Breeding Quail

[Petermariah]

I am in the process of hatching quail (48 eggs) all eggs are blue purchased from Alchemist Farms. I’m 24 hrs in from hatch day and I have ten chicks and many more pipped and wiggling eggs. Hoping to hatch at least 50%.

My questions is can I keep a few roosters and breed birds that have come from the same shipment or do I need to cull all of the roosters and get roosters from a different farm?

My goal would be to have about 20 hens and about 4 roosters. I want to sell baby chicks at a farmers market but I’m worried about inbreeding.

I don’t plan to keep them in little cages. I want to keep them in a large run where they can be on the ground all together in a more natural environment.

 

[SpotTheCat]

I am in the process of hatching quail (48 eggs) all eggs are blue purchased from Alchemist Farms. I’m 24 hrs in from hatch day and I have ten chicks and many more pipped and wiggling eggs. Hoping to hatch at least 50%.

My questions is can I keep a few roosters and breed birds that have come from the same shipment or do I need to cull all of the roosters and get roosters from a different farm?

My goal would be to have about 20 hens and about 4 roosters. I want to sell baby chicks at a farmers market but I’m worried about inbreeding.

I don’t plan to keep them in little cages. I want to keep them in a large run where they can be on the ground all together in a more natural environment.

it should be fine line breeding is common in animals, as long as they aren’t siblings so exact same parents they are probably fine to breed together.
Will you be keeping and hatching from them or just selling their chicks?

 

[NY Coturnix]

There are people on here who know way more quail genetics than I do but my understanding is that you should be fine. If you get several generations down the road you should probably look at adding some new blood but I think you're fine.

 

[Petermariah]

I’m going to try selling chicks that are a few weeks old and ready to go outside so people don’t have to brood them. I’m not sure yet how well that will go at the farmers market. It’s going to be an experiment. No one around here sells them so I’m hoping they will be a hit. I think I can probably sell them for $7-$8 each.

I seem to be getting a really good variety of colors from this hatch so far. Already quite a few tuxedo pattern which are my favorite. Also Standard brown, scarlet, and Italian.

 

[SpotTheCat]

I’m going to try selling chicks that are a few weeks old and ready to go outside so people don’t have to brood them. I’m not sure yet how well that will go at the farmers market. It’s going to be an experiment. No one around here sells them so I’m hoping they will be a hit. I think I can probably sell them for $7-$8 each.

I seem to be getting a really good variety of colors from this hatch so far. Already quite a few tuxedo pattern which are my favorite. Also Standard brown, scarlet, and Italian.

if you have a variation in colours then I doubt they are all very closely related, try to keep a male who is not the same colour as the females you then have a higher chance of them not being related.

 

[FloorCandy]

I am in the process of hatching quail (48 eggs) all eggs are blue purchased from Alchemist Farms. I’m 24 hrs in from hatch day and I have ten chicks and many more pipped and wiggling eggs. Hoping to hatch at least 50%.

My questions is can I keep a few roosters and breed birds that have come from the same shipment or do I need to cull all of the roosters and get roosters from a different farm?

My goal would be to have about 20 hens and about 4 roosters. I want to sell baby chicks at a farmers market but I’m worried about inbreeding.

I don’t plan to keep them in little cages. I want to keep them in a large run where they can be on the ground all together in a more natural environment.

I would keep diversely colored males so you have a variety of different genes in play, and after a couple years, consider bringing in new blood.