Quail eggs for food

[Doubletap]

Is that about the ratio. Eight quail eggs for one chickens?

 

[Buster]

I'd say about 4 quail for one chicken egg.

 

[Doubletap]

Do most people keep quail it coups similar to chicken coups?

 

[shelleyd2008]

I think most people keep them in cages. You can keep a breeder quad (1 male 3 females) in a 2x2 cage.

 

[AK_Button_Mama]

I say coturnix too. they mature quick and at about 6 weeks you can eat the bird so if you get to many males in a hatch yummy dinner to boot. the eggs taste just the same to me.. you probably had a quail eggs along side a regular store bought chicken egg... which taste like rubber to me there is no flavor in store bought eggs to me... a fresh chicken eggs tastes SOOO creamy and well like what a chicken eggs should taste like!!!! I have eggs if you wants some cheap!!! could shoot you a 18 pack for 20 dollars and that would include shipping! let me know!! cool thing about my eggs is you could tell every one you have quail from ALASKA!!!!

 

[Akane]

I was surprised at the size of the jumbo coturnix eggs. They are nearly as big as my japanese bantam eggs. I'll have to stick some on the scale and see exactly how they compare. Definitely worth eating. I've been actually eating button eggs which are teeny tiny and barely worth the effort to crack or peel them all.

Quail take less food to make the same amount of eggs by weight and also require less space than chickens. It does take a little more time and effort though to crack more eggs for a meal or baking. They also have a shorter lifespan so you will have replace your stock through hatching your own or buying again more often than you would with chickens. Another benefit though is that the eggs hatch sooner and the quail lay much soon. ~10weeks old for quail to lay compared to 6months for chickens so it's really not hard to get another generation going for fresh egg production.

Haven't tasted a coturnix egg yet since these are for hatching but button eggs do taste different from chicken eggs. Keep in mind also that eggs from the store and from someone's home flock will taste different. Eggs from your own chickens will have more flavor. When you compare quail eggs to free range chicken eggs the flavor is more similar but compared to store bought chicken eggs they are very different.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Coturnix quail can and normally do start laying as early as 6 weeks old.

And I totally agree on the size of the eggs! I got my first eggs from pop57, and was completely amazed!! They were just about the same size as my dutch bantam hen's eggs!!

 

[Akane]

While possible I wouldn't count on eggs from 6week old quail. 8 weeks maybe. 10 weeks the odds are good and if they take much after that something may be wrong. One possible variable that could lead to the discrepancies in laying age is the protein level of the food. Adding another 5% protein to my buttons diet got me eggs 2 weeks earlier and birds that feathered twice as fast.

 

[Doubletap]

I live in central alabama and plan on keeping the quail in a pen that will have a warm area. Should I expect the quail to lay in the winter?

 

[linebacker]

Quote:
Exactly! diet is the key. Several of mine do start laying between 6 and 7 weeks old; however, good sized hatchable quality eggs start about the 8th week.

Brad