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[Oldstyle244]

We have chickens and love them. They are quirky and provide eggs, which we love!

I hunt and really enjoy eating quail, so thinking about raising Bobwhites for meat. I thought I would build a 3 compartment hutch. One would be for my breeders and the other two for the meat birds. There is a source next to me where I can buy Bobwhites. I thought I would buy a male and 4 females for breeders.

Then raise the eggs until they reach eating age. How hard will this be? Seems simple in my head. Eggs show up, drop in an incubator, the ones that hatch move to a brooder, then to the hutch until old enough. Repeat.

But lets say I get 3 eggs a day, can I add 3 eggs to an incubator each day? And they hatch when they hatch (ie a couple each day? Or do I have to add on day one and then be done? What if they hatch while I am at work (never hatched an egg before). What other issues/concerns might I run into?

 

[featheredplanets]

You can add them as they’re laid if you have a separate hatcher, otherwise you’ll have a severely staggered hatch and that can be very difficult. So it is much easier to just hatch an incubator full at a time.

It doesn’t matter if they hatch while you’re away, it’s best not to interfere during the hatching process. As long as you keep on top of incubator care and are aware you may loose chicks or need to cull them, you should be fine.

 

[nchls school]

"Oldstyle244, post: 22178782, member: 556645"]
We have chickens and love them. They are quirky and provide eggs, which we love!

I hunt and really enjoy eating quail, so thinking about raising Bobwhites for meat. I thought I would build a 3 compartment hutch. One would be for my breeders and the other two for the meat birds. There is a source next to me where I can buy Bobwhites. I thought I would buy a male and 4 females for breeders. I do not know how the flavor compares, but you might want to consider raising cortunix quail. They lay far more eggs, hatch in less time, and mature in a matter of weeks, and breed year around.

Then raise the eggs until they reach eating age. How hard will this be? Cortunix are easy to raise. Not sure of Bobwhites. Seems simple in my head. Eggs show up, drop in an incubator, 18 day incubation for cortunix. Bobwhites take 23-25 days; I think. the ones that hatch move to a brooder, then to the hutch until old enough. Cortunix are full size in under 8 weeks. Repeat.

But lets say I get 3 eggs a day, can I add 3 eggs to an incubator each day? And they hatch when they hatch (ie a couple each day? Or do I have to add on day one and then be done? This is better so all the eggs hatch together and the chicks are the same age. Staggered hatches can be difficult in trying to keep the incubator at the right conditions for incubation and hatching. Also, trying to raise chicks of different ages together probably would result in the bigger picking on the smaller. Smaller chicks would not be able to compete with larger chicks for food. What if they hatch while I am at work (never hatched an egg before). Hatched chicks can remain in the incubator for 24 hours. Your working would not be a problem. What other issues/concerns might I run into?
My advice is to do some research into raising quail, start small, and see if this is something you want to continue. Even if you decide on Bobwhites, cortunix would be a good test subject. The eggs are fairly inexpensive, chicks can be raised in a plastic tub with a low wattage bulb for heat, and you can get a 7 egg incubator for under $25. Overall, not much money spent and if you like the "experiment" then go whole hog with all it entails.