New Texas A&M quail

[doubleatraining]

I'm so excited. I LOVE their calls....there is a little male that wants EVERYONE to know he is here. I'm adding more wire to the bottom of the pen tomorrow so they can walk easier and the eggs don't fall through.

 

[Stellar]

Looking good

Congrats!

 

[FenDruadin]

Very pretty! The whites are my favorite, because those brown spots can show up all over and it's easy to tell them apart. However, I THINK what you have there are English whites, not A&Ms. It's a very common mistake--but the A&Ms were a specific strain developed at the university and are not widely available. Plus, I believe A&Ms don't usually (or ever) have brown spots.

Definitely add some smaller-gauge wire, for comfort AND safety. Raccoons will reach right through that and grab a quail part for dinner. Also, I like to put straw down for their comfort--it still allows liquid and poop to drain through, but they much prefer it on their feet. Mine will congregate in the corner with straw. They also ADORE a sandbox, which can be as simple as a shoebox filled with dirt or straw or sand. Mine spend 80% of their time in the little sandbox.

Good luck and enjoy them. They are very pretty birds. I LOVE my quail.

 

[doubleatraining]

I'm adding the wire first thing tomorrow morning.

I should take a picture of the whole pen. Its 7.5' long 2.5' wide and 2' tall. Its 2' off the ground and has a 2'x2' box at one end. I'm adding hay/shavings to the box so they can dig/scratch around. I plan on putting in a sand/DE box for bathing. I don't think they are used to such a large pen though. They fly around and one male stands in the corner facing the woods calling....


Thanks for the info on the correct breed. I really like them either way.

 

[FenDruadin]

Sounds awesome! They are beautiful, and like I said, I really love the white ones--my fav!

Most breeders keep quail in very small quarters, which they seem to do fine in. But they are definitely happier with more space, and with places to dig and so on. I have a 10 x 10 pen with grass and honeysuckle and dirt, and they are super super happy. They don't display any of the nervous behaviors quail are known for--the sudden startles, or the jumping too high, or feather plucking (females don't get naked necks), etc. I say, the more natural the surroundings you can give them, the better. I do still have some on wire, because they are young and not ready to go in the big pen, and it's definitely a fine way to keep them if they have access to digging areas and straw etc.

It sounds like you're going to be a great home for them. Enjoy!!

 

[Stellar]

A and Ms are also Jumbo Whites...they look bigger than English whites so they are Jumbo whites if you didn't get them directly from A and M lines. A and Ms look like English whites but are larger.

 

[Rexbandit]

I could be wrong but I thought that the original A&M's were the standard/wild color and then breed to be white later on after all the research was done?

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
this is pretty common knowledge it is somewhere online google fred thornberry TAM quail you will find it fairly quick

 

[snyd08]

Quote:
most if not all of my a&Ms and yes they most certainly are a&ms have brown spots either on their back,head, or tails... like quail lady said pretty much only difference in looks is their size. a&ms being a jumbo strain they are clearly larger in size.