Raise on wire or ok on the ground?

[Leah S]

Hello! I have raised chickens for 7 years now. My husband and I are looking onto raising quail. We will start with just raising them for eggs but would like to progress to hatching our own eggs. We have an old chicken run that I would like to reuse as a quail run. I am seeing differing opinions about raising quail on the ground. if they are moved regularly (2- 3 days or as needed) will they still have a high chance of getting worms? When I cant move them, like in winter I would prop the tractor up off the ground so the cage will be cleaner. Does this sound like an ok idea? if not, what would you change?
Second, if we are hatching our own eggs how would we go about giving them vaccinations or do they not need any of that? Do not want to introduce any diseases.
Thank you for your time!
Leah

 

[TwoCrows]

I kept quail on the ground for 10 years and never had too much trouble with worms. If you keep your ground clean and dry, parasites, bacteria, fungi and virus's aren't any more common than raising them on wire. I DO recommend that you raise quail chicks on wire. Wire is SO much more sanitary and still gives the chicks just enough exposure to coccidiosis to develop immunity without getting them sick. Quail are fairly susceptible to cocci. They eat EVERYTHING in their bedding.

I used to use giant aviaries for my quail, but now that I am down to only a handful of birds, I use a chicken coop with run and it works quite well. They use the ramp and all.

Quail are not as prone to things like Mareks, New Castle and such and do not need vaccinations for anything. But do keep them quite far away from all chickens. Quail are very susceptible to Coryza, MG and the like and have no resistance to survive. So wash your hands between the species, don't share feeders and waterers, if you use walk in aviaries for your quail, keep a separate pair of shoes for your quail and chickens. Don't use the same cleaning utensils and change your clothes after heavy cleaning in the chicken yard if you are headed to your quail area.

Good luck with your quail adventures!

 

[Twoandhelp]

What about ducks? I know ducks don't get a lot of diseases, but is there any high risks that you know of between quail and ducks? I have both.

 

[TwoCrows]

I personally have never heard of waterfowl passing on illness on to quail or any gamebirds, or visa versa....BUT...you might want to ask this question in our Ducks section just in case!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/42/ducks

 

[Leah S]

Thanks! So, after reading up on quail I have a few more questions . What feeder do you use? Heard they super messy eaters and don't want to be wasting feed. Can they drink tap water? Is the chlorine ok for them?
And, when raising for meat, how do you keep the gene pool diverse? Do you order eggs from time to time, or is it ok for brothers and sisters to keep making future generations? We are hoping to start with 12, 9 girls and 2 boys. Hatch babies and eat the originals. Would keeping this up be ok for the birds?

 

[TwoCrows]

Thanks! So, after reading up on quail I have a few more questions . What feeder do you use? Heard they super messy eaters and don't want to be wasting feed. Can they drink tap water? Is the chlorine ok for them?
And, when raising for meat, how do you keep the gene pool diverse? Do you order eggs from time to time, or is it ok for brothers and sisters to keep making future generations? We are hoping to start with 12, 9 girls and 2 boys. Hatch babies and eat the originals. Would keeping this up be ok for the birds?

Unfortunately, wasting feed is what all poultry do. LOL I have never found a cure for it, although lots of people build feeders to prevent waste. I have never tried it, but feel free to dig around here in the quail section for ideas on feeders that help with the wasting of it. I use standard quail feeders and clean up the mess when they are done.

Yes, tap water is perfectly fine for your birds.

You can breed related birds for a few years before you might consider bringing in new stock. I usually add new blood at year 2 or 3 and order eggs on line from a reliable source.

Are these Coturnix? The ratio of roo to hen is 1 roo to 5 to 7 hens. Any less hens and the roo can over mate the hens. Any more and your fertility goes down. You will need to keep the roo's and their harems separated.

But it sounds like a plan!!

 

[Invision]

Thanks! So, after reading up on quail I have a few more questions . What feeder do you use? Heard they super messy eaters and don't want to be wasting feed. Can they drink tap water? Is the chlorine ok for them?
And, when raising for meat, how do you keep the gene pool diverse? Do you order eggs from time to time, or is it ok for brothers and sisters to keep making future generations? We are hoping to start with 12, 9 girls and 2 boys. Hatch babies and eat the originals. Would keeping this up be ok for the birds?

So far the best feeder I have made was of 2" PVC with about an inch cut out of it. Makes the feed kind of curl into its self. But this feeder only works if you have a through fence feeding system. otherwise they can just get in it and kick it out. But if your cage is outdoor you have to compete with the rodents (squirels rats and mice..) pellet gun works wonders on those.