Quail Questions mostly concerning pens

[pac]

I was thinking of picking up an incubator and a 10lb bag of food today from TSC, but it is snowing again and there really isn't any hurry. Other than to secure the items before they are no longer in stock.
My vinyl mesh should be in any day at Wally World.

I checked a couple places out for eggs, and the jumbo coturnix are unavailable at both places for a couple months. I'm guessing that besides egg production being lower during winter, so is mating. Either that or they don't want to ship in iffy weather.

Even with two hutches, I am thinking I will need a way to keep track of the birds individually. If only so I can tell the older birds from the younger ones as I add younger birds.
Does anyone have any ideas? Maybe a loose zip tie, like banding? Then I could keep track of birthday by color.

I actually saw one video yesterday where the homesteader said he starts with new eggs every Spring. That would certainly make it nice in Winter and dealing with frozen water and snow. And frozen eggs not collected soon enough.
But then I'd be waiting for the quail vendors to get eggs in again the following year.
Hmm... maybe I'll just reduce the flock... Keep them inside...

So much to think about.

 

[pac]

Glad I went to TSC today.
But mad at the same time.

I got the last 10lb bag of starter, and they only had two incubators left. Not saying they won't get more in, but I'm glad I got that out of the way and done.

But the incubator had gone from 148 yesterday to 160 today. And they didn't seem too concerned bout it when I mentioned it.

 

[Charic882]

If you get 30 shipped eggs, you should expect around 15 to hatch. If you get the eggs locally, you are likely to get a higher hatch rate. 15 birds is a decent sized covey to provide about 10 eggs/day.

If you keep your birds on the ground rather than on wire, they are very cold hardy as long as they are dry and out of the wind. Small shelters sized for one or two birds work best for them. It got down to -7F this year, and my birds did fine outside. I keep them in my greenhouse, but it doesn't keep heat over night. It does do a good job of keeping them dry and out of the wind, however.

If you keep all of your birds together, they will need more space and more hiding places if you want any chance that the males won't kill each other. I keep about 12 birds in a 20 square foot pen and I have to be careful about the two males I keep in each pen. If there's fighting, the boys get culled and a new pair introduced until I get two that get along with their 10 ladies. I don't have much trouble with that, though. I don't keep bullies, so my birds are pretty calm. I have good fertility, around 90%.

Your males are less likely to breed the hens during the winter. You can stimulate this artificially the same way you keep the hens laying year 'round by providing 14-16 hours of light per day. If you do this, though, your birds will have a shorter lifespan.

Here is my setup if you'd like to see a non-battery cage style, small operation.

What a brilliant idea to use cinderblocks
for your garden beds and quail!

 

[Gizmochick]

Hi folks.
After a stint with chickens that ended years ago, I thought quail might be a better option for me, as I miss not having birds. But the more videos I watch and articles I read, the more my brain just doesn't understand some things.
I hope you can bear with me and guide me to a good future with quail. And I don't step on anybody's toes along the way

I'm looking for egg production and for now, the occasional meal. Meaning I don't mind culling a few roos to get my ratio where it should be, but am not actively seeking "meat birds". And as the birds age I realize this cycle will need started over.
I see a lot of youtubers that look like they are in this not only for themselves, but commercially. They've got pen upon pen in their garages and pole barns. I can't tell if they are hobbyists, doing this for profit or are simply hoarders and don't know when to stop, lol.

Is it possible to start with 30 eggs, get your flock down to (guessing) 15 or so and just maintain that number?
I was thinking one 8'x3' pen would suffice, but now and thinking I at least need one more to "grow out" birds destined for the freezer. But I would still like those birds to be comfortable, too. I've seen what looks like a lot of overcrowding and that is not what I'm about. Even if they are going to be processed for the table.

And that brings be to the pen itself.
If these birds are so cold hardy, why does it seem like the majority of folks keep them inside? Even the homesteading channels with plenty of land seem to have them in a building. Is it simply to protect their birds better? Convenience?

I would like to keep my quail outside. It just seems like it would be healthier and happier for the birds. A lot of pens/hutches I've seen built still have mesh, at least partially, on the enclosed side of their hutch. And they live in snowy climates. That's gotta be drafty. At least in my mind.
I was thinking an open side and an enclosed side with deep litter. Thoughts? Overkill?

On breeding: Can I keep everyone together (at the proper ratio) and just assume the eggs I gather will be fertilized? Is this a year round thing?
Or do I need to separate one roo with 5-6 hens to their own enclosure? Again, requiring the extra pen. Not that I am opposed to an extra pen, I just don't want to find that two years from now I have a dozen quail pens

Anyway, this post is long enough already, but I want to make sure I have all my quail in a row before I jump in and possibly become overwhelmed. When I had chickens I just kept 4-5 hens, so things were pretty simple.

Hi folks.
After a stint with chickens that ended years ago, I thought quail might be a better option for me, as I miss not having birds. But the more videos I watch and articles I read, the more my brain just doesn't understand some things.
I hope you can bear with me and guide me to a good future with quail. And I don't step on anybody's toes along the way

I'm looking for egg production and for now, the occasional meal. Meaning I don't mind culling a few roos to get my ratio where it should be, but am not actively seeking "meat birds". And as the birds age I realize this cycle will need started over.
I see a lot of youtubers that look like they are in this not only for themselves, but commercially. They've got pen upon pen in their garages and pole barns. I can't tell if they are hobbyists, doing this for profit or are simply hoarders and don't know when to stop, lol.

Is it possible to start with 30 eggs, get your flock down to (guessing) 15 or so and just maintain that number?
I was thinking one 8'x3' pen would suffice, but now and thinking I at least need one more to "grow out" birds destined for the freezer. But I would still like those birds to be comfortable, too. I've seen what looks like a lot of overcrowding and that is not what I'm about. Even if they are going to be processed for the table.

And that brings be to the pen itself.
If these birds are so cold hardy, why does it seem like the majority of folks keep them inside? Even the homesteading channels with plenty of land seem to have them in a building. Is it simply to protect their birds better? Convenience?

I would like to keep my quail outside. It just seems like it would be healthier and happier for the birds. A lot of pens/hutches I've seen built still have mesh, at least partially, on the enclosed side of their hutch. And they live in snowy climates. That's gotta be drafty. At least in my mind.
I was thinking an open side and an enclosed side with deep litter. Thoughts? Overkill?

On breeding: Can I keep everyone together (at the proper ratio) and just assume the eggs I gather will be fertilized? Is this a year round thing?
Or do I need to separate one roo with 5-6 hens to their own enclosure? Again, requiring the extra pen. Not that I am opposed to an extra pen, I just don't want to find that two years from now I have a dozen quail pens

Anyway, this post is long enough already, but I want to make sure I have all my quail in a row before I jump in and possibly become overwhelmed. When I had chickens I just kept 4-5 hens, so things were pretty simple.

 

[Gizmochick]

I live in Missouri, my birds did great this winter, they were in a non heated barn, without much wind. I put straw in their pen when it was below freezing. And they gave me eggs everyday. I am new at this so i was very nervous, but i changed out the water a couple of times a day when it was below freezing. I also have a plastic tub that has their sand for dust baths that protected them from wind.

 

[Nabiki]

What a brilliant idea to use cinderblocks
for your garden beds and quail!

Thanks. I calculated cost of lumber vs. cinder blocks, and cinder blocks won. They are also easier to put together for me and they won't rot like wood will.