I am so tempted to get some quail now!!

[Amethyste]

I have never had them bit oh they sound good! And they dont seem to hard to raise etc.

I have been wanting to get more into the self sufficency regarding our food here. ATM it is just DH and myself and the cats for the most part. Chickens are in the back garden for eggs and cuteness

Possibly this year if I can swing it, or maybe next, get some meat chickens for us. I am planning to have DH build me some raises gardens boxes so I can grow some fruits/veggies for us too. I am also toying with the idea of a few meat rabbits as well...but DH doesnt care for them much, I however do love it. Now seeing the quail... it seems this might work well with my plans as well! Got to love a stuffed freezer

I have been lurking a bit in this forum y'see

So tell me, are they noisy like my hens are?

Only seen one or two links to the sounds they make and I dont know if they sound like normal birdsong or if they are "loud". See, I live in a suburb...the neighbors have gotten used to the girls, cos they are mostly quiet except for when they lay, I keep the outdoor pen and coop as clean and non smelling as I possibly can, and I hand out eggs etc. But I dont want to totally get over my head by getting quail too

So what can you do with the eggs? I can assume from my reading that they dont brood well, so the eggs would be fertile but to hatch them you would need an incubator.

I also assume that since they are so little. they arent much more than a few bites? How many quail per person? And, what is the real difference ibetween the partridge/bobwhite/courtrix? Seems they are similar...are they kept same way?

Living here in the Pacific NW, is there anything special I would need to take care of them? I am so tempted.... looks like I probably could get a few rabbit hutches set up. I would have to do some major predator fixing up on them tho I think cos of the coons we have atm. Can they be outside year round in this area? And, do they need direct sunlight? We have a lot of trees in our back garden, and hens get most of the sunlight that lands, and in the afternoon where it falls we were going to put our garden stuff. We have a lot of open area but its a bit more shaded...

So many questions....and one of the biggest is "how do I talk DH into getting more birds? lol"

 

[Emilys3guppies]

Different kinds of quail are kept differently because they have different needs. Button quail aren't good for eating or food eggs...too small and they need to be inside for the winter.

Bobwhite need a flight pen, from what I understand.

Jumbo Coturnix are your best bet for a meat bird or for edible eggs. They don't need room to fly or roost. They require 1sq/ft of room per bird. They are winter hardy too.

We are keeping them for eggs (3-5 quail eggs equals a large chicken egg). The kids love to see those little fried eggs on their plates. Devilled quail eggs are adorable too!

I'm working on a tractor that fits on top of my raised garden beds (all uniform in size) so that I have the quail do their part of decimating the harvested beds before I turn it all over.

Good luck and all the best,

Emily

 

[eggsrcool]

Good luck

 

[Pavo Royale]

Not trying to hijack your tread, but I would like to know why my bobs will not sing. That is why I got them because I remeber hearing them in the wild when I was young. Amethyste, if you do not know, it is a whistle much like a songbird and it does carry a long way but by no means is it annoying. Maybe someone else can comment on how often they speak. Courtnix males have a neat call that is not loud and does not carry, but mine let it rip quite often.

If I were starting out fresh, I would start with courtnix. They are much more tame, start laying right out of the brooder, and they are very prolific. Bobwhite do not lay as often and can be quite wild. I can't comment on how the two compare in taste, yet. Quail are a lot of fun, and I wish you the best.

 

[NancyDz]

I would go with Coturnix, they start laying anywhere from 5-8 weeks, mine started at 6 weeks. the males can be loud but usually that is if you do not have enough females. I keep mine at
a 4-5 females to 1 male ratio and never hear a peep from them.

I also think from my experience that the A&M seem to crow a lot more than the other colors but maybe that's just a coincidence.
The jumbo browns and goldens are very docile and get the biggest.

We eat the eggs and I sell some too for eating or incubating.
If you have any asian markets or restaurants they love them and will buy the eggs and birds.

Good luck they are fun!


Nancy

 

[ksukristin]

you should definitely get some quail!

I have four coturnix that just started laying two days ago!!! (happy dance!) and they are so easy to take care of and so adorable...I just wish I had more time to hang out with them-

they are so easy that I just got back from vacation and I had my friend take care of them while I was gone for 10 days...and now I think she is going to get a few!

