Quail Orphan?

[SeramaChick]

I am receiving an orphaned quail from a shelter today. Supposedly it's a teenager?! I have no quail experience, only chickens & ducks. Anything I should know? I'll be browsing this section of the forum for insight.

 

[SeramaChick]

Ok, learned so far to keep the quail far away from my other poultry so it won't risk disease, good to know!!

 

[ppurv326]

what kind of quail is it?

 

[Denninmi]

They need a food higher in protein than chickens -- 28% gamebird starter is good. And, it needs to be crumbles, not pellets, as the pellets are too big. Short term, a few days, regular chicken feed is ok. You could always feed it mealworms or mashed eggs to augment the protein content of regular chicken layer or broiler food.

You already know about keeping the quail isolated from chickens so it doesn't contract diseases.

Other than that, treat it just like a chicken, and it will be fine.

 

[SeramaChick]

Hello!

Thank you for the replies! I'll get the crumble at the feed store tomorrow. It looks to be a Coturnix quail.

Any guess on if it's male or female?

 

[ppurv326]

This may sound intrusive but flip the bird over when u get him and see if he has a "Pimple" on his ventral end, if he/she does, then its a boy, if no then its a girl

 

[thekid]

Srry can't help you with the male female thing but somec of the quail Gods should be here soon

 

[leahthor]

By the speckles on its chest it looks to be a female. The angle of the picture makes it a little difficult for me to see how far down the speckles go. If I'm wrong I'm sure some of the quail gurus will correct me.

 

[Tom Turkey]

It has a rusty chest so it looks like a male to me.

 

[Stellar]

It's a girl for sure. Males don't have speckles.