Quail Facts for Beginners

[myfinefeatheredfriends]

Well after finding out that a hatchery I've bought from in the past had a salmonella outbreak the last couple years (which scared me because I was going to order ducklings either this spring or next), I have to share some thoughts about why I LOVE quail. First of all, to those of you new to quail or those of you wondering why we raise quail in the first place, here is a reason to like them... they don't get salmonella due to their increased content of lysozyme, which resists infections by killing harmful bacteria. You could eat quail eggs raw if you really wanted to!

Still not satisfied? The oriental (where Coturnix and Chinese Painted quail originally came from) have used quail eggs in medicine for years. The Chinese have proven that eating quail eggs regularly can help to treat diabetes, anemia, stomach ulcers, tuberculosis, gall stones and even asthma, among many others. They have been used in hair and skin products as well since they help fight skin conditions, as well as strengthen hair.

Despite their small size, their eggs are loaded with vitamins! There is 140% vitamin B1 packed in those tiny little eggs while a large chicken egg only has 50%. They are often used as a natural way to increase metabolism and immunity. Plus, if you have an allergy to chicken eggs, you can still eat quail eggs.

See? Good things DO come in small packages!

Soooooo... I'm still thinking about whether or not I am going to get more ducklings... as for quail, on the other hand, I've got 40 eggs in the bator right now Love my quail!

 

[TwoCrows]

You surely did your homework here on quail eggs!! LOL I have also heard these things about their eggs as well.

I have also found that quail are so much easier and less fragile than chickens. Chickens seem to be suseptable to all sorts of ailments, where as the quail just keep going and going and going....LOL

Great post!

 

[OleMissChic]

I can hardly wait to get quail! I'd like to have varied egg colors (like in the pic I pasted below) do you know what breeds to get to have varied colors? Would they all get along in their housing?

 

[laseterlass]

Keep your breeds segregated as some are more aggressive than others.

 

[laseterlass]

sorry that was the wrong pic. These are my jumbo cort eggs

 

[OleMissChic]

sorry that was the wrong pic. These are my jumbo cort eggs

Quail eggs are gorgeous! And yours seem to vary in color although they are the same breed?

 

[laseterlass]

They will vary everytime a hen lays an egg sometimes. The unpainted egg, is laid about once every 2 weeks. I know she lays more often.

 

[James the Bald]

I'd be concerned if the patterns on the eggs were identical.

 

[animalsrock123]

Cool! So many nutrients in one tiny egg! I can't beleive chicken eggs aren't as nutricous...thanks for the info myfinefeatheredfriends

 

[MrNappy]

Colour is the last thing that comes onto a quails egg, want proof?

Ok, so a while back (like a month ago), my quails had like a 4 day egg-bound-a-thon, they were super egg-bound and i had to manually help em lay eggs, so basically i helped em nice and slowly and they would all be white and some parts looked wet, these parts were transparent were the shell didn't cover fully, (quail eggs have two layers, chicken eggs do to but they're different). Anywho, i helped another hen out and this time i did it really slowly and as i did i saw the egg coming out very slowly having colour on it, and some of it was still white though. (I don't know if that proves anything but, that's my own experience)

What, i'm trying to get at is that the same breed will lay different lightness and darkness, and different spot patterns, 'cause the colour is the last stage.