Okay so I'm gonna need some quail...

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Hi all!

Well I've been halfway thinking about it lately and now it's a 99.9% sure thing that I'm gonna start keeping quail.

I'm pretty good at searching and reading stuff on the forums, but I just have a few things I'd appreciate some feedback on.

Here on the farm, we often have VIPs rolling up to stay for a weekend/week/month and I want to have quail eggs available to them. I just saw some in our local snooty grocery store and I'm pretty sure they were Coturnix.

This is mostly about the eggs. I may or may not (probably not) be interested in finding somebody willing to butcher the little birdies to offer quail meat to the guests.

So anyhoo...like I know that Coturnix is the bomb for eggs and meat, but what kind of Coturnix? There are like a gazillion different types.

As far as housing them, I have like a 10'x10' area, which is currently 1/3 of the doves' coop. Is it cool for them to roll with the doves or should I separate them?

Thanks a bunch to anybody willing to read and reply!

edit: what's the deal with Button Quail? And Valley Quail? We have Valley Quail running around in the vineyard.

 

[becky3086]

I guess you would probably want the Jumbos but the XLD and Texas A&M are good as well, just a little smaller.

 

[Southernbelle]

monarc23 wrote some amazing detailed articles about quail

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=102281
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=114713

Coturnix are the "broilers" of the quail world - they're the biggest, quickest to incubate and mature at 6-8 weeks old. Jumbo Coturnix have dark meat and Texax A&Ms have white meat. They're eggs are the largest and probably easiest to eat. I don't have any, yet, but I have hatching eggs on order.

I have Bobwhites - they're small, all-white meat, eggs are about the size of a quarter, they take 23 days to incubate and 16-18 weeks to mature. I love the way they sound! I have a hard time cracking open such tiny eggs for eating - I'm going to try pickling them when they start laying again.

Buttons are mostly for pets, they're so, so tiny that they aren't really useful for eating.

Quail are much easier to process than chickens, you just need more of them to equal a chicken! They're more efficient than chickens as far a feed to meat/eggs conversions and if they're "hot" with the jet-setters now - then that's a great excuse to get some!

I keep mine in rabbit cages up off the ground. You could keep a whole lot in a 10x10 space.

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Awesome! Thank you for the replies and the links.
I'ma be a readin' foo'

 

[monarc23]

they can deffiantly roll with the dovies because the doves will perch and coturnix cannot

. However in that sort of set up (i assume on the ground?) you may wanna ask around about wormer for the quails if there will be any meat eating. They can get worms really easily on the ground I have been told. I'm not sure if wormy coturnixs can transfer to humans, but they say to worm them if on the ground and used for consumption. Coturnix make great aviary birds just like button quail do...only difference being you can EAT and ENJOY coturnix meat and eggs. Button quail eggs are edible ofcourse but are so itty, it's almost pointless and would be only for show lol! Now buttons are awesome for eye candy (colorful) and genetics. But coturnix are turning the corner in the genetics world too.... although theres more readily available colors of them on the other side of the pond than there is here in the US. Many of us hope to import.

I think your customers would DEFFINALY enjoy having fresh quail and meat! Most deffinatly! It sounds exciting and facinating to me actually to hear about someone wanting to! GREAT Idea! The closest I'll get to that is selling coturnix eggs to my aunts resturant in MD lol! I sell pretty much 100% for hatching, but its always fun to sell for eating!

Coturnix dont really have a pretty call, however I think it's unique and cute...and actually fun to hear. Soundslike they're saying "Look at me!" or "howm' I doin'!?" Plus they aren't easily freaked out like button quail are,s o you could bring people to see themw ithout a wurr of birds flying every directiona nd some killing themselves in the process (aka headbonking). Now, young coturnix can and will headbonk, but once older they calm down. They mature so fast you dont have to wait long for them to calm down nor do you have to wait long ot eat and or get eggs from them.

If you stay with the jumbo brown you'll be able to sex at 3 1/2 weeks old. A & Ms you may not be able to sex until 8 weeks old by listening for their calls and egg laying. Unless you're good at vent sexing.