Tell me about quail, please

[amyquilt]

What does everyone raise their quail for?

Mostly just for eating? Do you eat the eggs?

 

[roosters97]

pet's, there fun to watch also, are very funny!

there egg's are cool looking and good lol

 

[Lophura]

Close to the same discussion posted here a while back - https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=38604

Some species are kept just for meat/egg production, but I prefer the avicultural side of things.

Dan

 

[Omniskies]

Quail are definitely well worth trying. I prefer the jumbo Coturnix quail that gets to be 16-18oz+ in around 6-8 weeks, at which point you can butcher the males and get eggs from the females. The eggs are much larger than the standard Coturnix and can be tricky to fit in the incubator as a result.

They tend to lay 5-6 eggs a week giving you plenty of eggs to pickle and cook with. I also like to save back the tiny feathers for crafts and to restuff a pillow. It takes a _lot_ of quail to restuff pillows, but the feathers are so tiny that it's almost as good as down, and is definitely better than using standard chicken feathers.

I tend to be impatient so having a chick go from egg to adult in a couple of months is great, and definitely beats waiting six months for chickens. By the time my chicks have reached adulthood and are laying my quail have been laying like crazy for four months.

Good luck with your quail.

 

[Ace_king_brahma]

My quail are for four purposes. My first batch are considered pets. Any breeding stock I have will be considered pets. I want to try pickled quail eggs so mine will serve that purpose as well. Chicks will be sold to my customers and any extra offspring I can't sell are for the table.

If for pets handle them frequently as chicks. Coturnix seem to be very naturally friendly.