Common/European Quail vs Coturnix/Japanese Quail

[Quailgenes]

How easy would it be to get these in the US and are some domesticated? They don't seem endangered as bad as the Japanese ones so could you get birds with more wild instincts?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_quail

http://www.quailfarm.co.uk/index.ph...il-breeds/18-european-quail-coturnix-coturnix
Has a list of the subspecies

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/factsheet/22678944


Japanese Quail

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_quail

 

[dc3085]

Theyre just coturnix quail and theyre quite easy to come by. Coturnix coturnix are essentially the same thing as coturnix japonica and theyve been in the US for 75 years or so. They are one of the longest domesticated species of fowl there is, theyve been domesticated for no less than 1000 years and some evidence suggests as many four thousand.

Most of the coturnix in europe are release birds and much of that population is crossed with japanese quail whixh is why i say theyre essentially the same.

As for importing wild caught gentics, no offense, but you couldnt afford it. No regular person could. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars to get just a box of eggs through customs depending on where it comes from. If the box gets xrayed you can expect around 1-2% hatch rate if any hatch at all and it will get xrayed probably multiple times.

 

[Quailgenes]

Yeah a straight but detailed answer thank you very much for that. I read about them releasing hybrids(I'm going to take the stance they are very closely related species but still different). I''m curious how do these released birds fair? I'm assuming they can brood their own eggs and here is a surviving populations or is how the US breeding program for Bobwhites ending up here? I like reading about the wild and domestic sources of any animal I study so any info is appreciated.

 

[jak2002003]

They are basically the same species... the wild common quail and the domesticated Japanese quail.

The domesticated ones are bigger, lay more eggs and have lost a lot of their natural instincts.. they also can not fly very well.. and will not be able to migrate!!

The common quail in Europe is hunted a lot.. and its population is declining. Some countries make hybrid quail with the domesticated X wild ones and release them into the wild to boost the hunting sport.

I think this is very wrong.. as they are not tackling the reason the wild birds are declining.. and the hybrids may interbreed with the natural ones.. resulting in even more damage to the wild population.

Don't worry about the domesticated ones not brooding their eggs. If you keep them in a natural setting with lots of plants and cover.. and only keep a pair. or a male with 2 females... they will go broody and raise their own chicks. Mine have many times... even the white ones! And I also have read about lots more people who have had domesticated quail rear their own young. Lots of stuff on You Tube.

They will not go broody and make a nest in a commercial quail cage... its just to stressful for them and totally unnatural.