Are quail considered poultry? Any egg layers that aren't?

[nico demouse]

My ordinances forbid poultry. We tried getting them changed to allow chickens but it was not successful.

Are quail considered poultry? My thought was since they are game birds, they might work instead? I am looking for a way to be legal but still have an egg laying "pet."

 

[Denninmi]

Quote:
Every law or ordinance should have a definitions section. How does the ordinance itself define poultry?

 

[CopperCT]

Here are some online definitions I found. Most definitions state poultry is a domesticated bird raised for eggs or meat. Quail seem to fall into both definitions...they seem to be game birds when wild but arguably could be poultry if domesticated...so I'm not sure ...not much help....sorry. Looks like pheasants are the same boat. As the definitions I found don't specifically say quail are poultry you might have a pretty good argument for keeping them. In high school I kept a couple of pygmy quail in my room and they were definitely pets. Good luck.

poultry
fowl, poultry - Chickens, ducks, geese, pheasants, and turkey are fowl in the wild and poultry if domesticated.

poultry
domestic fowl, particularly those raised for food or laying eggs.

Noun 1. game bird - any bird (as grouse or pheasant) that is hunted for sport
gallinacean, gallinaceous bird - heavy-bodied largely ground-feeding domestic or game birds
grouse - popular game bird having a plump body and feathered legs and feet
phasianid - a kind of game bird in the family Phasianidae
tinamou, partridge - heavy-bodied small-winged South American game bird resembling a gallinaceous bird but related to the ratite birds
game - animal hunted for food or sport
grouse - flesh of any of various grouse of the family Tetraonidae; usually roasted; flesh too dry to broil
quail - flesh of quail; suitable for roasting or broiling if young; otherwise must be braised
pheasant - flesh of a pheasant; usually braised

 

[chickened]

platapus lays eggs.

 

[calista]

I had kept this interesting link about a quail "farmer" in an urban environment (Fredericton, Canada -- about 50K population) that may give you some ideas:

"Man can keep quail in his backyard". This was the headline, which appeared in Fredericton's Daily Gleaner, Friday, December 18, 1998. That week, Jean Louis Deveau made application to Fredericton's Planning and Advisory Committee (PAC) for a zone amendment to keep 60 adult quail in an aviary in his backyard in a Fredericton residential area. Jean Louis had been keeping various numbers of quail for consumption during the last four years. On December 17, 1997, he was granted a one-year temporary use variance to enable him to keep up to 60 quail. It had been necessary for him to get this variance because quail are not defined as a domestic animal under the zoning by-law for Fredericton and were therefore not permitted in a residential area. This one-year variance expired on December 18th and so Jean Louis applied for a zone amendment to keep these birds on a permanent basis. In order to provide a meal for his family once a month, 60 birds would only last five months as twelve birds are needed per meal. In his application to the city, permission was sought to keep the 60 adult birds and enough young to provide his family with a meal each month.

Article continues at the link...

http://www.cityfarmer.org/quail2.html

 

[nico demouse]

Quote:
Do they have a good feed conversion ratio?

 

[nico demouse]

Quote:
The code book does have a definitions section, but poultry is not defined. It also states that words are to be taken in their "plain, or ordinary and usual sense."

My thought is that the quail are game birds AND they could also be called cage birds as they would be kept in a hutch, that your average code enforcer may not be familiar with their use for eggs/meat and thus I'd be okay.

But I'm really not sure.

 

[Denninmi]

Quote:
My next question is this -- how many quail are you talking about? And, what kind?

Because, if it's just a handful, say 4 or 6, and you are thinking about Coturnix, can you just keep them inside or in a garage or some other place where no one will ever know.

Because, let me tell you, I would have absolutely no qualms about keeping 6 Coturnix in an indoor cage, as long as I was faithful about keeping them clean and used the proper odor-absorbing bedding (in my case, pine shavings or that Yesterday's News work best).

If they were indoors, who would even know, and if they did know, I think the argument could be made that they're pet caged birds.

 

[happyhensny]

I had Zebra Finches that laid eggs, they lived in my house. I COULD have eaten them. (

) Poultry=Finches too!

 

[Denninmi]

Quote:
Now, that would be one TINY omelet.