I try to determine the square feet for my quail cages. I am not looking into raising quail for fertile eggs, but just to eat the eggs and quail.

[TumbleGrump]

I try to determine the square feet for my quail cages. I am not looking into raising quail for fertile eggs, but just to eat the eggs and quail. is 1 male to 6 female really necessarily?
Or can I also have just females? Or 1 male to 10 females?
Of Course I want peace in cages, but try to have at less as possible males...
Please advice.

 

[BReeder!]

You don't need a male at all if you don't want fertile eggs. Quail hens will lay without the presence of a male just like chickens.

The ratios you see of male to female are for fertility odds with over-mating trying to be prevented - it's a fine balance. You don't need to worry about this though if you don't want fertile eggs. The only thing to know is that if you do keep a male, be sure to give him multiple females so they don't get assaulted.

As for square footage as mentioned in the title, I'd say 1 square foot per bird is cozy. I had 1 square foot per 3 birds at once, but that was for meat purposes and the birds were harvested once at market size.

 

[Nabiki]

I agree with @BReeder! If you don't want fertile eggs, you don't need a roo.

Your birds should have at least 1 square foot per bird, but don't forget to subtract the space used by feeders/waterers. If you want them to be happy, provide dirt baths and places to hide as well.

Good luck!

 

[TumbleGrump]

You don't need a male at all if you don't want fertile eggs. Quail hens will lay without the presence of a male just like chickens.

The ratios you see of male to female are for fertility odds with over-mating trying to be prevented - it's a fine balance. You don't need to worry about this though if you don't want fertile eggs. The only thing to know is that if you do keep a male, be sure to give him multiple females so they don't get assaulted.

As for square footage as mentioned in the title, I'd say 1 square foot per bird is cozy. I had 1 square foot per 3 birds at once, but that was for meat purposes and the birds were harvested once at market size.

Great, I was in the understanding (but i'm a starter if it comes to quail) that i NEEDED males to keep the females from fighting. This saves me a lot of small cages to make! I indeed just want them for meat and eggs. I was thinking about 42 quail p/36 Square feet. What is approximately .86 p/bird.

Thnx for the advice!
Marty

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

If you want them for meat, you need both males and females. You can have a breeder cage for producing fertile eggs, a hens-only cage for eating eggs and a grow-out pen for the males you intend to have for meat. That's 3 minimum, the way I see it. You'll only need one male in your breeder cage with 3-6 hens and the remainder of birds would be separated by sex.

 

[TumbleGrump]

If you want them for meat, you need both males and females. You can have a breeder cage for producing fertile eggs, a hens-only cage for eating eggs and a grow-out pen for the males you intend to have for meat. That's 3 minimum, the way I see it. You'll only need one male in your breeder cage with 3-6 hens and the remainder of birds would be separated by sex.

i already have seperate breeder cages in a different building. as i said, only for eggs and meat. but thnx

 

[SpotTheCat]

personally a prefer 2sq feet per quail,1sq feet per quail is minimum I would do for adult quails.
If you want meat then you need fertile eggs to hatch to get the quail to turn in to meat which means you need a male.

 

[Ratchnick]

I had a 1:8 ratio last year and fertility was 75%

 

[MadamContrary]

Is your plan to just buy fertile eggs or chicks from someone else all year long? Or are you doing a single purchase, eating the males at 8 weeks and then just keeping hens for eggs for the next 1-2 years? If you want meat and eggs, at the best cost and regularly, hatching your own fertile eggs is the way to go.

 

[le_bwah]

Please remember that these animals' recent ancestors, as well as their closest cousins (Common Quail) have wild territories that can be measured in acres. One square foot per bird makes quail easier to keep, sure. But for the same reasons that small wire cages make puppy mills easier to run.

The way you keep animals matters, no matter your purposes.