Looking into getting quail....

[Hamptons06]

We had an issue with our HOA and can no longer have our chickens.

We're pretty upset but there's nothing that can be done.

The good news is, a friend of ours has a lot of land in the mountains 30min from us (they own chickens already) and will take them.

They already have 4 of ours so, we know the adjustment will be smooth for them.

SOOOOOO, we were looking into quail. Button quail seems like a good options since we can keep them indoors or on the back deck (we will only have 4 to 6 tops). However, the children have come to love the chickens and handle them often, so we need a breed that does well with much handling and gives us eggs. Can you give some good recommendations? TIA!

 

[birdmaniac3000]

coturnix quail is my choice if u have them as chicks and handle them well the might tame and are great egg layers and there are a lot of colors easy to keep

 

[Stellar]

Coturnix are great, buttons are great too.

The difference between the two is that you would be able to house the coturnix in colonies, whereas Button quail would have to be in pairs. Button Quail make great indoor pets though.

 

[coturnix2044]

Quote:
I second this, Lots of eggs and some my birds will actually sit on my shoulder if I put them there while I work in their Hutch. As well as the colors option
Bob's can be friendly but a lot of them are more wild and they don't lay as prolifically as the coturnix.
same thing with the button's Mostly wild and lays less eggs. I'm not sure about others though, these are the only 3 I personally have or have had.
Ty

 

[Stellar]

Buttons lay a lot of eggs. They can lay all year round with proper lighting, they are like Coturnix in the laying just different quail.

 

[Hamptons06]

Thanks for the help! I have been reading about the coturnix for the last few hours. Looks like a good option for us. Could you keep them indoors? I have a huge 52" dog crate that I am going to use and go around it with hardware cloth and elevate it on a table. I just don't have much in the way of housing them outdoors and don't want to put them in the old chicken coop. I was thinking to put a wire floor and put newspaper underneath..... this way I can just remove the top sheet of paper once a day to keep the stink down to a minimum. Hope that made sense.

 

[coturnix2044]

It's possible, but these birds I've noticed when kept inside are very dusty, require fresh bedding almost 2-3 X daily (especially if your a clean freak like me). Plus as long as you don't mind a good ol' crow from the roo's in the early morning hours, just imagine a mocking bird in your house, Its fairly close to that loudness wise.
Ty

 

[Hamptons06]

Quote:
I can't have any males here. So, they would be all females.

 

[Rozzie]

<<<so we need a breed that does well with much handling >>>

Button quail are not a pet that you handle a lot. Coturnix quail are friendlier.
My button quail are also quite loud. They chatter a lot each day and can be heard throughout my entire house. They decide to randomly sing in the middle of the night, too.

My coutrnix, on the other hand, are quite quiet. Apparently this is not the experience of all coturnix keepers, though.

 

[joe125]

I have about 150 coturnix and out of them, there are about 15 that don't totally freak out when the feed monster comes calling. Out of those15, I have 5 that will attack the feed monster.

I'm pretty much hands off, when brooding chicks, but have noticed that chicks are tamer when in the presence of people. Not necessarily handling them, but just in eye shot.

Something else you may want to consider are city and county ordinances. I can't help you with your HOA, but also living in north metro ATL. I have to abide by silly county ordinances.