Breeding quail for money

[Littleanimalcollector]

Hi, so, my mom got some coturnix quail for us to eat the males and breed to rest for more meat and I got to keep a mean one as a pet. Her name is Irene, and we also have an anomaly Texas A&M male named Shane. I know mean quail aren’t good breeding stock, but do you think I could use them as the first pair? Also, have much do quail chicks usually sell for and how much profit is that if I take off the price of food and starting fees? If anyone has anything I haven’t thought to ask, feel free to add more info. Thanks!

 

[ABBandit]

You could maybe try and breed those two. I've personally never had an aggressive quail in my flock and that's just out of the hundreds that I've hatched.

Believe it or not, everything else you can look up online! It all comes down to feed costs and conversion rates. I believe there are formulas online to help you calculate costs and maybe other places that get really in-depth on how to set prices.

 

[Nabiki]

Be aware that if you try to keep them as a pair, your poor girl is likely to be overbred. Coturnix quail are better in a 1 male to 3-5 female ratio.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Honestly, I don't like mean quail. I've had ones kill for no known reason (adequet food, space, ratios) and that's including mean females.

Also I have found NO profit here. Might just be my location, but I can't even give birds, chicks or eggs away any more. Even for eating

 

[Quailobsessed]

Most people keep their males with 3-5 females. I do keep pairs of japanese quails, but they don't overbreed their mates. I can't say for your ones.

 

[Littleanimalcollector]

Most people keep their males with 3-5 females. I do keep pairs of japanese quails, but they don't overbreed their mates. I can't say for your ones.

Would it be better if I separated them if I didn’t want them to breed? I’d have to keep them together for a little while, but I’ve found a guinea pig cage with a divider with a door it it so I can open it when I want them to interact or breed and close it when I don’t.

 

[Littleanimalcollector]

You could maybe try and breed those two. I've personally never had an aggressive quail in my flock and that's just out of the hundreds that I've hatched.

Believe it or not, everything else you can look up online! It all comes down to feed costs and conversion rates. I believe there are formulas online to help you calculate costs and maybe other places that get really in-depth on how to set prices.

What would I search for to find one of the converters?

 

[Nabiki]

Would it be better if I separated them if I didn’t want them to breed? I’d have to keep them together for a little while, but I’ve found a guinea pig cage with a divider with a door it it so I can open it when I want them to interact or breed and close it when I don’t.

Separating will keep them from breeding, but remember that quail are social creatures. They're not happy alone.

What would I search for to find one of the converters?

I keep a spread sheet. I list debits (expenses) in one column and credits (sales) in another. I include everything in the debit side including feed, toys, pens, fly bait, etc.

I'm slightly in the black for this year, but I'm just a back yard breeder and I'm happy that they're paying for themselves.

 

[FloorCandy]

Keeping quail is kind of a hobby and stress reliever for me. My family loves the eggs, and I enjoy trying new cooking recipes and ideas. If I try, I feel like I can probably keep them earning their meals, but it’ll take forever, if at all to equal the housing costs, the incubator, shelf liner, distilled water, brooder plate, feeders/waterers etc. But previously we had hamsters, and they produced $0 and cost us a bunch, but we loved and enjoyed them. So I don’t mind some start up costs for something that brings us all joy, but realistically you can maybe hope to break even, and if you make some extra, that’s great and it will be a pleasant surprise.

 

[Quailobsessed]

Would it be better if I separated them if I didn’t want them to breed? I’d have to keep them together for a little while, but I’ve found a guinea pig cage with a divider with a door it it so I can open it when I want them to interact or breed and close it when I don’t.

Do you mean you don't want them to mate, or you don't want them to hatch eggs? If you leave them together, unless they go broody (which isn't super common), they can't hatch eggs.