Thinking about quail and have questions.

[Sefirothe]

I’m looking at getting 30 feather sexable Coturnix eggs and 30 jumbo white Coturnix eggs from MyShire.

Found an incubator on Amazon that I think will work ok. I have hygrometer sensors already that I can toss one inside.

For brooding, I was going to get a pop up pen to be kept in my basement like I brooded my first batch of chicken chicks in. Something like this with a zip close top, probably close to 12 square feet of floor space.

I have that heat plate plus another one from the same manufacturer that’s twice the size. They are pretty infinitely height adjustable.

I already have a no drown/quail sized waterer base to start them off initially. Feeder and food to put in it I’ll have to figure out yet. I’m guessing chicken chick feeders are a bad idea?

Food I know they need way higher protein than chickens. My local feed store doesn’t carry much more than bog standard horse/rabbit/chicken feeds (I can’t even get an all flock pelleted feed, have to order from Chewy). Any recommendations for something available from Chewy or Amazon?

Anything else I might be forgetting?

And if the eggs ship to be here by early January, that would put the chicks due to be moved outside early March-ish. Thats still the tail end of winter here, shouldn’t be a problem right?

 

[Nabiki]

Here is an article that may help you with feed.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/what-to-feed-your-quail.79205/

You will want to acclimate your youngsters to the cold weather, but once they are fully feathered, they are very cold tolerant as long as they're dry, out of the wind, and have shelters.

 

[Sefirothe]

Here is an article that may help you with feed.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/what-to-feed-your-quail.79205/

You will want to acclimate your youngsters to the cold weather, but once they are fully feathered, they are very cold tolerant as long as they're dry, out of the wind, and have shelters.

Not sure how I missed that article before. Or maybe I didn’t and am just giving myself an info overload…

But I can get Kalambach Pheasant starter off of Chewy and it comes close to your recommended numbers. Fat % is a little low.

But it’s medicated. Is that good/bad or personal choice like with chickens?

Never had an issue with coccidia with my chickens (knocking furiously on wood) but I’ve started all my day old chicks on medicated feeds.

 

[catesquire]

Re feeders: I literally just use pickle jar lids until they're tall enough for a chick feeder. Works fine and easy to clean! I usually put a few all over the cage the first few days to make sure they find food everywhere they go.

Food from Chewy: I've been using Bluebonnet Gamebird 30% crumble for the chicks, then transitioning to the 20% nibblet for adults. I'd prefer slightly more protein in the adult feed but quality seems good (chicks grow fast, plump up great, and their poop doesn't smell like death like with Purina. Purina gets the job done but good god those chicks STANK).

Mesh cage and heat plates should work fine. (So would big Rubbermaid tubs and heat lamps. All the usual stuff for chickens works for quail.) I will say I've lost two quail to broken necks in a mesh cage--I think they get so used to bouncing harmlessly off the sides that they hit the side hard enough to bounce it the foot and a half needed to crash straight into the wall outside. Haven't lost any that way in hard sided cages. But my sample sizes are very small at this point, I only started hatching last spring.

Good luck!

 

[Nabiki]

Not sure how I missed that article before. Or maybe I didn’t and am just giving myself an info overload…

But I can get Kalambach Pheasant starter off of Chewy and it comes close to your recommended numbers. Fat % is a little low.

But it’s medicated. Is that good/bad or personal choice like with chickens?

Never had an issue with coccidia with my chickens (knocking furiously on wood) but I’ve started all my day old chicks on medicated feeds.

Don't get medicated feed. Does your local feed store have turkey starter?

 

[Sefirothe]

Re feeders: I literally just use pickle jar lids until they're tall enough for a chick feeder. Works fine and easy to clean! I usually put a few all over the cage the first few days to make sure they find food everywhere they go.

Food from Chewy: I've been using Bluebonnet Gamebird 30% crumble for the chicks, then transitioning to the 20% nibblet for adults. I'd prefer slightly more protein in the adult feed but quality seems good (chicks grow fast, plump up great, and their poop doesn't smell like death like with Purina. Purina gets the job done but good god those chicks STANK).

Mesh cage and heat plates should work fine. (So would big Rubbermaid tubs and heat lamps. All the usual stuff for chickens works for quail.) I will say I've lost two quail to broken necks in a mesh cage--I think they get so used to bouncing harmlessly off the sides that they hit the side hard enough to bounce it the foot and a half needed to crash straight into the wall outside. Haven't lost any that way in hard sided cages. But my sample sizes are very small at this point, I only started hatching last spring.

Good luck!

I am NOT a fan of pickles. And I can my own jelly so no jelly jar lids.

But I do have a bunch of single piece mason jar storage lids that might do the trick.

Looked up that Bluebonnet feed, looks to be better numbers than the Kalambach I found, thanks!!

 

[Sefirothe]

Don't get medicated feed. Does your local feed store have turkey starter?

Nope. Anything more than chicken starter crumble or layer pellets I’d have to go online to get. Or make the hour+ trip to the nearest TSC.

 

[Sefirothe]

Eggs, incubator, starter food (non medicated), pen for brooding, etc ordered. I'm officially crazy.

Other random-ish questions:

Any tips for catching quail in a cage as big as this pen? In case of injured bird needing treatment or need to cull some boys or what ever reason.

Can quail be trained to be more friendly by hand feeding treats like chicken chicks?

Are quail as destructive to plants as chickens?

Do most people who hatch their own quail eggs move quail to a breeding/egg collection cage? Or can fertility be still decent in a multi-bird enclosure like my 6'x10' pen? I'm not too worried about mixing of colors/genetics (at least not yet), more just keeping a self sustaining flock.

 

[Nabiki]

A butterfly net can help catch quail. Mine are usually calm enough to catch without too much trouble, but sometimes there's a skittish one.

Quail can become more friendly, but I have never had a quail as friendly as the chickens that I don't spend a lot of time giving treats to. Chickens are a lot friendlier and a lot more curious than quail.

I keep 20 square foot pens with 12 birds, 2 males, 10 females, and I have good fertility.