Started raising quail for meat/eggs

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If I was you I would get rid of one rooster 2 is to many for 6 hens. I raise mine 6 hens to a rooster. I've tried having several rooster with a bunch of hens nothing but trouble believe me.

Here's what I did today; made a new cage. It is still 4x2 like the first cage but has a divider down the middle so each is 2x2. I put 1 male with 3 females in each. After I hatch out some eggs I may add one female to each side if necessary (and they are of age of course). I'll use the first 4x2 as a grow out cage.

 

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Updating my thread:

So they should be 6-7 weeks old now (give or take). So I'll be looking to see if they start laying here in the next week or so. I'm getting 13 hours of natural light (like I mentioned in my other thread) so I've got a 15W bulb to add a couple more hours. I'll see if that's enough and adjust accordingly.

I did separate them into a 3:1 ratio in two 2x2 cages. I can add another hen if necessary but they seem to be quite content. Every so often I'll put them on the grass so they can peck at the ground and such. They seem to enjoy that.

I tried a DIY incubator but it was getting too warm so I went ahead and purchased an incubator. It's a Yosoo 10 (chicken) egg incubator. Got it on Amazon as it had a 4.5 star rating and reviewers seemed to like it just fine. We'll see how many quail eggs it will hold. I'd like to be able to do like 20 or so at a time so we'll see how that works out. It's ready to go when they start laying.

I have a large plastic tote to use as a brooder when the time comes. I may or may not need a light to heat it up depending on how my patio or garage works out. As I understand, you want to start at about 95F and drop it like 5F a week or so. I may be hitting that without an issue without having a continuous heat source going but I'll see how that goes when the time comes.

I've added a dirt bath and man do they really enjoy that!

I'll be adding a separate side dish with crushed egg shell when I see them start laying. I've been getting a supply of it ready.

Does anyone use the droppings in their garden? If so, do you add it straight in or do you do something to it first. I've 'heard' that it could burn the plants but wanted to hear some first-hand info from those that use it. Currently I use the rabbit manure and worm castings but if I can add this then I will. Advice welcome.

And thoughts, comments and suggestions welcome on everything I've posted. I've learned a lot and look forward to continuing that. Thanks.

 

[jennifleur]

For a brooder, sweet Pdz makes a good dust bath. Controls smell as they fling it around bathing.

I garden, a lot. I use the quail droppings in my compost. My droppings might be different than yours. My quail are in a aviary with a sand /sweet Pdz floor. There is also a second story with wire flooring that has hay and shredded paper. As the quail dig around in the hay, bits of hay and poop fall down onto the sand floor. I rake the bottom level and than sift out the poop and hay. They get garden greens that have bolted and weeds as well. Have a lanky aphid covered plant, primo quail chow! The green matter gets sifted out also. I than use a modified French trenching duck assisted method of composting. I dig a hole in the worm pile and dump the quail waste in it. Throw anything else composty into it, and cover with dirt. Later I dig it up for the ducks so they can get all the worms as a treat. The whole area gets turned over pretty often. The hay seems to help with air pockets. The sweet Pdz helps it from stinking. When I need good dirt I go to the worm pile. Always with ducks running after me. After awhile my compost area seems to be pretty biologically active and things break down rapidly. We are very dry here and I water it as needed.

 

[SEP Board]

For a brooder, sweet Pdz makes a good dust bath. Controls smell as they fling it around bathing.

I garden, a lot. I use the quail droppings in my compost. My droppings might be different than yours. My quail are in a aviary with a sand /sweet Pdz floor. There is also a second story with wire flooring that has hay and shredded paper. As the quail dig around in the hay, bits of hay and poop fall down onto the sand floor. I rake the bottom level and than sift out the poop and hay. They get garden greens that have bolted and weeds as well. Have a lanky aphid covered plant, primo quail chow! The green matter gets sifted out also. I than use a modified French trenching duck assisted method of composting. I dig a hole in the worm pile and dump the quail waste in it. Throw anything else composty into it, and cover with dirt. Later I dig it up for the ducks so they can get all the worms as a treat. The whole area gets turned over pretty often. The hay seems to help with air pockets. The sweet Pdz helps it from stinking. When I need good dirt I go to the worm pile. Always with ducks running after me. After awhile my compost area seems to be pretty biologically active and things break down rapidly. We are very dry here and I water it as needed.

That's a great bit of information, thank you. I have red worms under my rabbit cages, so as I understand you, there is no problem with adding the quail droppings into the red worm pile for them to chow on along with the other compost material. That would be very convenient as I have the quail in the same location as the rabbits/worms. Thank you so much!

 

[jennifleur]

I don't know if the large amount of hay and shredded paper in the mix buffers the quail poop. I worry about poop overload with the rabbits also. Never had them, don't know about their poop. The worms I have in the pile are mostly night crawlers. Red wigglers might be more finicky. I remember hearing something about the red wigglers being great in a worm bin, with controlled enivornment. That they are the best worm composters, but struggle in natural yard settings. Yes, I know . Worms are worms! Just saying...........

Air might be key to your pile. I'm motivated by the ducks to mix it up. If you ferment stuff, like kombuccha or kimchi, I'd chuck some of it in there also. Try to get the soil really active.

 

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Thank you for the reply. I know that the rabbit manure is like 'worm candy' from the resources I've read, but I think I'll compost the quail manure separately in a regular compost pile for now. Actually it should help break everything down better since it is high in ammonia which really kick-starts the decomposing process. Thank you again for the ideas

 

[Sill]

Unless you scatter it very sparingly you must compost quail manure. It is a "hot" manure and will burn your plants if it's not well composted. That said, if you have compost bins there is nothing better to heat that pile up fast! It turns to black gold quickly if you actively manage your pile by turning every few days. Make sure to mix a good supply of browns (dried leaves, wood chips etc.) in with the manure to keep it balanced, at least 50% or you will get an ammonia stink to your cooking compost and will attract flies. I always age the finished compost (finished in that it is well broken down and does not heat up anymore) for at least 6 months before using and will turn it every week or two as it's aging and mellowing like a fine wine.

 

[jennifleur]

Worms won't survive in hot compost. A lot depends on how many quail you have and how much poop. Than finding a compost method that fits your situation. I wanted large amounts of worms and even mail ordered special african night crawlers that tolerate high temperatures better than other types of night crawlers and red worms. It kills my husband to see me out there feeding them to the ducks. I try to do it when he's not looking and only from one spot. The other areas I leave them to multiply.

 

[jennifleur]

You guys are great! Worm candy, black gold and fine wine.

 

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You guys are great! Worm candy, black gold and fine wine.

I restarted my regular compost bin to add the quail droppings to and it's working nicely. I always had a hard time getting the temp up but the quail droppings seem to be helping quite a bit. I'll save the rabbit manure for the worms and use the quail droppings for the bin. Win-win!

Now I'm waiting for them to start laying. If I'm right, they should be at or around 6-7 weeks old now. Want to start using the incubator I purchased (found out it's a Janoel 10 and seems to do well for people). Can fit 10 chicken eggs so I'm curious how many quail eggs it will reasonably fit. We'll see.

Plan on rearranging my PVC rabbit hutch to add additional cages so I will also do a PVC frame that I can stack four cages for the quail. So my son and I will have some fun father-son projects for next week. Which I'm glad about as this is good experience for him to gain.