California Quail keeping questions

[Hanathehappyhen]

Hi! I’ve had chickens for about 8 years, and have always wanted to try raising quails. I looked into breeds and it seems California quails would be the best for me since I wouldn’t have to worry about introducing a non native species to the wild. I’ve got a couple questions so if you guys could help me that would be great.

1. Do California quails have any homing abilities? I would want them to be able to free range on about 3 acres of grass, trees, and orchard.

2. How disease resistant are they? Would they need medication for worms, respiratory disease etc. ?

3. Could a large flock of quail mix with a small flock of chickens? They wouldn’t live together just free range.

4. I’ve heard all quail like to escape, would they need to be fenced in or would they stay? I like to treat all my animals as pets so I’d hope they would t want to leave.

5. Sorry if this sounds stupid, but would commercial quail food be good to supplement, and how much do they eat?

6. Are the hatching eggs you can get from Meyers hatchery pure California quail or mixed with something to make them tamer?

thank you!

 

[EverythingDucks]

@Nabiki

 

[Nabiki]

I'm going to start by telling you that California quail require a permit to keep in CA. It's not hugely expensive, but you do want to get it first.

1. No, they don't have homing abilities. Free ranging really isn't an option for them. They will disappear.

2. They are as disease resistant as any bird. They probably won't need medication unless you find that they're suffering from a condition, though.

3. Mixing chickens with quail is not a good idea.

4. Yes, quail like to escape, and they will need a completely enclosed pen or aviary. Make sure it's predator proof as well, since everything loves to eat quail.

5. They should be fed game bird crumble. They need more protein than chickens do. Chicks need about 28%, while adults can go down to about 20%.

6. I don't know about the hatchery you mentioned, but I imagine that they'll be pure California quail.

 

[Hanathehappyhen]

I'm going to start by telling you that California quail require a permit to keep in CA. It's not hugely expensive, but you do want to get it first.

1. No, they don't have homing abilities. Free ranging really isn't an option for them. They will disappear.

2. They are as disease resistant as any bird. They probably won't need medication unless you find that they're suffering from a condition, though.

3. Mixing chickens with quail is not a good idea.

4. Yes, quail like to escape, and they will need a completely enclosed pen or aviary. Make sure it's predator proof as well, since everything loves to eat quail.

5. They should be fed game bird crumble. They need more protein than chickens do. Chicks need about 28%, while adults can go down to about 20%.

6. I don't know about the hatchery you mentioned, but I imagine that they'll be pure California quail.

Thank you!

 

[007Sean]

@Nabiki pretty much said it all....nothing to add.

 

[maadroj]

I personally chose valley quail in part because I liked the idea of keeping a native species well-adapted to the local environment vs bringing in more "exotic" (non-native) animals. But even so, you should be careful to avoid letting them escape into the wild. It's probably risky for wild populations to mix with captive-raised birds who may carry new diseases/parasites or genes that are not optimal for survival in the wild. I also keep mine in an aviary for their safety. Pretty much everything would like to eat them.

I do know someone who allows her valley quail to free range part of the day, and she conditioned them to come back to sleep in their coop at night. But I think that requires hand-raising and consistently spending a lot of time with them and maintaining habits. They'll quickly revert to wilder instincts otherwise. I've read that they generally range within their territory in the wild, but it's a very large radius, much, much larger than most people's property. They will also usually hide their eggs under bushes and such, so if your goal is eggs, free ranging will make it more challenging. Also, if your goal is eggs, know they are seasonal layers. Fyi, breeding season can also give rise to aggression.

 

[Quail 66]

I saw a video about "Johnny houses". (I didn't even know they existed) It seems the closest to free ranging but you must be very experienced I think.