Cole,
Go Online To Your State's Fish And Wildlife (game Warden) Site And Look For Permit Regulations There, Or Call Them Directly....
Now, As Far As Bob Whites--- They Can Be Alot More Cantankerous Than Coturnix, So Niki's(monarc's) Sticky Post May Be A Bit Misleading If Applied To Bobs. They Are At Times Rather Frustrating I'll Admit, But Those Of Us Who Are Into Bob's Love Them Anyway---- Many Speces And Even Some Color Variations Available- Standards Are Smallest Then The Wisconsin And Jumbo , Then Georgia Giants, And Finally The Sumo Wrestlers Of The Quail World--- Butler Bob Whites Which Can Easily Reach 2 Lbs And Resemble A Quail Version Of A Bantam Chicken.
Most Are Very Flighty-- They Flush At The Drop Of A Hat And Can Be Difficult To Handle Because Of This Spaziod Like Behavior. The Butlers Tame Down More Than Any Other Speces (kinda Too Fat To Get Excited Sorta Thing...) But Even Those Can Be Spaz Cases. They Need Small Groupings Or Coveys In Medium- Large Spaces, Or Keep Them In Pairs Or Trios In Smaller Pens.
They Are Seasonal Layers--- Late May To Late July For Me Here In The South.... Not Really Exponential Layers, The Average Quail Hen Will Lay 12-30 Eggs During Season. They Rarely Lay The Hatch Year, Instead They Will Fire Up The Egg Factory The Following Season....
I Recommend Pinioning Rather Than Clipping Wings As My Birds Are Strictly For Meat/ Egg Production This Is A Permanent Solution To Flight Escape And Is Time Effective, Permanent, Easily Done, And Tames Their Lil Spaz Case Attitudes Like Nothing You've Ever Seen Before. Many Folks Use Or Sell Birds For Hunting Or Dog Training And They Want Flight Ready And Conditioned Birds-- Therefore They Dont Clip Or Pinion.
They Do Best On A High Protien Feed And With Larger Open Flight Pens With "landscaping" To Hide In And Forage Thru. All My Birds Get Gamebird Starter Throughout Their Entire Life, Tho Many Feed Other Things This Works Best For Us Here.... They Get Vitamin/electrolyte Suppliment In Their Water Fonts Weekly And During Laying Season They Get Vit C Added Every Other Day To Their Water As Well (increases Egg Production In Times Of Heat Stress--- Look Under The User Name Sign---- See The Wesley Chapel Fl? Yep Its Hot Here! Humid Too! Lol)
Incubating Is Much Like Any Other --- Same Heat And Humidity As Chicken Eggs, But Bob Speces Usually Incubate Longer--- 23-25 Days And When They Hatch--- They Hatch! One Minute You'll Look In The 'bator' And Nothing.... 20 Minutes Later You'll Walk By And Witness A Quail Explosion--- They Are Quite Good At Synchronized Hatching!
Brooder Care Is Also Much Like Chickens, But They Tend To Be A Lil More Cold Sensative And Require Heat Lights Longer. As A Game Bird They Do Better Under A Red Heat Lamp Rather Than White And Dont Use Pine Shavings! I Also Highly Recommend Using A "quail" Water Font As This Helps Decrease Drowning And/or Hypothermia Deaths From Them Getting Wet And Then Cold
