Quail Questions From a Beginner .

[niamhblond]

So for arguments sake lets say I know absolutely nothing about Quails .
I have a few questions (I already have chickens ) -
1. How many should I get (boys + girls ) ?
2. How big does the coop have to be ?
3. Are they more or less work than chickens ?
4. Do they eat the same food as chickens ?
5. How long do they live ?
6. What breed should I get ?
7. Do they need anything specific in their coop ?
8. Should I hatch my own ?
9. Could I have a chicken sit on quail eggs ?
10 .How long do they take to hatch ?
11. How many eggs do they lay ?

Thanks in advance .
And any other useful information will be graciously appreciated .

 

[Dragons4u]

1. Depends on type of quail.
2. Again depends on the quail.
3. No, not really to me.
4. No, quail usually require higher protein game bird feeds, cost me the same for both my chicken feed or game bird feed.
5. Depends on type of quail.
6. Depends on what you want them for. Meat, bobs, eggs coturnix, to look pretty, whatever you thinks is nice looking.
7. Not that I'm aware of.
8. Depends on if you have someone local to get the type you want. If not, egg hatching is the way to go. Live quails don't seem to ship well.
9. Yes, its been done, but you usually don't want to mix chicken and quails because they can make each other sick.
10. Depends on the type. Different quails have different incubation periods.
11. Lastly, depends on the type.

Some of this is my opinion and should be considered as such.

 

[niamhblond]

1. Depends on type of quail.
2. Again depends on the quail.
3. No, not really to me.
4. No, quail usually require higher protein game bird feeds, cost me the same for both my chicken feed or game bird feed.
5. Depends on type of quail.
6. Depends on what you want them for. Meat, bobs, eggs coturnix, to look pretty, whatever you thinks is nice looking.
7. Not that I'm aware of.
8. Depends on if you have someone local to get the type you want. If not, egg hatching is the way to go. Live quails don't seem to ship well.
9. Yes, its been done, but you usually don't want to mix chicken and quails because they can make each other sick.
10. Depends on the type. Different quails have different incubation periods.
11. Lastly, depends on the type.

Some of this is my opinion and should be considered as such.

What if the type was Japanese Quail .

 

[dc3085]

So for arguments sake lets say I know absolutely nothing about Quails .
I have a few questions (I already have chickens ) -
1. How many should I get (boys + girls ) ?
Keep them in coveys/harems of 1:4-1:7 Male:Female
2. How big does the coop have to be ?
1 sq ft per bird or larger
3. Are they more or less work than chickens ?
Less work, less destructive, eat a lot but its a lot less than chickens
4. Do they eat the same food as chickens ?
Nope dragon covered that. Chicks 28-30% gamebird or turkey starter, adults 20-25% gamebird food
5. How long do they live ?
I've seen examples that lived more than 5 years but mostly they live 1.5-3 years of age depending on their breeding heritage
6. What breed should I get ?
7. Do they need anything specific in their coop ?
Food, water, dry well drained soil if kept on ground
8. Should I hatch my own ?
This is best. Doing this means you can avoid potentially bringing any disease infected birds home.
9. Could I have a chicken sit on quail eggs ?
Chickens should be kept away from quail and bio security should be practiced. Chickens carry many diseases they are resistant to but are fatal to quail.
10 .How long do they take to hatch ?
17-19 days
11. How many eggs do they lay ?
Coturnix will lay one egg every day as long they have 14 hours of light. Without artificial lighting they will usually lay around 280 eggs a year per hen.

Thanks in advance .
And any other useful information will be graciously appreciated .

Edited for spelling

 

[Dragons4u]

1. Three to four (up to 7) hens with one rooster, preferably in a pen for each group or a really big aviary with lots of hidey holes. Else eventually you will have some fights.
2. Best to have 1 square foot or more per bird. If just raising for meat, you can go a little smaller if butchering before completely mature.
3. Not really any more work than chickens, but take up much less space but poop stinks way more.
4. Feed them a 30 percent game bird feed when young, or their whole lives. Supplement calcium with done grit oyster shell like a chicken.
5. They can live for three to five years but only lay well for the first year to 18 months, then slow down.
6. If you've decided on Coturnix, enough said.
7. Not really, just normal quail stuff. Food, water, grit if giving treats, and whatever else you want to spruce them up with. A wire floor pen with a poop pan will make your life easier.
8, 9 See my previous post.
10. About 18 to 19 days.
11. Can lay up to 300 eggs their first year. Depending on where you live, you may have to provide lighting to get that yield. If you let them take a rest during "winter" they may longer in life.

Hope that helps.
There is tons of information on this forums for all your questions. Just use the search function to find posts for what you need.

 

[Dragons4u]

Lol, thanks dc. You answered while I was trying to type on my phone.

 

[dc3085]

 

[niamhblond]

Lol, thanks dc. You answered while I was trying to type on my phone.

You should try typing with stumpy fingers like mine .
Thank god for spell check .

 

[Dragons4u]

I have bass player fingers...lol, but I drum more. Beating the crap out of things made to make loud noise is much more fun.

 

[niamhblond]

I have bass player fingers...lol, but I drum more. Beating the crap out of things made to make loud noise is much more fun.

Im about to beat the crap out of my phone ! ha ha