How long will coturnix quail lay reliably? +a few other questions.

[rachel]

I'm new to the quail part of the backyard flock addiction, but I'm already making plans for where I'm going to put my next 100 and I'm trying to hook others as well

I keep getting some questions that I can't answer comfortably.

1. How long will they lay reliably, (5+ per week). I know fertility goes down after their first season, but many of the people I know aren't interested in hatching, only eating the eggs, so fertility wouldn't matter.

2. How long do they live? I keep seeing varying answers for this.

3. If I want to get friends some breeding trios/quads that are 4-5 weeks old, will the move keep the females from starting to lay at the normal 6-7 week onset?

4. It looks like Goldens and Browns are the only ones I could reliably visually sex. How accurate will I be at 4-5 weeks?

Thanks!

 

[monarc23]

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[rachel]

Thanks Monarc!
I meant for how many years will they lay. So do they decline like chickens? Do you think a 4 year old bird will still make an egg or two a week?

 

[monarc23]

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it's possible but if that's what you or your friends are going for, i'd say give the birds a break during the winter months so their bodies dont burn out. I do NOT have personal experience with older birds but from what I've read that seems to be the case if let to lay year round they will "burn out" but if allowed to rest they will last longer with egg production.

 

[SandraMort]

I hadn't considered keeping mine alive through the winter for eggs. Do I need to bring them indoors or can t hey stay outdoors and if so, how cold can they get before needing supplemental heat?

 

[monarc23]

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They can stay outside year round without any supplimental heating. But if you want eggs in the winter they will neat lighting on them (not heat just light but the warmth if you do add it will keep the eggs from freezing but isnt needed). They need 14 hours daily of visual light year round to lay year round wether it's natural or artificial.

So if you decide you want eggs year round you either need to bring them in and keep the light in their room on them 14 hour sa day or rig up a light in their pen.

Where coturnix originate from in the wild they have harsh winters just like we do here in PA and are able to with stand it perfeclty fine!

If you put no artificial lighting on them they will stop laying in october and wont start laying again until march/april.

 

[SandraMort]

OK. No protection from the weather required other than maybe a tarp over the pen to keep them from getting soaked in a rainstorm?

Now, I know there's a window between the time that chickens are full grown and the time that they're too tough to cook easily. Is there such a window for the quail or could I hypothetically load up the pen with a billion quail and just process them through the fall and winter as I need meat?

 

[monarc23]

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i dunno if they get tough after a whil ebut they may however over a year old bird i've eaten wasnt tough sooo i think you'd be fine. As far as tarp YES you'll need a wind breaker for them

 

[Boyd]

Another converted Jedi!

 

[rachel]

I'm wondering about the opposite problem, it's HOT here in Phoenix, they're panting all day already and it's barely 100 degrees. They have plenty of water and their covered hutches are in shade all afternoon. Hopefully they'll tolerate the heat. There are so many quail native to the desert, it's too bad that the ones I really want aren't!