quail in summer now.

 

[BantyChooks]

I was hoping you would weigh in. Ive been wondering if i should tryn close up my quail cages with plastic. You know i live in the south we battle the heat for all u do with the snow. We had just a handful of days under freezing last year but the year before we had Two Freak snowstorms. Ive seen snow like a handful of times in my whole life and that was a Really Insane winter. Many days it will be 50-70*F. I understand ill have to take precations with the waterers, aside from that though. My coops are all built for serious airflow in our heat. Not one heat stroke all year with indices regularly at 110* no fans just good shade and constant water. Two are compleatly open all the way around, four have solid backs one of those has solid sides and 5 have wire bottoms. Its normal for us to have swings of 50*F in a single day and swings of 70*F in a week isnt uncommon.

My hat is off to you. I'd quit and move back up here within a week.

 

[mixedUPturk]

My hat is off to you. I'd quit and move back up here within a week.

Really its not so bad to me but i couldnt survive in your cold. Id have to male the dh build heated tunnels to any coop

So i guess im in for a long winter of covering and uncovering plastic eh?

 

[BantyChooks]

Really its not so bad to me but i couldnt survive in your cold. Id have to male the dh build heated tunnels to any coop

So i guess im in for a long winter of covering and uncovering plastic eh?

I'm guessing they already have a roof? Honestly, I'd probably not bother with plastic.

 

[Maiahr]

Thank you all about the temperature information! So relieving as I will be moving to live in a flat over the winter and I was wondering if I could keep the quails outside on the balcony.. I am happy now
I am setting up 70 eggs tomorrow (from 2 different suppliers + my own).

 

[Matieus27]

So you have 3-4 batches now, and you will do a staggered hatch? Did you set those that arrived earlier this week?

They were supposed to be here yesterday but they were late. So they get here today the second set is late so they are gonna get here tomorrow the third set gets here tomorrow also so I’m just going to set all on Saturday

 

[el dorado quail]

I actually bought the darn license, wish they'd sent something about a seminar when they sent the paperwork. I think the majority of eggs I sold so far this year were hatching eggs.

You still have to buy the actual license for selling. I think you get some kind of certificate for the workshop tho?