I am getting some coturnix quail and this is the first I am keeping quail and have lots of questions so please answer 1-how many eggs do they lay? 2-is it possible to tell their age or if they are young? 3-can they be free ranged? 4-i know it's rare for them to go broody but can you encourage them to brood? 5-do they get snakes? 6-how long do they live?
Thanks for answering my questions but I see you didnt know 5, I read that if your careful and clipped the wings or even tie a long shoe lace to one of their legs you can free range them but I'd don't see tying the is free as for age I am getting big layers not small chicks
1, After they are 7-8 weeks old, they'll lay an egg a day if they have at least 12 hours of light. 2. At 3.5 weeks I think I can tell my brown hens from cocks, but time will tell. You can sex them by watching them when they're 4-6 weeks old. 3. No, best not to, but you can put them in cages with bottoms and move them around. 4. You can try, but you're most often better off incubating. 5. Will snakes kill them? Yes, but 1/2" hardware cloth will protect them. Do they have a cosmic understanding of snakes? I don't know; smoke some weed with them and ask. Otherwise, I'm not sure what you're asking. 6. 3-6 years, but they taste best at 6-8 weeks or at 8 months if you want them to lay eggs for you.
Same answers...only as confirmation 1 - I get about 6 eggs/week/quail 2 - Unless they are under 4 weeks or so, it's difficult to age mid-range quail 3 - Never heard of the string idea. Quail feet are very fragile...sounds like a bad idea to me. 4 - Everything I've read is that broodiness has been bred out of Coturnix. I use a roll-out for the eggs. 5 - No problem with snakes and 1/2 hardware cloth 6 - Depends on feed, living conditions, and whether you provide additional light to promote year-round laying.
thanks guys for the answers what feed do you feed them can I make there home to look like the wild to go broody and feel at home?
Have any of you had a coturnix go broody I just like hens going broody like chicken ducks and other I hate incubator hatching I was reading a thread that says tall grass makes them broody and free ranged and they just come back to the coop
Not to be rude, and it will sound like I am, youre trying to reinvent a wheel that many hundreds if not thousands of people have failed to. Coturnix will not go broody with any reliable frequency. Some will just because of the sheer mathematical possibility but its not something any keeper can rely on or predict,
ya dc3085 is correct, it is almost impossible to make coturnix go broody. i have tried like 1000000000 times.
