1) Can quail eat chicken feed if I add in more protein?
Adult Quail only need around 18% protein. Much higher and it can make the females struggle to lay or stop laying altogether.
There is game bird feed you can buy that usually contains the amount required for each stage in their lives.
Of course, if you get them as chicks they need much higher protein until they are 6 weeks. Then they should be fed a game bird growers mash until they've reached 'adulthood'.
Pretty much all game bird feeds (the Crumb, Growers Mash and Adult Pellets) contain the right protein levels so you don't have to worry.
However, I highly suggest supplementing their diet with some veggies, seeds, mealworms and grasses once fully grown.
2) I know that you can have 1 male and 3 female, but if I were to do 8 quail, would it be best to have 2 male and 6 female or 1 male 7 female?
Like someone mentioned above, this really all depends on what you are keeping Quail for.
This also depends on each individual male Quail.
Some are tolerant of other males some are not. Some are lazy with mating and some are very selective and will only mate their favourite females. Some take it to extremes and mate them all non stop.
If you want them for breeding/fertile eggs, I'd suggest either 1:3 or preferably 1:4 (male:female ratio).
If you want them just for laying eggs, have either no male and just females alone or have 1:3+.
However, like I said, Quails are very strange little birds and I even have a monogamous pair of Coturnix so the ratio doesn't work in my case!
Also, if you want to keep more than one male in the cage with the females, I'd highly suggest getting brothers. They are less likely to fight each other to the death and tend to see each other as less of a threat. That's not to say brothers wont turn on one another because they sure will if they feel like it.
3) do you suggest hatching quails from eggs, or buying them as chicks?
For a first time owner, I'd personally suggest getting adults that are already in a trio or other acceptable ratio etc.
Then if you want to increase your flock, you can hatch your own chicks.
By buying adults you can also ask the breeders about their care and any other questions you have!
4) I could make an outdoor cage, or have them indoor. We do have wild coyotes that would probably come around the cage quite a bit, especially at night. Would it "spook" the quails, or would it be okay to have the coop outside?
Unfortunately, I don't know about American predators and how to secure cages from them. However, in the UK we do have foxes and rats which are a burden, especially the rats.
Rats are a BIG killer of Quail and they're pretty much meals on wheels for them.
I originally kept my quail in an outdoor aviary, like many others. However, a rat got in one night after chewing through the wood and literally pulled off my Quails head leaving the body.
'Luckily' it was the female that my male didn't pair with.
I then moved my remaining two Quail into a homemade rabbit hutch. It's thick wood, has small space mesh, is on high legs and has a nesting area for them.
For me and where I live it works great. I know of many people using rabbit hutches that have been predator proofed which work great for Quail.
I personally don't like wire bottom cages but some people prefer those.
Quail do shoot up when spooked so it is suggested to add a false roof in their cage with a type of fine hole netting.
As for keeping them indoors, that comes down to if you can cope with them scratching their bedding out their cage onto your floor, making a smell and if you have males, they are noisy during the night!
Have a look on YouTube or some articles on here, there is lots of videos and info on choosing the type of quail you want and the care they require