I live in the city and have a small lot (0.20 acre) and the neighbors have no clue I even have them- their songs are more like sweet mumblings and I love to sit and listen to them (and if you whistle or sing to them they turn their heads to listen...so adorable) I plan on incubating some eggs and eating the rest-as for the mess- I made basically a chicken tractor for my quail so I can move it around my yard and then just turn the soil underneath

it will hopefully help my long term plans of establishing a garden! I'm taking pictures of everything just haven't got them uploaded yet.

anyways there are so many smart folks on BYC that have much more experience than I do- but if you've been lurking you're on the right track! I say go for it! you will not be disappointed!

 

[jetto]

Pavo my bobs are about 12 weeks old and have not started singing yet. I suspect much like their sexual maturity/egg production the singing is slow to develop also? They do all stop and listen very carefully when I whistle "bob-bob-white" to them.

for the OP, the differences I see in the bobs and the coturnix is that the bobs are much more aggressive...As long as I keep the correct male/female ratio with the coturnix- they are happy campers...the bobs we've had are an entirely different story...much more difficult to manage unless you have ALOT of pens. Which reminds me that I need to do some beak trimming.

I can stick my fingers in the coturnix cages and some will come over and inspect to see what is poking through the hole. When I stick my fingers in the bobwhite pen i always have several birds come right over and immediately go to pecking at my fingers- and no I haven't hand fed them, lol....Just at lunch time today two of my bobs were "following" my wiggling fingers and trying their best to latch onto them when I was messing with them. Now of course as soon as I open the door and reach in the pen they act like I'm an axe murderer coming to get them!

Kristi

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
PAVO--- BOBS ARE WAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY BETTER THAN COTURNIX IN TASTE!

BUT AS YOU ALREADY KNOW THEY ARE ALSO WAY SLOWER THAN COTURNIX ON EVERYTHING--- FROM INCUBATION TO MATURITY TO LAYING HECK THEY EVEN LIVE LONGER. I LOVE THEM BUT FOR MEAT AND EGG PRODUCTION THEY ARE A BAD CHOICE COMPARED TO COTURNIX.

AS FAR AS SINGING--- BOBS ARENT SONG BIRDS- EVER. THEY DO HAVE THE "BOB-BOB-WHITE" WHISTLE CALL THAT IS ONLY USED FOR HOOKIN UP TO REPRODUCE, AND A "BOB-WHITE" WHISTLE CALL THAT IS USED TO LOCATE OTHERS WHEN THE COVEY HAS GOTTEN SEPERATED. OTHER THAN THAT THEY ARE A RELATIVELY NON VOCAL BIRD. THEY HAVE LIL GUTTERAL SOUNDS THEY MAKE TO COMMUNICATE, BUT NO SONG.

 

[JJMR794]

Come To The Dark Side!!!

Lol- Sorry Couldnt Resist. But Seriously Tho....

For Meat/egg Coturnix Is The Best--- Much Faster Life Cycle, Way Easier To Incubate/brood/raise/house/breed/keep--- They Are So Fast Maturing That In 6 Mos You Can Be Incubating Eggs From Your 3rd Or 4th Generation Birds. For Meat Production They Normally Reach Max Size Around 12 Wks Of Age. They Eat Less. They Tolerate Almost Anything Better Than Bobs, They Live In Communities Better-- Less Pecking And Whatnot, They Are A Much More Hardy Bird--- The Tolerate Temp And Weather Extremes Better, Illness Better, Injury Healing Is Better--- They Are Way More Docile And Handleable.

With Bobs Your Looking At Months And Months Of Feed And Labor To Get To Full Size, And Most Likely A Year To Get Eggs--- Which Are Way Less In Number Hen For Hen Than A Coturnix. They Are Tempermental And Can Be Difficult To Raise--- I Dont Discourage Anyone From Bobs, As They Are My Favorite Quail, But There Is Most Definately A Learning Curve To Them That Is Better Tolerated If One Has Had Experience With Coturnix--- Bobs Are Better Left For A Project After You Are Comfortable With Coturnix. Also Many Many States Require Special Licencing To Possess Bobs And Dont For Coturnix

As Far As Partridge--- Do Them After The Bobs....

 

[joebryant]

Can someone(s) comment on the pros and cons of the white A&M coturnix quails. Also, how do you sex quail to get the desired M/F ratios?