Maybe quail would fill the void.

[GBov]

Living in a rental house I just cant hide chickens in the back yard (I MISS my chickens) but I have been reading about quail and thought they might be a reasonable substitute but I know NOTHING ABOUT THEM

Hence the questions...................

What quail is good for meat and eggs? (I think I know the answer to this one but just checking)

What sort of living quarters do they need?

How much noise do they make?

Does one need any permits to keep them?

Are they classed as pets or livestock or what?

How many should one keep to supply a family of 5 with meat?

Do they even have enough meat to help feed a family?

How much do THEY eat and what do they eat?

Can they hatch their own eggs or does one need a bator to do it for them?

How many eggs do they lay and how many equal a hens egg?


You see, I have to prove they would save money before I can slip them into the budget as he who makes the money has the veto vote so any ideas on convincing him would be good too.

And no, the image of roasted crispy skinned succulent morsels wont do it, although it has me convinced

 

[Bettacreek]

I'm thinking that each jumbo coturnix is processed into about the same amount of meat as a chicken breast, but I could be a little off on this (haven't eaten chicken breast in over a year, lol).

How many? Hrmm, figure that you'll want to eat one quail for each chicken breast that you'd eat for a meal. They can be slaughtered at 8 weeks, so you'd have to do your own math on how much you eat per meal and how many meals you want to eat per month.

They seem to eat a lot, but the feed conversion is better than chickens.

The coturnix (best quail for the job, heck, best quail period, IMO) will not set their own eggs, so you'd need an incubator, but that's just a one-time purchase, and then you don't have to worry about a drop in production because a hen is going broody.

And, yes, coturnix are fine for in-house living. I have a pen of one roo and five hens for right now. We also live in an apartment, and nobody even notices them.

They lay about an egg a day. My only laying hen right now is laying one every 1.5-2 days, but she's only laid four eggs so far, so she just has to get into the groove basically.

Check the stickie out in this forum, you'll find Monarc's huge thread on them.

 

[GBov]

Oooooo, lots of lovely reading

Just have to wait till after I make oatmeal cookies for the kids to have a sit down and read through it all.

Thanks Bettacreek

 

[linebacker]

What quail is good for meat and eggs? (I think I know the answer to this one but just checking)

I would suggest a jumbo variety of coturnix, although wild types also excel at meat and eggs they just mature slower.

What sort of living quarters do they need?

Depending on the number anything from an aquarium to an elaborate aviary.

How much noise do they make?

Male coturnix crow which is not that loud, but I don't think I would put them on the wall of my neighbor in an apartment. The more males you have the more they crow.

Does one need any permits to keep them?

Depends on your state laws.

Are they classed as pets or livestock or what?

Depends on your state laws or local laws/ordances.

How many should one keep to supply a family of 5 with meat?

It would depend on how much you liked eating them. If you wanted to eat 10 a week, start with 4 hens and I male. Set 20 eggs after collecting them for a week. Let's say you have a 50%(should be higher) hatch/survival rate, after 6 weeks you have 10 birds ready for the table. You started another batch in the incubator after the first group were hatched so you have another 10 ready for the table three weeks later. Hopefully you have a 75% hatch survivability rate and are raising 15 at a time.

Do they even have enough meat to help feed a family?

I can eat three or more per meal. I really enjoy them and I'm sure I overeat when given the opportunity.

How much do THEY eat and what do they eat?

For the feed conversion ratio they don't much at all.
Game bird starter when they are chicks and being grown for the table and game bird conditioner for the breeders. I use medicated starter, but others disagree on this point.

Can they hatch their own eggs or does one need a bator to do it for them?

I would plan on going with an incubator. I collect the eggs each day so I have never personally had a hen try to go broody.

How many eggs do they lay and how many equal a hens egg?

It takes 5 of my A&M eggs to equal one of my large Leghorn eggs and between 4 and 5 to equal my Delaware eggs.

Brad