here's why we shouldn't put quail and chickens together...update #3

[fitzy]

Hopefully i can answer that question in a couple weeks....got a processing date at a USDA inspected facility. We're planning on taking between 500 and 1000 to have them packed up and ready for consumption. So far, the answer i've been getting is "let us know when they are ready and we'll let you know how many we'll try". I might end up having to buy another deep freeze just for all these quail!!!

I plan to get in touch with the places that seemed interested next week and see if i can get any real commitments and also put an ad on craigslist to see if i get any people that might want to try them for thanksgiving instead of buying a whole turkey.....only time will tell! sometimes i just roll the dice

 

[renegaderidgefarm]

You go Fitzy and we wish you the best of luck!!!!!! Some times we have to roll the dice if we didnt we wouldnt have anything to make the blood flow a little faster.

 

[ksukristin]

Wow I am so glad I read this thread- I was planning on moving my quail across the yard so that I had the quail and chickens closer to each other and now I see that would be potentially disastrous! I love reading the technical information even though it's an unfortunate subject and Fitzy I am so sorry that you lost one. Thank goodness it was just one!

I'm looking forward to hearing about your thanksgiving idea- that sounds really cool and I have a friend in town I might point in your direction- I know he always just makes chili for t-giving because he's only cooking for one- I'm sure he'd be stoked to try a few quail instead!

best of luck to you!

 

[JJMR794]

Fitzy R We Still All Clear?

 

[JJMR794]

We Need This Back On The Front Page..... Too Many Folks Have Forgotten Already!

 

[isaacearlg]

i think its more of an immune system thing if raised together and immunity is built up it dont really matter.my bobs and coturnix seem just fine even though the chicken pen is right next them

 

[taras.farm]

I agree....I've had my quail in with the chickens for winters for years....and I've had great luck.....I manage them well and keep em clean and strong and healthy with vites and greens and this has worked for us. My chickens are relatively spoiled and i keep an eye out for problems and remedy as needed.....No major injuries or illnesses...a rare pecking from overexcited roos .....Good management and diet and GREENS can go a long way over the winter months! People should always be careful mixing birds but if you know thw risks and care for your flock....you'll go the extra and work at keeping everybody strong and healthy...winters are tough on everybody.....I'm already tired of lugging water but.....this is the path I chose....and I love what I do and enjoy all the birds tremendously! Happy holidays all !!!!!

 

[fitzy]

Quote:
AND THE DICE LANDED ON SNAKE EYES!!!!! SEEMS I CRAPPED OUT THIS TIME AROUND......


Haven't been posting lately because i haven't had anything nice to say.....I got a call from my buddy who took them to the processer with "these things aren't very big so they're putting 6 to a pack instead of 2"....when he finally got them back home they looked like dog poo. I was under the impression that they would be vacum packed all nice and pretty, but instead they looked like crap....no vacuming whatsoever. Not only that, but they didn't even blast freeze them so by the time they got home they were all smooshed flat. Kinda hard to sell a quail that looks like road kill! I put 8 packs in the local organic/health food store and to my knowledge they're all still sitting there frozen in their own juices.....

I priced the rest of the flock to a guy for a buck each just to get rid of the rest of them....gonna start again in the spring WITHOUT EGGS FROM EBAY!!!!

In the meantime, if any of the "regulars" on here would like to shoot me a pm, i'm currently looking for "moby quail" stock to start fresh with....or at least something that doesn't weigh 4 oz after cleaning.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Moby quail...

Some of the larger bobwhite breeds, or even Texas A&Ms, seem to work really well as meat birds. Had some nice big ones this summer, but the stock I have now are still pretty small. I'm so sorry it didn't work out for you. Hope it works out better next time!!

 

[adubsroit]

I'm bumping this only because I have a question. In what I have read there are only two, or three if you count the case of the pheasant, of game-birds and chickens not coexisting well. I am not claiming to have some sort of PhD sort of knowledge on this topic, but I have yet to read any information or see any citation from PhD based research on this board. I understand the stress on bio-security and am not discounting information provided on this thread.

Coryza, as I have come to learn more about, is like the common cold or flu basically (?). Based on information from the findings of Dr. L. Dwight Schwartz on Infection Coryza it sounds like how the flu can affect people.

Age-wise, Coryza is a disease of juvenile and mature birds or birds 14 weeks of age or older. The incubation period is 1 to 3 days and the course of the disease is 4 to 12 weeks.

Since chickens are namely the carrier, and guinea fowl and turkey are equally susceptible to coryza as quail: what about my flock. Right now I have Beltsville White turkeys with blue-laced red wyandottes, which were hatched and brooded together. On top of that I have raised guinea fowl with d'Anvers, crested Blue Swedish and eventually the other chickens. So far there is no sickness in any of the birds. I realize that carriers will not show signs of the infection, but how many people out there raise their quail in close proximity to their chickens/ducks/turkeys (heck, even WITH them) and show no sign of infection?? In this case, while chickens can be carriers, could some not be?? Thus, one would know if they have it in their flock, right?

My guess is that to honestly be anywhere near effective in terms of bio-security one would need to legitimately keep the two separate as coryza can be airborne and could thus spread into their lungs just by breathing. It could be all over your clothes and skin so you'd almost have to bathe totally and with good antibacterial body wash. So I pose another question: is there a way to test birds for coryza? NPIP flocks are tested in seemingly easy ways (I am considering doing so), so why wouldn't there be a test out there for such a potentially devastating disease.



FYI, I am doing this to play the devil's advocate and question seemingly unfounded claims. I am not trying to downplay the severity of the (potentially) infectious nature disease, and offer my condolences to everyone who has had to deal with it, but regardless I find myself asking what if... Also, I do not intend to run out and rub chickens all over any quail!! Lol, just asking for the sake of asking.​