very interested in quail.....flood me with pros and cons!

[mistycolleen]

hi everyone!
i think this year instead of expanding my chicken flock id really like to try quail. now i did only start reading into this tonight, and im sure will obsess about it untill i decide either way.
i did contact a few of our staes departments looking in to permits if needed but so far i dont think its required here.
what were your reasons for raising quail?
have you had much luck selling meat/eggs?
what does quail taste like? ( might be one of the few things i havent tried)
how many do you raise, would you recommend for a household of two with some to sell? eggs or meat?
anything else you would like to share would be great!

 

[QuailExpert]

we raised quail instead of chickens primarily because they are so quiet !!!! (males can get loud but way quieter than rooster)
we never tried selling the meat or eggs but quail eggs are considered a delicacy ive heard and they taste just like chicken eggs!
it is what i would describe as tasting "gamey" almost like squirrel, rubbery. i recommend just eating the eggs
we raised and hatched over 20 at one time. they are very easy to care for and you dont have to clean the cage as often even though you have a lot. the eggs are very small so i recommend starting off with 10-15 so that way you are getting enough eggs a day to be able to keep selling
if you are starting off with babies, they are VERY tiny and VERY cute!!!!! also look into what quail breed you would like. we raised coturnix quail and they did fairly well.
also they are flighty birds and get scared easily. i wouldnt do any free ranging with them.
hope this helps !!!!!

 

[feedman77]

I started raising them for meat.

But the eggs are much healthier the chicken eggs in omega 3 and collagen.

It takes 5 to 6 quail eggs to equal 1 chicken egg.

I keep them in rabbit hutches and wire rabbit cages.

1 male to 5 females. For good fertility.

For easy to raise quail start with cotournix. Usually from hatch to butcher or laying is 6 to 8 weeks. They are very docile.

As far as how many. Depends on amount you want for eggs. How many you want to incubate and eat per meal and how often.

I'd say 12 females and 2 males.

Selling them is very locality oriented. Around my area 2 to 3 for a live bird. 4 to 5 for a dressed bird.

Not much market I've found for eggs yet.

 

[Natanya]

Quail, like other game birds, are very vulnerable to pathogens that chickens can be asymptomatic carriers of. Be careful not to cross-contaminate the quail's living area or their food and water with any chicken germs.

I recently acquired some baby quails and did some reading into possibly housing them together with my chickens once they're grown, and I found out that's not wise.

 

[Diamond Dan]

Quail Pros: Tasty
Tastier rapped in good bacon
Eggs are very good pickled
Quail Cons: Ya gotta eat a few to really enjoy them.

As far as raising them, buy local if possible, start small 10 learn their tendancies and expand gradually

 

[mistycolleen]

Quail, like other game birds, are very vulnerable to pathogens that chickens can be asymptomatic carriers of. Be careful not to cross-contaminate the quail's living area or their food and water with any chicken germs.

I recently acquired some baby quails and did some reading into possibly housing them together with my chickens once they're grown, and I found out that's not wise.

oh that was a good point to bring up. i had thought about wether that would work, but after thinking about how poorly bantams went with our flock i wouldnt even think to try it. they would for sure have their own area and coop. one thing i did not think to ask earlier, how cold hardy are they? could they survive a frigid winter?

 

[feedman77]

Mine are outside. Hit neg 20f plus wind chill.

As long as they have a sheltered area to get out of wind and weather mine did fine. Used deep straw and hay for them to burrow into in the sheltered area. Plus put plastic on exposed areas of the hutch. Except bottom.

 

[feedman77]

As far as keeping around chickens. Mine are in raised hutches. Steel roof. My chickens are on top and under the hutch constantly. They especially like the feed the quail kick out. They are messy eaters. The chickens also keep the poop scattered.

Maybe been lucky. But have not had any issues.

I think the bigger issue would be if you kept them o n the ground together.

 

[Mylied]

what were your reasons for raising quail? : They're cute and small.
have you had much luck selling meat/eggs? : I only have a pair and the female isn't laying right now.
what does quail taste like? ( might be one of the few things i havent tried) : Never have eaten it.
how many do you raise, would you recommend for a household of two with some to sell? eggs or meat? : I only have two. They are tiny little suckers and you can process them by 7 weeks. The eggs aren't really good for much except hatching, but I did make some tiny deviled eggs with some. You'd probably need a bunch if you want meat for you two and to sell some. I imagine 2 for a dinner with sides, each person. So think of how much quail you want to eat and go from there.
anything else you would like to share would be great! : They're cute! I love the sounds they make too. They seem really easy to process from what I've watched and read. Pretty easy to take care of. Just be careful because /everything/ wants to eat them, so you have to make sure your pens are secure. They're flighty, so you can't free range or anything.

 

[Mylied]

[QUOTE="mistycolleen, post: 19494680, member: 471899"one thing i did not think to ask earlier, how cold hardy are they? could they survive a frigid winter?[/QUOTE]

I live in GA, so take this with a grain of salt. They have done perfectly fine on our below freezing nights. I think the lowest we've gotten is 20 degrees F. I have a little house they can go into that has straw in it.