getting first quail on Sat - advice please

[Kim_NC]

DH & I made arrangements to pick-up 20 Jumbo Brown Coturnix Quail chicks this Sat afternoon. They were hatched on March 9th. The guy wants $1.50 ea for them. That seemed reasonable to me...but I only wheel & deal chickens and turkeys thus far. What do you quail growers say about that price?

Any advice for a first time quail grower? Comments on these plans?...
- starting out with them in a brooder/cage set-up with a red heat lamp, inside a coop.
- have 24% chick starter on hand that I'm feeding to other young poultry. Bag says that's OK for quail...is it?
- typical chicken peep waterer OK? (the red plastic base type that fits a mason jar) I was thinking of adding marbles to prevent drowning.

ETA: And at what age are quail old enough for treats? Are they omnivores like chickens, or???

 

[byoung14ever]

Price sounds good to me. I feed mine gamebird feed but at 24% it should be fine. I gave my chicks wax worms,bee moth at a week and they love them. They also love cucumbers and broccoli. I give mine stuff out of my garden all the time and I don't think you can give treats to soon. Have fun with them. I have about 30 and the are fun to watch and listen to. Definitely use marbles in the waterer. They drown easy the first couple weeks.

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

If they have some females mixed in, it's a great deal!

Brooder and other sounds good, the feed is good, but I would get a quail waterer; I worry about them drowning in the big one. It might be worth $2.00 to get one if you save one's life.

Have fun! They'll start pumping out eggs in 6 weeks, and just won't stop! (It's harder to get them to STOP laying than it is to get them to START!!!)

 

[kbeagle]

i don't any marbles, can i use rocks.

 

[Kim_NC]

Thanks for the help. OK...will be at Tractor Supply before Sat and will get a quail waterer.

The chicks are staright run, so we should have both sexes.

How much space per bird when mature? And hen to roo ratio?

 

[jenjscott]

One square foot per bird, and one rooster to about 5 hens.

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
Price is a regional thing, $1.50 a chick for 20 chicks would be high here in Florida, but may be reasonable where you are.

You said you planned to keep them in a brooder in a coup? Not in your chicken coup I hope... chickens are carriers of many avian diseases that will wipe out your quail population in short order.

24% chcik starter is not very good for quail babies, as it is formulated for chickens, not gamebirds--- gamebirds have differing nutritional requirements( And yes i know that statement will bring out all the nay-sayers...) For optimal health the need a gamebird formula-- the difference is more than just protien content it also includes the type of protien that they need as not all types are readily available for absorption within their digestive tract. Chicken feed can cause either diarrhea which leads to pasty butt and death if not corrected, or may cause constipation which also leads to death- depending on the formulation of your particular chick starter formula and the individual quial eating it.

A quail waterer is easiest true, but regular water font with rocks/ pebbles/ marbles works well too.

when mature a good rule of thunb is 1 sq ft/ bird, tho many will tolerate much less space and do fine provided your sex ratio is correct.

Sex ratio on these guys is best as 1 roo per 4 or 5 hens. less hens= hens getting beat up by overbreeding/ more hens= your fertility may drop a little

 

[Kim_NC]

Quote:
Price is a regional thing, $1.50 a chick for 20 chicks would be high here in Florida, but may be reasonable where you are.

You said you planned to keep them in a brooder in a coup? Not in your chicken coup I hope... chickens are carriers of many avian diseases that will wipe out your quail population in short order.

24% chcik starter is not very good for quail babies, as it is formulated for chickens, not gamebirds--- gamebirds have differing nutritional requirements( And yes i know that statement will bring out all the nay-sayers...) For optimal health the need a gamebird formula-- the difference is more than just protien content it also includes the type of protien that they need as not all types are readily available for absorption within their digestive tract. Chicken feed can cause either diarrhea which leads to pasty butt and death if not corrected, or may cause constipation which also leads to death- depending on the formulation of your particular chick starter formula and the individual quial eating it.

A quail waterer is easiest true, but regular water font with rocks/ pebbles/ marbles works well too.

when mature a good rule of thunb is 1 sq ft/ bird, tho many will tolerate much less space and do fine provided your sex ratio is correct.

Sex ratio on these guys is best as 1 roo per 4 or 5 hens. less hens= hens getting beat up by overbreeding/ more hens= your fertility may drop a little

The brooder is in a separate coop. We have several other chicken coops and breeding pens.

It's a 24% game bird starter - bag mentions quai,l chukar, turkey, pheasants on the label, but not chickens. I asked because I've also seen game starter at 28% - so I was wondering which is actually appropriate.

Thanks for the info on sex ratio and sq footage.

 

[arbucklemurphy]

we just ordered some texas a&m egg's for our incubator. So I'm curious as well about the feed I need to ask for game bird starter? Also can I get a quail waterer at most feed stores?

 

[Outbackhill Kennels]

As far as ratio I use 1 males to every 4 females. BUT you have to keep an eye on certain males. I currently have one male that cannot have another male in the pen no matter how big or how many hens he will seek and destroy and he is awful rough on hens. Needless to say he is going to be replaced very soon.

They're tremendous fun to breed and are very sociable birds to have. My only Texas A&M is hand tame and I never tried to get her like that. And there are a lot of cool colors out there. Good luck with them and enjoy.