How did your quail addiction start for meat, eggs, pets...

[GD91]

I started off with 6 Coturnix (jumbos) for meat & eggs. 2 Died at 2 weeks. I'll be honest I wasn't that keen at first....

Then i found out I don't like quail chicks that much (Too delicate), but I love big quail!

When my 4 remaining quail became beautiful well-adjusted friendly adults, DH was shocked to see 24 eggs in the incubator! That's a lot for us.

I'm looking forward to all these quail running about! I want quail everywhere

they are just so easy to keep & look so exotic & cute.

Also I like the noises when I'm in the garden, finally I've found out those bird noises I hear on the dog walks in the country are quail. Never knew what those calls were before.

Mine even cry when they run out of food. They will run upto the wire of their run & press against whichever side is closest to "the food lady" & make pathetic wining sounds.
Nicer than the chickens which just rush you & cling to your ankles trying to trip you up until you throw food.

Ours also let you pick them up quite happily & run to the door if you open it to say hello.

So when did you get addicted to keeping quail?

 

[The Farm]

Sounds like so much fun. I hope to get some more this yr.

 

[nayeli]

I can't claim to be addicted yet but I'm very excited to get my first quail as soon as possible! We have a lot going on but I started wanting quail for both meat and eggs. They mature rather quickly and lay eggs so they are constantly providing a food source. They are also small, which is great!

 

[USAmma]

I got them as a way to provide humane eggs for the family. Now they are pets and I will let them live out their natural lives when they are done with eggs. They are so cute and fun. It took me awhile to get the system down as far as handling the odor, what kind of flooring (not wire) and finding where to get good food. Now that I have the system down it's fun to watch them. I have their coop up against the patio window so we can see them from inside the house.

 

[WaterfowlWierdo]

I got my Bobwhites to enjoy. I wanted to watch quail and how they act together. Then they became addicting. I got 19 coturnix for meat, eggs, and ornaments. Then I got Scaled quail to breed........The bobwhites are my top favorite not because of looks or anything but they are so fun, they have major personalities and they just frolic around. The coturnix just kind of browse around not doing much and the scaled quail are gorgeous but they are so skittish!

 

[duckman63]

I have 14 bobwhites.
I'm just not enjoying them like I thought
2 pens. One with I R 6H
The other has 3R 4H
What is y'all's pen setup.

 

[WaterfowlWierdo]

I have my bobwhites and scaled quail as pairs ( I keep the scaled pair with a bob pair since they dont fight or interbreed) then I have colonies of coturnix assorted by color. My bob and scaled pairs each have a 3ft wide, 4ft tall, and 5ft long pen with a platform three feet off the ground that they jump around on and they have pine boughs, a small wood hut, and various terrains(rocks to climb on, bare dirt to dust bathe, and a grassy area.
The Coturnix are just in a basic 3X4ft wire pen

 

[dc3085]

I have my bobwhites and scaled quail as pairs ( I keep the scaled pair with a bob pair since they dont fight or interbreed) then I have colonies of coturnix assorted by color. My bob and scaled pairs each have a 3ft wide, 4ft tall, and 5ft long pen with a platform three feet off the ground that they jump around on and they have pine boughs, a small wood hut, and various terrains(rocks to climb on, bare dirt to dust bathe, and a grassy area.
The Coturnix are just in a basic 3X4ft wire pen

Oh I wouldn't be too sure about them not breeding lol...There have been hybrids recorded in the wild of bobwhite x blue scaled, blue scaled x gambels, and valley x gambles, bobwhite x mearns, and maybe some more I'm forgetting. Most of the hybrids are recorded by bird watchers in the texas/mexico texas/new mexico area as all of those species overlap through different parts of those regions. Not likely to happen to you but it does happen.

 

[duckman63]

I think I have to many in each pen I think. I'm going to build a better pen. Then I think they will be more enjoyable.

 

[WaterfowlWierdo]

Oh I wouldn't be too sure about them not breeding lol...There have been hybrids recorded in the wild of bobwhite x blue scaled, blue scaled x gambels, and valley x gambles, bobwhite x mearns, and maybe some more I'm forgetting. Most of the hybrids are recorded by bird watchers in the texas/mexico texas/new mexico area as all of those species overlap through different parts of those regions. Not likely to happen to you but it does happen.

Yea, the bobs were raised seperate than the scaled, so it helps, But if I do accidentally get a hybrid I wont be mad I have heard of these hybrids as well, they are beautiful!