QuailShaQ 101.1

[MobyQuail]

so now you have to count your goats at night before bed?

http://news.yahoo.com/2-pajama-clad-girls-stolen-goat-walk-021957713.html

 

[MobyQuail]

the tatanka hens decided to start laying... 45 days old. got 3 eggs out of 5 hens. I have mixed emotions about this.

kinda glad I have been weighing them all along, I think 4 hens and 2 roos can provide me some decent project birds. I can see where "eyeing" them could get a fella's stock headed in the wrong direction, you must weigh them regularly, imho.

also plan on keeping 2 largest white hens for a cross with the browns.


the white chicks from the "1/2 ounce egg project" we set and have growing up, their 3 wk weights were very promising, 3 out of the 5 are measurably larger, I hope we get a bigger solid white male to work with.

 

[Fat Daddy]

I was wander'n when they'd start... Your growth slows down alot now... I'm move'n mine around some in hopes of holdin off laying as long as I can...

 

[MobyQuail]

Quote:
I will be consulting the almanac for a later fall hatch, where they reach 4-5 weeks and natural daylight is less and less.

also think the cooler weather will help, must remember, these birds have been baking daily in 95-100' swamp heat, hard to put on weight in that...65-75' is prolly gonna be buffalo quail perfection...

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
I will be consulting the almanac for a later fall hatch, where they reach 4-5 weeks and natural daylight is less and less.

also think the cooler weather will help, must remember, these birds have been baking daily in 95-100' swamp heat, hard to put on weight in that...65-75' is prolly gonna be buffalo quail perfection...

TOO HOT X TOO MUCH LIGHT= RAISE THEM IN THE REFRIGERATOR

 

[JJMR794]

SORRY COULD RESIST... I READ IT AND BEFORE I COULD STOP IT MY SENSE OF HUMOR ESCAPED AGAIN

 

[MobyQuail]

Quote:
hey good theory, remember the ol' QuailShaQ is built on theory, most unsubstantiated...

along those line, I may have to put in central A/C for them, will bump the $/lb a little...

 

[Stellar]

I have fans in with mine so far (I keep mine indoors). But considering A/C at least from one of those window things (which I have but cannot figure out how to install without blowing up the place).

I hope you were serious about the A/C so I am not a goof

 

[MobyQuail]

Quote:
well, would be a/c ing the whole lab so to speak, so not just for the quail to kick back and ask for a blanket, but would benefit all

 

[MobyQuail]

I give it a 70% for the below passage, 85-90% for the rest of the article, nice work overall...


http://omniskies.com/quail.shtml

If you are wanting a bird that doesn't crow like roosters (making it possible to raise them in the city limits), produces 300+ eggs year round, takes up very little space and provides plenty of meat in a short amount of time then look no further than quail.

Jumbo Coturnix Quail has been bred to produce fertile eggs by the time they are 6-8 weeks old. At the same age the birds are ready to butcher at around a pound of live weight. They dress out at 70-75% their weight and their tiny feathers can be used in a wide array of crafts.

Once the hen begins laying it isn't uncommon for her to lay an egg a day for the first year of her life. Because of this, a flock of 30 quail (20 females and 10 males) can easily provide 120 eggs a week - the number of eggs a standard incubator can hold. With 30 quail and three incubators you can butcher 100 lbs of live quail every week for the freezer, or, with one incubator and 30 quail, 100 lbs of live quail and 200 eggs every three weeks.

Eggs

Five Jumbo Quail eggs is equivalent to one large chicken egg and taste almost identical. They are more cost effective to produce than chicken eggs, requiring two pounds of feed to produce a pound of eggs compared to three pounds of feed for a pound of eggs when dealing with chickens.

Meat

Quail meat is a delicacy with good reason. It is delicious, with a stronger flavor than chicken meat, and healthier for you. The meat is tender and can be cooked using practically any chicken recipe you prefer in addition to recipes that specifically call for quail meat. Since hens begin laying at such a young age, there is never a real concern about what to do with older birds - you can replace all of your stock every 12 weeks if you want.

Coturnix Varieties

Important: There are a thousand different names for each of the patterns and colors. In an effort to standardize these colors, I use the same "Standard of Perfection" that many other breeders are now using. Any discrepancies are noted. I have included common names for the color when possible, and will be updating this section as new information becomes available. Photographers are credited for any images that are not owned by Omniskies.

A&M Texas Whites (A&M Whites, A&M Texans)

These are snow white quail with dark spots on the head that were developed at A&M Texas University from the smaller English Whites to be a jumbo-sized bird with a light colored flesh. This is not a white meat bird and tastes the same as the other Varieties. They have become extremely popular and are nearly as common as the regular brown Coturnix. True A&M Whites should be a minimum of 8oz in size and tend to be somewhat smaller than the Jumbo Browns overall, but still larger than a standard sized quail.

At times there are spots on the back and wings, which are undesireable (the color can leave spots on the skin that some people don't like). There have been a few reports of "pied" quail, or quail that are white with brown patches, these are more than likely A&M Whites with excessive spotting or an A&M White crossed with another variety of Coturnix.

Gender cannot be determined by color with these quail and vent sexing is the best way to know what you have. Females are generally a little larger than males, but going by size runs the risk of keeping a runt female as a male.

A&M White chicks are pure yellow with one or two dark spots on them. These dark spots will stay with them into adulthood.​