Newbie has a few questions...

[cece4]

Hi all, I am very interested in getting quail.Ive bred meat rabbits for years and wanting something different.We live in Kansas so it does get hot in summer and cold in winter.
This is what I have, I have a shed that stays decently warm in winter, draft free but gets pretty hot in summer, I do use fans to keep the air moving.Is this a good place for Coturnix?
I do have two Austrolorps that have done great in there but they have free run in the shed and have a chicken yard.

Is it possible to keep sets of 6(1 roo and 5 hens) in rabbit cages that are 36x30? They have 1/2 inch wire bottoms should I put in 1/4 on the bottom instead?
Do they use nest boxes?
Do they need an outdoor run?
Do you use bedding like hay or wood chips in the cages or leave it bare?

Does anyone know of a place to buy Coturnix quail in central Kansas, maybe the Topeka/Manhattan area?

Thanks so much, hope this isnt too many questions.Cece

 

[jenjscott]

Quote:

 

[cece4]

Thanks, when you say that quail shouldnt be kept with the chickens do you mean running with the chickens(obviously I wouldnt do that) or just not letting the two chickens run around in the same shed with the caged quail?
Yes our shed has plenty of light and windows.
Also do you know if Coturnix are any harder to raise then Bobwhite Quail and do they taste the same or have the same rate of laying eggs?
We have Bobwhites for sale everywhere here but I think they are mostly for letting go and hunting.

 

[Prettiest Frog]

Quote:
If the quail can make contact with the chicken poop, it's too close. True the other way around too.

Also do you know if Coturnix are any harder to raise then Bobwhite Quail

Mine are easier

and do they taste the same

Not exactly, a lot of folks prefer bobwhite but coturnix is still definitely yummy.

or have the same rate of laying eggs?

Coturnix lay better. 6-7 eggs a week each from my girls.​

 

[jenjscott]

Coturnix start laying at about 6-7 weeks as opposed to (somebody help me here) 24 weeks? . Bob whites have the better meat, takes much longer to get to slaughter age, so it costs more. More like the gourmet section of the quail world. So it kind of depends on what you want and like.

 

[quailbrain]

Bobwhite have a great tasting meat. They are more flighty and a bit more "vicious" than Coturnix. Bobs also take longer to hatch (24 vs. 18days for coturnix) and longer to mature and lay (6-8 weeks for coturnix versus 16-20 for bobs) If you want a meat bird they taste great but you will put far more time into them. coturnix have a good meat not as great as bobs but good none the less.

I have heard coturnix called the chickens of the quail world. They are very mild mannered. They lay larger eggs than Bobs and produce faster.

 

[Doc Henry]

I would recomend starting with coturnix not bobs, they are just a bit more difficult and not as hardy. I would say section off the barn to keep chickens out of the quail poo ( they make lots of it) I'm not sure about birds in Kansas but I know a guy in the oklahoma pan handle who could probably hook you up. You can always order chicks or adult birds from a hatchery if you don't have an incubator. I started with a hand me down styrofoam incubator it hatched enough to get the addiction going then the upgrades started coming!

 

[Overeasyplz]

I started by buying eggs.. it was so fun! And you get to watch the whole process! Plus the quail are really friendly when you are the momma. I say get you some Coturnix eggs!

 

[cece4]

I advertised on the Farm and Garden section of Craigslist and found two small breeders.They have the A&Ms and browns and one has Jumbos(?).
How many should I get to start? I have plenty of cages..I would like a group of each kind, might as well jump right in.
I could probably build an incubator, they dont look that hard to put together but would rather get chicks or young adults.My son wants eggs really bad.
If fact that is what got me thinking about quail to begin with.He wanted to hatch some chicken eggs and I dont really think i want anymore chickens so I was looking for something smaller to hatch.One thing led to another.


I can figure out how to partition off the chickens, there is plenty of room.

 

[lilTweet]

hi if you go the incubator route there are alot of good places to get eggs and different bloodline,there is a breeders section here ,some have chicks and then there is the auctions with eggs and then there is the hatcheries.i love hatching out my own birds and raising them,i used to have some texas A and m quail but i could not eat them and they were alot bigger and louder then my button quail so i gave them away as pets. my buttons are really good layers for eggs the size of a olive. people still mange to eat them dispite their size by pickleing them,you cant eat the bird, their aint nothing to them they are the size of a sparrow. buying a incubators well thats a whole other subject but if you can make it thats great.
good luck to you...ps egg laying you need good feed ,and lots of light