Quail or No Quail?

[chickendreams24]

Okay not to cause trouble I read most of this thread but had to stop.

We keep both quail and chickens and in fact have a group of coturnix in the coop in a raised run we built. These are our oldest quail and they've been incredibly healthy and vigorous except for rats squeezing in and killing and eating two a year ago last March. Small hole fixed, rats dealt with. We have lost one or two others over more than a year or two but they've never acted sick in any way.

Now quail cannnot free range as chickens because they don't have the instincts needed and because they're not a native species and you can't just release captive bred native species of quail it's illegal. Also in our experience chickens will attack quail. One day the door to our quail run in the coop didn't get fully latched and swing open. The chickens injured/killed a couple of quail.

We also have a small tractor coop that we built and have our other group of quail in there weather permitting. That is to say they aren't in there in winter. We also keep them for both eggs, breeding and meat. The quail live the tractor and we want to build a second to get the other group out.

So many people that own quail essentially keep them in battery cages. A friend of mine is thinking of getting out of quail because they feel guilty that they're locked up all the time. The tractor coop is a perfect solution to that. It's got a door on top of the run and a door from the run into the covered area as well as a door to the back side of the covered area.

It's easily moved and can also be used to house small groups(3-5) chickens depending on breed and size.

The quail in the tractor forage for a large amount of their food and their eggs are better for it. Last fall we did lose some quail out of the tractor to a raccoon but that's an easy fix but using hardware cloth (we used chicken wire for the run assuming the birds would sleep inside) the quail do not like going in the dark covered part and must be forced. Note the covered part does have a hardware cloth floor for safety.

Whole I enjoy the quail and their personalities I do prefer my chickens and we have thought about getting out of quail but are undecided. They are great layers and I love the cricket like call of the females. Some of ours have been tame-ish but most never become tame. Quail feed is more expensive than chicken feed and many places don't carry it so that's something to think about. Also will you eat the meat? Will you eat the eggs? Having chicken eggs all the time we often don't eat the quail eggs and hard boiled them mash and feed them to the chickens.

 

[Erkenstein]

Quail are typically not "pets," although chickens certainly can be. Even a tame quail will need to be penned and not free ranged. Quail are also more vulnerable to predators and to injuries caused by being startled.

Quail can be vicious to each other in ways that go beyond establishing a pecking order. If you have quail, it is a good idea to have options for isolating aggressive or injured birds, working out grouping problems, and culling.

For people in the city, quail can include males which allows for reproduction (in incubators, not broody). They mature quickly for both meat and eggs. They are more "anonymous" and so easier (psychologically) to process. They are also practically easier to process, as in they can be butchered and cleaned very easily and quickly. IMO, the meat is more delicious than chicken and the eggs taste the same. Some people like the eggs because they are bite-sized; others who are allergic to chicken eggs don't have problems with quail eggs.

The thing about birds spreading diseases is that birds have to be sick to spread disease. I have some of my quail pens about 10 feet away from the edge of my chicken run, and about 10 feet from that is a run for my muscovy. So far I haven't had any problem. I use reasonable biosecurity (not sharing feeders, not cleaning poop in one place and then feeding in another place) but not extreme.

 

[BlackHackle]

Comparing to chickens how hard it is to care for quail? I currently have three hens but I'm thinking about getting some quail too. Is it easier or harder than chickens to take care of

Have you heard of Bantam chickens?

 

[nessa.morg]

Have you heard of Bantam chickens?

yeah I have. I might look into those I'm not sure

 

[BlackHackle]

yeah I have. I might look into those I'm not sure

You would love bantams! I've been raising chickens for 10 years and this is actually my first year with bantams and I am loving how much easier they are to raise than standard chickens

 

[nessa.morg]

How are they easier than regular chickens

 

[BlackHackle]

How are they easier than regular chickens

Smaller, cheaper on food, and can be raised a variety of ways. Whereas standard chickens have to have large runs and loads of coop space, a little flock of bantams can be housed in a lot cheaper and smaller of a setup

 

[nessa.morg]

Oh yeah makes sense. Ill probably look into those but I still am looking into quail I think

 

[BlackHackle]

Oh yeah makes sense. Ill probably look into those but I still am looking into quail I think

Oh yea, I would definitely look into quails!

 

[cosmosue]

Actually quail can be kept as pets, and tamed quite easily starting from very young age. My kids handled several of ours and they will not run from us they will sit in our hands and let us pet them and hold them. But you have to spend time with them every day to get them that way, and since ours are in my office until grown we do spend every day with them. Some are handled more than others.

I use rabbit hutches and I don’t see this as cruel, there is only a few quail to each hutch, but only 1 male. But we are working on getting a huge coop.

I feed my quail first, then my chickens.

One reason I prefer the quail is because they do not carry salmonella. Chickens carry it, and while we have never gotten sick it’s nice not to worry about it.

We use the chicken eggs for meals.

I hard boil the quail eggs every few days (a large batch) if I am not hatching them and I put them in the fridge as a snack. My kids and I love them, they are quick to peel and a few make a nice healthy snack, you don’t even need salt and pepper though we like it. So we eat them every single day.

At first I thought what will I do with all these tiny eggs, but once I hard boiled them I was hooked.

Also you can use 3-4 quail eggs to equal one chicken egg and with a cheap quail egg cutter you just snip the top and cook with them.

Quail are higher in protein than chicken. Though much smaller of course. Like someone else mentioned butchering quail takes 5 mins and you do it right in your kitchen (see YouTube) there is hardly any mess, it’s way easier than cleaning a fish and definitely easier than a chicken as I used to butcher chickens in my early 20’s when we had 5 acres.

I love my hens, I love my quail, I wouldn’t want to be without either of them. Quail are so much fun.

Also I would not keep a chicken in the house for quite a few reasons one being the bacteria but another is the smell of some of their poop is just rancid lol! Quail poop doesn’t smell like that.

As for food you just need a higher protein feed preferably in crumbles and I buy a huge 50 pound bag on amazon, it lasts quite a while.

And no you can’t free range quail, they would not come back and I imagine they wouldn’t last long anyway due to predators.

I scoop large handfuls of leaves I’ve raked into big piles in the back and I give them leaves which they hunt for bugs on and nest with, they absolutely LOVE leaves. I also use sticks and things to make cubby holes for them to hide in and they love it. In the heat I freeze bottle water and place it in the hutch to cool them off on 100 degree days.

I think my quail are quite happy little things that get a lot of treats and attention.

Some people keep them in stacking cages on wire all the time 24/7 but this type of cage I would not use. I would use something that has a poop tray and if you want to use wire leave some area that is not wire.

My hutches all have a space that is sectioned off and they will hide in it if they want and some use it to lay eggs so they have an area for coverage.

Hope that helps.