Quial question

[Jesusfreak101]

Can you raise quail with chickens? Do the require special care? Are the eggs better then chicken eggs? Or do you raise them for meat?

 

[drewskimac]

"can you raise quail with chickens?"

Well, some other people may be able to give you a more descriptive answer, but based on what I know from raising my quail, I would say no. They need to be in a separate pen for several reason.

"do the require special care?"
haha, well, it depends on what you mean by "special care". Because, I treat my chickens with "special care" so often that I don't even consider it special anymore. In comparison to chickens, the quail do need a higher protein. Some people use gamebird feed, some people feed them eggs, i've even heard of people giving them cat food (which I don't really reccommend, as it is meant for a completely different type of animal), However, I personally have found that I can easily give mine extra protein by feeding them lots of insects. I raise mealworms, and feed them these, and I also keep a bucket underneath the bug zapper in the summertime and distribute the fried bugs to them and the chickens and ducks in the morning.

Now, as far as quail CHICKS, they ABSOLUTELY REQUIRE SPECIAL CARE. Quail chicks absolutely HAVE to have marbles or pebbles in their water bowl or else they WILL find a way to drown/get covered in water and food and not only kill themselves but all the other chicks as well.

"are the eggs better than chicken eggs?"
Well, that is based on personal opinion. My opinion happens to be.... yes, they do taste better to me than chicken eggs and if you research it there seems to be all sorts of health benefits.

"do you raise them for meat?"
Well, there are a number of different species of quail, and they all have their pros and cons. Bobwhite are a bigger bird, and they have whiter meat, but they take a lot longer to mature and hatch the a coturnix quail. Look in to all of the different types and see what suits you best whether you're wanting the eggs or you want to butcher them for meat.

Take care

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Cool thanks we have quite a few chickens so i guess quail are out for now until we get more space.