Have chickens -now considering a few quail. Starting my research. Are they any harder than chickens?

[Erinnlyn]

Of course I would house separately from my chickens. I'm considering keeping them in my basement. I have 2 french doors in my walkout basement where I would probably place a quail cage. I've read they need a very low ceiling or a very tall ceiling, not in-between. I really want blue layers. Any advice for starting out? I'm not sure if I want to hatch eggs or get adult birds.

Thanks!

 

[ExoticPetOwner]

Quail can, at times, be more difficult than chickens.

Here are some tips/facts that are not in any specific order:

- Quail need a special feed. ( Game Bird Feed )
- Quail need a 1 foot or 6+ foot ceiling
- Quail pop up, meaning they can jump very high when scared
- Quail can fly
- Quail cannot be free ranged ( They will not come back and they're very easy food for predators, especially at nighttime. )
- Quail are the smaller types of poultry
- Quails are harder to purchase online than chickens ( You'll have a better chance at buying the from farmers/local breeders )
- Quail have a short incubation period, about 18 days
- Quail meat/eggs are much smaller than chicken eggs/meat
- You may need a permit to own them, depending on where you live
- Some quail do/don't need nesting boxes
- You usually need to build your own or purchase a specialized quail hutch
- Quail grow quick, usually fully grown around 6 weeks of age
- Quail only live for about 2-3 years
- Quail require less space than chickens
- Quail are fairly quiet compared to most other poultry
- Quail Hatch-lings are fragile and can be difficult to care for, therefore, adults are easier to maintain

**** Do more research! Watching videos from quail farmers will help TONS! ****

____________________________________________________________

Here are some suggested websites to read:

1. 10 Tips on Hatching Quail Eggs – Beginner’s Guide
2. How To Raise Quail Chicks
3. Housing and Feeding Your Quail
4. Beginners Guide to Keeping Quail
5. Quail Care
6. Breeding Quail: Best Guide For Beginners
7. Choosing The Right Breed of Quail
8. The Ultimate Guide to Raising Quail
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are some suggested videos to watch:

1. Tips on Getting Started Raising Quail
2. Keeping Coturnix Quail - How much work is it?
3. THE ULTIMATE BUTTON QUAIL CARE GUIDE

 

[Erinnlyn]

Quail can, at times, be more difficult than chickens.

Here are some tips/facts that are not in any specific order:

- Quail need a special feed. ( Game Bird Feed )
- Quail need a 1 foot or 6+ foot ceiling
- Quail pop up, meaning they can jump very high when scared
- Quail can fly
- Quail cannot be free ranged ( They will not come back and they're very easy food for predators, especially at nighttime. )
- Quail are the smaller types of poultry
- Quails are harder to purchase online than chickens ( You'll have a better chance at buying the from farmers/local breeders )
- Quail have a short incubation period, about 18 days
- Quail meat/eggs are much smaller than chicken eggs/meat
- You may need a permit to own them, depending on where you live
- Some quail do/don't need nesting boxes
- You usually need to build your own or purchase a specialized quail hutch
- Quail grow quick, usually fully grown around 6 weeks of age
- Quail only live for about 2-3 years
- Quail require less space than chickens
- Quail are fairly quiet compared to most other poultry
- Quail Hatch-lings are fragile and can be difficult to care for, therefore, adults are easier to maintain

**** Do more research! Watching videos from quail farmers will help TONS! ****

____________________________________________________________

Here are some suggested websites to read:

1. 10 Tips on Hatching Quail Eggs – Beginner’s Guide
2. How To Raise Quail Chicks
3. Housing and Feeding Your Quail
4. Beginners Guide to Keeping Quail
5. Quail Care
6. Breeding Quail: Best Guide For Beginners
7. Choosing The Right Breed of Quail
8. The Ultimate Guide to Raising Quail
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are some suggested videos to watch:

1. Tips on Getting Started Raising Quail
2. Keeping Coturnix Quail - How much work is it?
3. THE ULTIMATE BUTTON QUAIL CARE GUIDE

Wow, thank you very much for all that info and links to check out!!!

 

[Jaybird14]

I do coturnix quail in a rabbit hutch. I’ve fed them my chicken layer with good results.
very easy to raise and keep.


Bob whites are a entire different story.

 

[koturnix]

It depends on where you live/resources you have access to.

The only major advantage chickens have over quail is that chicken feed is easier to find whereas quail need higher protein especially when they are still chicks. If you can supplement the difference with spinach/kale/etc it isn't a deal breaker imo.

Quail (coturnix) are perfect if you are in the city/have limited space/want to raise birds in stealth mode (some people raise them in their garage while living in HOAs). They're very quiet and don't need a lot of space. In regards to them needing to live in a cage only I'd consider that a pro rather than a con because:
1. you don't have to wake up early to let them out whereas chickens will scream their heads off to be let out
2. you don't have to worry about them catching random diseases/parasites as they only live in an isolated cage whereas chickens can get into all sorts of things
3. you can build a slightly sloped cage so their eggs roll out into an easy access spot unlike chickens who might make a secret nest in the yard and lay their eggs there

I have both quail and chickens but I started out with quail - hatched a bunch of ebay eggs and raised them indoors in bins. Even if you get a low hatch rate with shipped eggs it's fine as quail grow so fast you'll soon have your own eggs to hatch!

 

[CliftonQuail]

Quail (coturnix) are perfect if you are in the city/have limited space/want to raise birds in stealth mode (some people raise them in their garage while living in HOAs).

That would be me. I've been trying to get out of the city for a few years, but it's a slow process since I'm still working, too. I got into quail because they don't take up much room, are quiet compared to chicken, and my HOA doesn't have any rules against game birds. Coturnix incubate in a couple of weeks, start laying around 6 weeks old and reach full size within 2 to 3 months. I currently have 10 hens laying and I can't use all the eggs I'm getting. I just placed an ad on Craigslist to try to sell some hatching eggs. We'll see how that goes.

For me, even though there was the expense of buying an incubator, it made more sense to buy eggs than adult birds.
1. Eggs were/are a lot cheaper than grown birds.
2. Eggs are a lot more discrete when shipped. They're in a sealed cardboard box that might have some writing on it, but birds are shipped in boxes with air holes and probably make a bit of noise while traveling.
3. The mail man delivers the eggs straight to my house, but I'd have to go to the Post Office to pickup birds.
4. If I decided that I enjoyed keeping the birds (which I do), I'd end up buying an incubator any way, so why not do it first?

I've ordered eggs from MyShire Farms and Sandy Soils Farm. Both shipments came with the eggs packed in foam which had individual holes for each egg and had solid foam pieces cushioning between layers of eggs and between the eggs and sides/tops of the boxes. The MyShire eggs hatched fairly well. I'm on the second week of incubating the Sandy Soils eggs. They should start hatching next week.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

The specialized cage is the biggest difficulty to me. Next would be culling, because we hate that part; it's necessary because of males and quail math. Other than that, lots of benefit, esp. If you can use the organic fertilizer they generously produce.