Coturnix Quail Basics- Information and Pictures Galore

[Cknldy]

With so many quail that hatch at once how can I be sure that I am not inbreeding too far if only one supplier is available? I can ask where the seller got their stock but that still leaves me with buy say, 15 quail (or hatch a mess of eggs) from the one person and I would end up breeding possible brothers and sisters if I wanted to hatch from what was bought. I think about this when selling/buying chickens but it is always the first thing that comes to mind when selling/buying straight run- knowing if chicks are wanted then possibility of inbreeding doesn't seem to cross minds. How to get around this?

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

With so many quail that hatch at once how can I be sure that I am not inbreeding too far if only one supplier is available? I can ask where the seller got their stock but that still leaves me with buy say, 15 quail (or hatch a mess of eggs) from the one person and I would end up breeding possible brothers and sisters if I wanted to hatch from what was bought. I think about this when selling/buying chickens but it is always the first thing that comes to mind when selling/buying straight run- knowing if chicks are wanted then possibility of inbreeding doesn't seem to cross minds. How to get around this?

You just need to pick the birds that are most hardy, healthy and big.
I have a few over a year old I am really pleased with.
Inbreeding and interbreeding is valuable to keep the traits most important.

 

[dutchbunny83]

I feel like I should be having eggs by now....
I check their pen everyday and nothing.
We processed them all at about 5 1/2 weeks since they were getting overcrowded & kept 5 girls for layers.
Now they're 9 weeks old and still no eggs.
I know it's just now starting to be Spring, but I had heard Coturnix should lay around 6 weeks is this wrong info?

 

[WV Farm girl]

My quail are 1.5yrs old now. I haven't had eggs since Nov and really haven't been too worried cause of the cold weather we've been having. However I'm starting to worry. Are they too old to lay? I'm planning on buying Jumbo eggs to incubate so I'm mainly interested in eggs to eat out of my current girls. Also I haven't seen any breeding behavior at all in my 2 males. (5hens to 2males). I'm feeding 24% game bird. Will I get eggs this spring or am I wasting my money and time with old birds?

 

[dutchbunny83]

I heard you only get a year of laying out of quail. At the end of the year they should all be processed and replaced.
But this is what I was told, I've only had quail for 9 weeks...

 

[ggschulz]

My quail are 1.5yrs old now. I haven't had eggs since Nov and really haven't been too worried cause of the cold weather we've been having. However I'm starting to worry. Are they too old to lay? I'm planning on buying Jumbo eggs to incubate so I'm mainly interested in eggs to eat out of my current girls. Also I haven't seen any breeding behavior at all in my 2 males. (5hens to 2males). I'm feeding 24% game bird. Will I get eggs this spring or am I wasting my money and time with old birds?

Do you have lights on them to get 14 hours of light? Year and a half is up there, but not ridiculously old. Probably just a factor of the weather, in my opinion, but I would start making plans to replace them after this spring for sure.

 

[teradragon]

how much light are your quail getting? Are they stressed?

 

[WV Farm girl]

I'm sure it's a combo right now of lights and weather. I'm using small solar lights on them but they are not getting a reliable 14 hrs currently.
My concern is will they pick up as the days increase in length?
They don't seen to be stressed. I know my cage is a little small (24"x24") but there is no fussing or feuding. When we get moved I'm planning on getting another cage. I also plan on hatching more out late this summer but I wld like to get some eggs out of these to at least justify having them until then.

 

[VickieB57]

I would encourage you to keep a light on them in the evening. They need 14 hours of light a day. I've kept the light on mine through the winter and their laying has not slowed down.

 

[robdogtn]

Someone had posted question about getting eggs and then wonder about pens later. I made this which has had as many as 108 adult quail in it at one time. Yes it was crowded. I was designing to use 1 sheet of plywood. The dims are 3' wide and 7' long. I have it to where I can slide a plywood divider and make 3 sections. One end has plywood cover and has heat lamb in end. I use it for brooder til they get so big, then open up another section. I have 1/2" wire for floor and 1"x2" wire for top in wood frame. I wired lamp to light switch so I can plug it up and flip switch as needed. I use a 4 gallon jug for water and use nipple waterers. I have 2 gqf plastic feeders that hold about 5 lb of feed each.

Works great. I made a brooder out of 100 qt tupperware tub with 1" hole in top and heat lamp in one end on a dimmer switch to control heat. I use doggy pee pads in bottom to absorb urine and use shavings. It works great til about 2 weeks when I move them to the above setup.

Both are very cheap, easy to clean. I have since purchased 3 large black tub from Lowe's to put under the plywood unit to catch the crap for easy removal to compost pile. I swapped size of tubs at last moment and my pen isn't long enough for 4 tubs, so next one will be a tad longer.