Illinois Quail Keepers

[BReeder!]

In that case, you'll need to find a breeder and get the chicks soon after they hatch. Can't help you with that though, as I'm in another country..

My incubator is on the fritz. You can try to find somebody who is willing to hatch some for you though. But a small batch of hatching eggs and let them keep what the rest as payment after you take 2 chicks. This also would allow you to possibly trade back for a different sex if you end up with an unwanted male - you may or may not want a pair. You certainly don't want two males though. I would suggest a half dozen eggs. You'll probably get 4 hatches - 2 for you and two for them. 8 or 10 eggs would be more generous - after all hatching requires attention, time and electricity that costs money.

 

[Kozi]

I just gave away most of my 6 week old Bob-white babies. I kept 2. One didnt make it through his first night outside, even though he had all his feathers, a friend, and a heater .

Now I just have Dale. As Dale matures, I've noticed that Dale might be a girl. So...whoops..haha. I kept Dale because she is an escape artist and an excellent hider. She organized alllll the escapes when all her friends were around. Boy, was that hilarious every time. I couldn't give her away because 1. She would have given the kind farmer who took them all in a hard time and 2. She escaped when I was boxing them up...and then hid! She has a cute little house and a heat pad that heats up to around 70° for these very cold "summer" nights we have been having.

My questions:
1. How do I get her to not be afraid of me? I spoil her, so buying her love is obviously not working..
2. Should I get her some friends? Is she going to be lonely?
3. Should I let her out of her cage sometimes? If I do, will she come back?/How do I get her to come back? There are hawks, raccoons, and feral cats around at night...A super adorable kitty was stalking her last night when I went to check on her. So next time I visit her at night I'm bringing cat food
4. When might she start laying eggs?

As you can tell, this is my first time raising quail. I've hatched eggs (chickens, ducks, quail) every year with my first graders, in Chicago. This year was the best hatch rate, and the first year with quail. 3 chicks died the first week (so sad :'( ). But the other 7 were really funny and so interesting to watch interact with each other.

 

[sunbursts]

Not sure how to help you win her over, I handled mine as babies to get them use to me. If you still can maybe, hold her like a mama hen would, I kinda hold them in my hand with one hand over their head and they snuggle into my hands and fall asleep....so precious! You might get her to bond with you that was if she's not over the snuggling stage.
I would get her a friend....I happen to have a few extra's! They're 7 weeks and we can almost sex them.
My one bob lady didn't start laying until the next spring during breeding season.
I would not let her out during the day, so very dangerous for a quail and if you don't keep them protected from predators, she'll more then likely be eaten.

 

[BReeder!]

Hello everybody! We are getting eggs pretty regularly now and a set a batch of 20+ in the incubator on Sunday set to hatch on August 8th. If anybody is interested in purchasing hatching eggs or hatchlings let me know. Our birds are Jumbo Brown coturnix. There's 1 rescued other coturnix cock in there too. I should be able to easily separate out any of his offspring if you only want pure JBs.

 

[Little Red Birds]

Hello! I’m kinda new to quail... and I’m in Indiana... buuuutttttt, is it ok if I join in? I’ve currently got 12 3-5 week old coturnix of MANY colors, one full grown coturnix male (pharaoh variety), and three snowflake bobwhite chicks. I super close to the Indiana/Illinois line (only 45 minutes away) and visit regularly for camping.

 

[BReeder!]

Hello! I’m kinda new to quail... and I’m in Indiana... buuuutttttt, is it ok if I join in? I’ve currently got 12 3-5 week old coturnix of MANY colors, one full grown coturnix male (pharaoh variety), and three snowflake bobwhite chicks. I super close to the Indiana/Illinois line (only 45 minutes away) and visit regularly for camping.

Welcome!

 

[BReeder!]

What's everybody's plans for overwintering your quail? I know we don't want to think about cold weather yet, but I need to figure something out while I still have the time.

 

[Little Red Birds]

What's everybody's plans for overwintering your quail? I know we don't want to think about cold weather yet, but I need to figure something out while I still have the time.

I am going to house my quail inside with my rabbits and show birds. I am currently building a cage that is 4 feet high, 2 feet wide, and 4 feet long in total. It will be split into three sections, the two closest to the ground 18” high and the one up top 12” high. The back will be solid wood and front will be 1/2” x 1/2” wire. I will be building another soon. The top one will most likely be used as a brooder.

 

[Little Red Birds]

Does anyone have any type of feeders the quail can’t scratch out of?

 

[BReeder!]

Does anyone have any type of feeders the quail can’t scratch out of?

Unfortunately, they just throw food everywhere when the eat. Ots because of they way they peck at their food. You could try a narrower opening or something that they need to put their head into in order to get to the food line the 5 gallon chicken feeders with 90 degrees PVC elbows inside them. You would need to use smaller elbows or cut them short on the inside so quails could reach the feed.