Questions about california quails

[AnnetteM]

Hi, my name is Annette, I am from Germany and I joined that forum a few days ago.

I am planning to keep quails, 6-8 cotournix and in a second aviary California quails. I am allready in contact with a lady who wants to breed in spring and there I will get some chicks of of the Californian quails.

As California quails are native in US, I thought some of you could know a lot of them.

The aviary I want to build will be about 5 m² , which is about 50 square feet. Is it better to keep there only one pair or will it fit for two pairs? Or ist it better to keep one male with two hens?

But I understand, that they live monogamous and that the hens could be aggressive to other hens. Is this right?
But in winter they live in coveys ( is this the right word?). So I fear that one single pair feels alone in winter, but than in summer the space could be to small for two pairs?

How are the winters like in the area they live in free nature?

And what is, if I don't want chicks myself from them? What can I do with the eggs than? Are they eatable or must I throw them in my litter?

Greetings Annette

 

[Ntsees]

For those who keep them in groups, they can speak out about whether it's a good idea or not. But personally, I'd keep them in pairs for the breeding season because that's when the aggression starts. There will be a lot of fighting, chasing, and mating interference if there's more than one pair (plus the stress). As for a pair being alone in winter, they won't mind it. Plus, if they have their chicks with them, which will be adults by winter, they definitely won't be alone. And yes, they do group up in coveys and that's when many of them can be put together. Although the majority of the California quail population live in the valley and foothills where the winters are cold but do not get snow, some do live up in the higher elevations where they do get snow. So they are pretty hardy and can take the cold provided they have shelter and food (if you have some that's been living in a warm closed environment, don't toss them out into the cold because they haven't acclimated yet). If you don't want chicks, you can sell the fertilized eggs to others who want to have California quail like you do or you can eat them.

 

[AnnetteM]

Hi Ntsees, thanks for the information.
Selling fetilized egg, thats a good idea. But it didn't come to my mind by myself. Thank you.
I think then, I will keep only one pair. How much space do you have for one pair?
If they will have chicks and I can't find a new place for all of them, I will have a group the next year, so I have to build new cages for them or part the existing. So what is the minimum space they need?
Do you know how long they can live?

 

[ylly]

I keep mine in a raised cage. 6' llong 3' high by 2' deep. You could keep a pair or trio in that easly.

 

[AnnetteM]

Thank you, Ylly!
When you write 6' long 3' high and 2' deep, does that mean feet? Or yards?
We have millimeter and Meter here and I know that 1'' means 1 inch, so only one ' is feet?

 

[Ntsees]

...so only one ' is feet?

Yes, it means feet. The cage dimensions you previously mentioned is fine but if you want to go smaller, you can. As for me, I don't cage my birds and they free roam in my backyard (all fenced in though) so if you count that as a cage, then their confinement would be approximately 200 feet by 350 feet.

 

[AnnetteM]

No I don't want go smaller, only if I have chicks of them of my own and can't find them a good place to live.

200 feet by 350 feet is a lot of space. Do you keep there only one pair of quails?

 

[Ntsees]

I only have 2 female California quails, so yes, it's a lot of space for them.

 

[Jdiaz31089]

California Quail are native to a wide range of microclimates. Where I live in Central California, you can find these quail in flocks up to 20 or 30 birds throughout the San Joaquin Valley and the foothills to the west (Coastal Range), and to the east (Sierra Nevada.) I've seen them in the Bass Lake Area which is at an elevation of 3,400 feet and gets a significant amount of snow in the winter. The San Joaquin Valley has average wintertime low temperatures ranging between 30-35 degrees F, while the higher elevations in the Sierra dip into the teens and even single digit temperatures. During the summer, temperatures climb past 100 and 110 degrees F and at times could go near 125F. Summers are long and very dry, with no rain usually between May and November. These birds are very tough to withstand such a broad range of temperatures and drought. I hope this helps you understand their native habitat a little better.

 

[AnnetteM]

Hello Jdiaz31089, thanks for the information. I didn't know that the temperature at their natural habitat covers this verry wide range. Here where I live, we have in most winter not colder than 14 degees F, every fourth or fith year we have 5°F or maybe -4°F, but than we think this was a verry, verry cold winter.
In summer we have most times not hotter than 90 or 95°F in the shadow, so I think that should fit for these quails. What is not so good here, that in spring it could be that there are 2 week warm and sunny, maybe up to 70°F and higher and than we have cold wind from notheast and we will have frost again. But I hope my future quails will stand that.