First time bobwhite quail

[mdees88]

Bob's and coturnix are at two separate ends of the quail spectrum. Bob's take 15-16 weeks to mature and typically start laying around 24 weeks but they lay in the spring so it can take over a year for them to start laying. It is recommended to have around 4 Sq ft per bird.

They can be kept in large groups during the off season or before they are sexually mature but during the breeding season the need to be kept 1 male to 1 female or you will need to have a HUGE cage for them. I had 1 male and 3 females in a 6 Sq ft cage. All was well for several weeks and then one day I go outside and 1 hen had practically killed the other 2. They were covered in blood and completely scalped.

Bob's are a pretty poor choice of bird to raise for meat and eggs IMO. Coturnix mature in 6 weeks and are laying by 8 weeks and can be kept 1 male to 4-5 females. Also the jumbo pharaohs get way bigger than a standard bob.

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Bob's and coturnix are at two separate ends of the quail spectrum. Bob's take 15-16 weeks to mature and typically start laying around 24 weeks but they lay in the spring so it can take much longer than 24 weeks for them to start laying . It is recommended to have around 4 Sq ft per bird.

They can be kept in large groups during the off season or before they are sexually mature but during the breeding season the need to be kept 1 male to 1 female or you will need to have a HUGE cage for them. I had 1 male and 3 females in a 6 Sq ft cage. All was well for several weeks and then one day I go outside and 1 hen had practically killed the other 2. They were covered in blood and completely scalped.

Bob's are a pretty poor choice of bird to raise for meat and eggs IMO. Coturnix mature in 6 weeks and are laying by 8 weeks and can be kept 1 male to 4-5 females. Also the jumbo pharaohs get way bigger than a standard bob.

x2

 

[Diamond Dan]

Good points at that age they won't start laying till next spring. They cant be crowded in any way when mature. or its gonna be a blood bath. during winter they will live as a group as long as they know each other. but during spring when the breeding kicks in they will fight and have to be separated in pairs or kept in a large pen with lots of escape and hiding places or else its the Donner Party Quail edition. even all male pens will fight during spring. They are not prolific egg layers just seasonal. they taste better i think. wouldnt keep a whole lot of BOBS unless you got plenty of room. I got 15 birds from 3 bloodlines and keep in 2 pens. i love the eggs and cull out undesirable roos and i am working on matching big roos with big hens for possibly bigger chicks next year. Also males will develop a what face around 4 months the females will turn golden.

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Good points at that age they won't start laying till next spring. They cant be crowded in any way when mature. or its gonna be a blood bath. during winter they will live as a group as long as they know each other. but during spring when the breeding kicks in they will fight and have to be separated in pairs or kept in a large pen with lots of escape and hiding places or else its the Donner Party Quail edition. even all male pens will fight during spring. They are not prolific egg layers just seasonal. they taste better i think. wouldnt keep a whole lot of BOBS unless you got plenty of room. I got 15 birds from 3 bloodlines and keep in 2 pens. i love the eggs and cull out undesirabel roos and i am working on matching big roos with big hens for possibly bigger chicks next year

 

[eastendquail]

So I got some bobwhite quail instead of my coturnix quail i intended on getting so I'm not as familiar with them. They are 3 weeks old and pretty big already. When do they start laying eggs? When can they get moved from Brooder to outside? I heard they are seasonal layers when is their season? Plus how much space will they need full grown? Sorry for all the questions i want to make sure they are getting adequate care!

Hi! I know this post is a bit old but I thought I might have some useful information. I have 14 bobwhite quail that I hatched out on my own (10 months old, 8 females, 6 males) and I also have successfully incubated and hatched some of their eggs. I currently have 12 of their babies all around a week old with more on the way My first generation hatched mid-August 2017 and started laying mid-April 2018 and they are still laying consistently. Also as I was starting out I was frightened by all the cannibalism talk so since day 1 I've kept them with ample space. The 14 adults share a 10'x4' house attached to a 10'x8' outdoor enclosure, at night they are locked inside. Additionally when mating season rolled around (and is still upon us lol) I didn't have to separate them into pairs, I've kept all 14 housed together with minimal violence! I don't want to keep rambling on but feel free to message me with questions