getting quail eggs for 1st time lots of questions to start off.

[tuesdays chicks]

Hi all, please be patient with me, I'm getting some quail eggs with a batch of chicken eggs to incubate, and I don't want to bug the person sending them so I'll try to ask my questions in 1 go. I would like to know the big NO NO's before I make a mistake. and some things I'm confused about.
1) chickens and quails don't mix.. a) because of aggression of chickens. b) because chickens can pass on illness to quails. ..correct? c) if this isn't all correct could a broody bantam chicken hen hatch quail eggs and would she raise them?
2) a) can I use an old chicken coop for my quail if I clean and disinfect it, it has 1/4" wire in bottom? b) same with run? If I can use these for my quail they were designed for 2 standard chickens in mind (haha I got the fever) the coop is 9 sq ft, the run is 16 sq ft, if you were me would you keep the breeders in the coop and the ones you planned on culling in the run?
3) I notice everyone has the quail on wire I understand its because of amonia thats why I built my 1st chicken coop with wire. the question here is why if the birds are field birds they aren't kept in a run on the grass?
4) a) I live in florida I'm wondering how cold they could stand before they need to be covered? b) do you cover them every night?
5) if a predator came lurking up to their pens would they die of fright? I ask this because when I was a child I had finches literally scared to death by a cat.
6) do quail go broody often or do you need to incubate all eggs you want to hatch?
7) do you worm quail? or is that 1 of the reasons you keep them on wire?
thank you all for any advise, I'm sure I'll think of more questions, but I'm so excited now.

 

[xxSonja]

Ok firstly, what type of quail are we talking bout?
The answers might differ from species to species.

 

[tuesdays chicks]

Cortunix mostly. The breeds are Manchuren and Jumbo Brown, and maybe a few bob white not sure what will come and can you keep them mixed?

 

[mhwc56]

Quote:
The Manchurians and the Jumbos are NOT separate breeds, BOTH are Coturnix .
Jumbo Browns are the larger size version of the Pharoah or wild type Coturnix.
Manchurian is a golden color and can be either standard size or Jumbo size .
Jumbo only signifies size of the adult bird ,nothing else. They are still Coturnix .

If you put Bobwhites with your Coturnix they may interbreed ( called a "Bob-bird") . The problem with that is that Bob-birds are supposedly infertile . Plus they will take longer to mature,and i don't know what all else the drawbacks are to having them interbreed .

You are correct about chicken and quail not being housed together for the reasons you stated.

i'm pretty sure you can use the old chicken coop if it's well disinfected.

Bobwhite can be kept on grass and i think some people keep Coturnix that way too.Just be careful about wire size as predators can pull a quail's head or eet/legs through 1" wire and apparently quail are a favorite food of many critters.

What do you mean when you talk about covering them? They should ALL have access to sufficient shelter and protection from the weather no matter where you live or what time of the year it is.

i don't know about Bobwhite but Coturnix wont be scared to death by another animal walking by their cage. maybe if said animal..say as an example ,a dog, were to bark and lunge and chase around the pen it could happen certainly.

Coturnix occasionally will go broody but generally speaking NO ,they don't and the eggs have to be incubated.
I think Bobwhites are more apt to go broody.
Hope this helps to answer your questions..

 

[tuesdays chicks]

when I say covering I mean say a tarp to keep the cold out, the coop I have is no problem its a coop, but the run has 4 open sides and a top to protect from rain and sun, I don't know the minimum temp for adult birds before they need protection from cold.

 

[Stellar]

1) chickens and quails don't mix.. a) because of aggression of chickens. b) because chickens can pass on illness to quails. ..correct? c) if this isn't all correct could a broody bantam chicken hen hatch quail eggs and would she raise them?

Chickens carry diseases detrimental to quail. It is best to incubate eggs yourself.

2) a) can I use an old chicken coop for my quail if I clean and disinfect it, it has 1/4" wire in bottom? b) same with run? If I can use these for my quail they were designed for 2 standard chickens in mind (haha I got the fever) the coop is 9 sq ft, the run is 16 sq ft, if you were me would you keep the breeders in the coop and the ones you planned on culling in the run?

That can work. Watch out for predators though. Florida is known to have many, believe me

3) I notice everyone has the quail on wire I understand its because of amonia thats why I built my 1st chicken coop with wire. the question here is why if the birds are field birds they aren't kept in a run on the grass?

Keeps eggs cleaner and away from bacteria.

4) a) I live in florida I'm wondering how cold they could stand before they need to be covered? b) do you cover them every night?

I house my Coturnix indoors in a barn/garage. I live in Florida. I do supply heat lamps when the time comes. They are cold hardy but we get frost here in Fort Myers, FL so I prepare for cold

Tarps will keep from wind/rain to come in. OH! Think about the rainy season too. That is another reason for no ground dwelling with my birds...other than the chickens of course.

5) if a predator came lurking up to their pens would they die of fright? I ask this because when I was a child I had finches literally scared to death by a cat.

THey don't literally die of fright, but they are known to be grabbed easily. They jump up when startled so they can injure themselves that way too.

6) do quail go broody often or do you need to incubate all eggs you want to hatch?

Quail do go broody but VERY RARE. Incubating eggs you want to hatch is recommended

7) do you worm quail? or is that 1 of the reasons you keep them on wire?

Apple cider vinegar, few drops in the water once a month, natural and safe. I don't have worm problems but you never know.

thank you all for any advise, I'm sure I'll think of more questions, but I'm so excited now.

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:

 

[tuesdays chicks]

thank you all for the replies, more questions these about incubation. is the process for incubation the same as chichen eggs temp wise and lockdown I realise some dont take as long to hatch so if I wanted to hatch them all I would have to add the quicker hatching a few days later right? and I know that ultimately you should hatch a fertilised chicken egg within 2 weeks of lay, is it the same with quail or is the time longer /shorter?