Thinking of getting quail please help.......

[GothChick]

Ok so I recently starting getting into poultry. I have had almost every kind of other animal but never any birds. I am unfortunately illegal currently because our city has insane regulations. Basically all you can have in our city is dogs and cats. Anything else, even reptiles, birds, rodents, ferrets, etc need written permission from the chief of police. It's silly. Anyway...... I currently keep my chickens indoors and have a huge renovated basements set up for them. LOL! It looks almost like a zoo exhibit down there. I am thinking of trying to hatch some quail but I need to know a few things first.


1. Which breeds are the quietest?

2. Can they be kept in cages like other birds?

3. Do I need multiple or can I have just one male and one female?

4. What are they used for? Pets? Eggs? (I don't want to eat them!)


I am thinking of getting a pair of the button quails because they are so cute and tiny. Can you eat their eggs? Are they going to be hard to get rid of the extras?

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

1. Which breeds are the quietest?
I have only had Buttons, when they were on the fontporch they would whisle all day long, when I moved them to my quail building they never make a peep. ( Hardly )

2. Can they be kept in cages like other birds?
Yes

3. Do I need multiple or can I have just one male and one female?
1 Male and 1 Female for every 1 cage.

4. What are they used for? Pets? Eggs? (I don't want to eat them!)
Pets, and Eggs I couldn't ever eat them either!

I am thinking of getting a pair of the button quails because they are so cute and tiny. Can you eat their eggs? Are they going to be hard to get rid of the extras?
Yes, you can eat their eggs. If I have too many eggs I boil them and feed them back to the quail. I have to hurry because they easily go bad in 2 weeks! When I have 3 - 4 eggs I boil them. Either we eat'em of the quail do.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

I suggest Coturnix. They are so mellow. Most Quail will not tame down, but Coturnix are born tame.
Female

Male

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Quote:
I have heard Coturnix quail are super tame and friendly. However buttons can be tamed as well.

I raised a button from a baby and now he is grown and even though I haven't handled him in about 3 months he is still as tame as he could be.
I have a suggestion .. GET BOTH! And see which one ya like best!

I can't really say anything bad about Coturnix quail because I have never had any!

 

[GothChick]

OK thanks! I will have to order some hatching eggs of both and hope for the best! Do they every raise their own babies if I let them?

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

The Coturnix rarely go broody & hatch their own. I raised Buttons for a short while & they always tried to fly away & hit the top of the pen. The Coturnix that I have now,(over 60) will come to me when I go in the pen.They RARELY try to fly.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

My buttons have never tryed to raise their own. Of course I have only had buttons since July!

I have 1 grown pair, all the rest are younysters.

 

[mhwc56]

Quote:
i thought the town I live in was too restrictive BUT yours sounds IMPOSSIBLE! what is with some of these towns that they think they should regulate what everyone can or cannot have? i could understand the health regulations maybe saying if you do not keep them clean and blah blah blah ...but ...reeeeally?
In our town ,what i think is funny is that you cannot have chickens(even w/o any roosters) BUT you CAN have horses....figure THAT one out ...

 

[GothChick]

Yea it sucks. This is what it actually says.



OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC POLICY, 14.03 CITY OF MANITOWOC
(1m) Restricted Species. (a) No person, except for a
duly authorized licensed breeder or pet shop owner, shall keep,
sell, breed or offer for sale one or more horses, cows, pigs, goats,
sheep, chickens, geese, ducks, doves, pigeons or other fowl, bees,
large predators, endangered species or poisonous snakes, rodents,
reptiles, exotic species or wild animals (collectively “creatures”)
or construct or use shelters therefore within the City of Manitowoc
without the written permission of the Chief of Police or his
designee.
In considering any request for such permission, the Chief
of Police or his designee shall consider the number and type of
animals or creatures, their location, the facilities to be used for
such purpose and the likelihood of a public or private nuisance
being created, a health hazard, and the ability of the owner to
responsibly control and care for the creatures.
(b) All stables, coops, yards, pens, kennels or other
structures wherein any animal or creature is kept shall be
constructed so as to be cleanable and kept in good repair. The
inside and outside shall be whitewashed or painted as often as
necessary to keep them clean or finished with such material that can
be easily cleaned. All such structures shall be kept clean and
sanitary and shall not cause any objectionable odor. Accumulations
of cleanings or manure of more than one day's operation in any such
structure shall be deemed a violation of this section and subject to
a forfeiture action.



When I asked how to get written permission they gave me like a whole list of stuff I needed to do. It was crazy! Like get written permission from all neighbors, measurement of where the coop would be and the distance from any building near my house. The list went on forever. I even have a HUGE yard with a complete 6 foot privacy fence, but it didn't matter.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Quote:
That is INSANE!