I'm getting my first quail tomorrow! OMG - am I ready?

[The Critter Place]

Congratulations on your new quail and eggs !

Sounds like you have some very nice colors!
And 5 eggs at that! lol... Neat!

I like the coop too!

How did you like the eggs? We love them!!!! I only have 5 girls(young), get about 4 eggs a day , so we save them for sunday morning!

I hope they continue and forget they are supposed to get off track when moved. lol!

I wanted to keep a few to put in the incubator, and my son wasn't too happy about not getting to eat the eggs.!

 

[navasima]

Eggs were yummy - and most importantly, DH likes the colors and thinks they're cute.

I swore when I started with chickens that I'm definitely never getting an incubator. Ya - so I was checking prices tonight and was quite surprised at how inexpensive they can be.....

Do quails never get broody? I mean, some must to keep the species going right? Or is the natural hatch rate really low and that's why everyone (it seems) incubates quail eggs?

 

[Stellar]

Coturnix rarely go broody but they can (there has been cases). It is just easier to collect and incubate yourself and bigger numbers

 

[navasima]

I love my little feathered mice!!

6 eggs last night and 4 so far tonight. Guess I'm not wondering about the sex of the whites anymore....

These little guys are a riot!! DH got to hear a bitty crow today and his jaw dropped. " I told you they were nice and quiet." Heh- pretty much greenlighted getting more.....

Does anyone ship live chicks or do I need to reconcile myself to getting an incubator?

Thanks in advance for guidance and patience with my newbie blathering!

 

[rittert3]

I'd go for the bator, cots are a good egg to start with and you could get a small incubator starting around $20 or make one for about that price if you have the resources.
This is the gqf chickbator and runs about $20 and will hold I think 7 quail eggs but the gqf hovabator (holds upto 120 quail eggs) type (miller make a version too but not as reliable IMO) runs between $50-$150 and makes a great starter too IMO.

 

[navasima]

I noticed that one while I was poking about. Thanks for the advice! In all seriousness - I am thinking that it may be fun, but I do have my personal limits as far as how many little beings are dependant on me at a given time. A tiny incubator may be just the ticket.

 

[rittert3]

I all honesty I do too, (my first and still only) incubator is a hovabator. It's very reliable but, I've never had it full and it sees more storage time than run time.

They are kind of nice because if you want to hatch more you can, and you can always send some to freezer camp, coturnix are really good for that too.

 

[FenDruadin]

Ha! My toddler gets mad when I put eggs in the fridge--he always wants me to hatch them!

I keep seven quail (six girls & a boy) in a 10 x 10 dog kennel (with the sides covered with hardware cloth and the top also covered with wire of a larger gauge). They are on dirt, and they LOVE it. They are so cute to watch. I toss bird seed in and they peck around in the dirt for it, and some of it grows and gives them grass to eat which they eagerly consume. They make little dust bowls and bathe in them. They dig around with their beaks in the dirt--not like chickens with their feet, just their beaks tossing the dirt around. Sometimes I toss in a bit of straw or hay, and they dig around in that. I never have to clean the pen because nature cleans it for me (they have several options for shelter from precipitation, but mostly they hang out in sun or rain outdoors, or just barely under the eaves to keep dry--they generally don't like to be closed in). I put food under the various shelters, in several locations so that no one dominant hen can boss the others away from the food, plus two or three containers of water, and I literally could leave home for two weeks and they'd be fine. Of course, I like to interact with them, and they always look up at me with hope in their eyes because I usually toss them a handful of bird seed to peck out of the dirt.

Having kept them this way for a couple months now, I will never go back to wire brooders. I've done it that way but... there is no comparison with how healthy and happy these birds are. There are no bald spots on the girls, because they have plenty of room to escape unwanted attention. Their feathers are in fabulous condition, and they're just so laid back and happy.

The only down side is that I often can't find the eggs--they hide them. But they are so prolific there are still plenty to eat.