- Thread starter
- #11
- Feb 8, 2011
- 1,183
- 32
- 139
ugg ill go put a light on them i realy want eggs
got my quail yay!!!
- Thread starter HatchingFever
- Start date
Fair Warning... You Have Just Acquired These Quail... They Are The Lovers Of Perpetual Sameness. In Moving Them You Have Upset That... It Will Likely Be A While Before You Get Eggs Light Or Not..... So Dont Hold Your Breath
- Jul 14, 2010
- 3,577
- 29
- 181
First, you should have learned about this type of bird before acquiring them. It is not responsible to get animals that you know nothing about caring for.
Since you have already acquired them, you need to start reading.
If you have coturnix, Quail Lady's site is a good brief place to start. http://www.stellargamebirds.com/resources.html Read the tab that says coturnix, if that's the type you have.
Then, start reading this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=102281
When you have done that, come back and start reading more threads in this section. A lot of basic questions are answered regularly, so you should find answers to common questions very easily (like what the birds need to eat).
Quick summary of some important things, though:
1) Coturnix must have good predator protection. They have very little defense. They must be in a fully enclosed pen, preferably off the ground. Poultry wire is not sufficient. Predators will reach through and kill them. Hardware wire is better. If off the ground, make sure attacks cannot come from UNDER the pen. Inside a garage or other temperature appropriate building is fine, but they will need supplemental light.
2) Fresh water must be available all the time.
3) Food -- Minimum of 24% protein, unmedicated, game bird feed. Higher protein is better. Purina sells an unmedicated game bird starter (Startena) that is 30% protein. Verify that it is unmedicated. It is not available everywhere. There are medicated varieties, as well, and you don't want that. If you can't get feed with this high of protein, buy soybean meal and give some of that, as well. Look here for threads that explain how to calculate this.
4) Treats are not needed. Until you know more about your birds, avoid them.
5) Supplemental grit is good for all birds but less critical if feeding only crumbles. If feeding anything else it is mandatory.
6) Calcium additives, like oyster shell, are not a bad thing but are not as important for quail as they are for chickens. They are not needed for birds that will have a short life, but may be of some use to birds that you intend to keep long term (long term layers, for example). I have found it beneficial for one pen of my older birds.
7) Do not incubate any eggs until you learn how to care for the birds you have now.
8) Keep them away from chickens. Chickens can carry diseases that do not make them sick but kill quail.
9) You must give 14 hours of light per day if you want them to lay eggs. This light is also necessary for the males to be fertile.
10) One male coturnix to several females. You need an absolute MINIMUM of 3 or 4 females with a male. More are better. 3 is on the low end and he's likely to tear them up a bit. Do not house multiple males together unless in a very large pen with LOTS of females. Even then, keep this ratio. Otherwise, the males will kill each other, or at the least, hurt each other very badly.
11) The only way to make the males shut up is to kill them. So, don't even try. Complete darkness for the overnight hours helps them be quieter at night. However, they still might crow now and then, just as chicken roosters will crow every now and then at night. If coturnix males crowing ends up bothering you then this is not the species for you.
Since you have already acquired them, you need to start reading.
If you have coturnix, Quail Lady's site is a good brief place to start. http://www.stellargamebirds.com/resources.html Read the tab that says coturnix, if that's the type you have.
Then, start reading this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=102281
When you have done that, come back and start reading more threads in this section. A lot of basic questions are answered regularly, so you should find answers to common questions very easily (like what the birds need to eat).
Quick summary of some important things, though:
1) Coturnix must have good predator protection. They have very little defense. They must be in a fully enclosed pen, preferably off the ground. Poultry wire is not sufficient. Predators will reach through and kill them. Hardware wire is better. If off the ground, make sure attacks cannot come from UNDER the pen. Inside a garage or other temperature appropriate building is fine, but they will need supplemental light.
2) Fresh water must be available all the time.
3) Food -- Minimum of 24% protein, unmedicated, game bird feed. Higher protein is better. Purina sells an unmedicated game bird starter (Startena) that is 30% protein. Verify that it is unmedicated. It is not available everywhere. There are medicated varieties, as well, and you don't want that. If you can't get feed with this high of protein, buy soybean meal and give some of that, as well. Look here for threads that explain how to calculate this.
4) Treats are not needed. Until you know more about your birds, avoid them.
5) Supplemental grit is good for all birds but less critical if feeding only crumbles. If feeding anything else it is mandatory.
6) Calcium additives, like oyster shell, are not a bad thing but are not as important for quail as they are for chickens. They are not needed for birds that will have a short life, but may be of some use to birds that you intend to keep long term (long term layers, for example). I have found it beneficial for one pen of my older birds.
7) Do not incubate any eggs until you learn how to care for the birds you have now.
8) Keep them away from chickens. Chickens can carry diseases that do not make them sick but kill quail.
9) You must give 14 hours of light per day if you want them to lay eggs. This light is also necessary for the males to be fertile.
10) One male coturnix to several females. You need an absolute MINIMUM of 3 or 4 females with a male. More are better. 3 is on the low end and he's likely to tear them up a bit. Do not house multiple males together unless in a very large pen with LOTS of females. Even then, keep this ratio. Otherwise, the males will kill each other, or at the least, hurt each other very badly.
11) The only way to make the males shut up is to kill them. So, don't even try. Complete darkness for the overnight hours helps them be quieter at night. However, they still might crow now and then, just as chicken roosters will crow every now and then at night. If coturnix males crowing ends up bothering you then this is not the species for you.
Quote:
- Thread starter
- #15
- Feb 8, 2011
- 1,183
- 32
- 139
cant i just keep females?
Quote:
if you do its not likely you will get any eggs... for some reason they don't lay well if there is no male around...
if you do its not likely you will get any eggs... for some reason they don't lay well if there is no male around...
They lay fine without males, if not I wouldn't have a pen full of hens that layed eggs for eating. I keep about 50 hens together so I can sell eggs to the local Asian store.
- Thread starter
- #19
- Feb 8, 2011
- 1,183
- 32
- 139
there 4 months old
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