Quail Breeds

[emsevers]

I was wondering, in your opinion, which breed of quail is best for meat, which is best for eggs (for eating and for breeding), and which is best as a pet.

 

[linebacker]

My A&Ms are a Jumbo breed which are great for meat. They start laying large (for a quail) eggs consistently by 9 weeks old. I have great hatch rates too.

Brad

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Button Quail would be my pick for pets. But thats just my opinion.

 

[CrimsonRose]

I love my A&M They have the best eggs ever!!! Only takes about 2-3 to equal a large chicken egg... Unlike regular brown coturnix that take about 5 eggs to equal one chicken egg... My gals have laid an egg every day since they were 8 weeks old... And the taste is amazing!!

My daughter who hates eggs will eat my A&M's eggs and my son can't get enough of them...

They seem to be a pretty good size for meat as well... But I can't say for sure (not planing on processing any until spring) but from what I've read they have more white meat than other quail even the jumbo brown coturnix... They do take a tad longer to fill out than the 6 weeks like regular quail I would let mine go to about 10-12 weeks so they are fully filled out... The hens get really plump...

Only draw back to A&M's is they are really hard to sex you basically have to wait until they either lay an egg or crow... LOL other breads can typically be sexed by color...

 

[spookyevilone]

I like my Coturnix for egg production and as pets - they're like little mini chickens. The Buttons are great as something decorative to watch, but the eggs are wee tiny and the birds wouldn't be worth eating.

-Spooky

 

[emsevers]

Looks like the A&Ms seem to be the best way to go. I'm getting 30 bobwhites with my new incubator. Would they be suitable for meat? What size are their eggs?

 

[linebacker]

Quote:
Bobwhites are traditional game birds and make excellent table fare. They are more prone to cannibalism than coturnix and have a longer incubation period. The eggs are about the same size as a coturnix egg.

Welcome to world of quail
Brad

Edited: I couldn't spell.

 

[deerman]

Quote:
You can sex them at 6 weeks, male will have a red ball behind the vent. If you push on it white foam will come out. Same with all coturnix

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
My A&M's crowed at 5 weeks (of course the only ones I have!)

 

[CrimsonRose]

yeah I've tried the vent sexing a 6 weeks and since for some reason mine mature later that doesn't work until about week 8 sometimes 9... And that is right around the time they learn to crow or lay an egg...

I did just get some eggs from another breeder and will see if they mature sooner so far the chicks are smaller than my A&M's (they are even smaller than my Tibetan and golden that hatched out of the same group of eggs) so maybe if they aren't as Jumbo they mature sooner... I'll try it with my new chicks and see...