Very New!!! Can you give me some helpful hints??

[Rhonda0115]

Just received my permit from the State of Missouri and can have 50 quail and 50 ringneck pheasants. I have an old greenhouse frame at my house (it is 30'x 50'...yes, that is feet). If I run sheet metal down at the bottom to about 3' tall and then cover the rest of top with netting, would that be a suitable place to have the quail. The flooring is overgrown gravel and is tamped down pretty well (can drive/park on it). I could section the area to be much smaller than the 30' x 50' greenhouse...but unsure how many feet/bird. Just seems like a good place to use for them but then I keep second-guessing myself. Probably just start with quail first...

Where's the best place to get either my chicks or my eggs??

 

[windzbreezy]

Look through the forums I have had good and bad experiences with hatching eggs on here but you are just going to have to take a chance. My chicks I have bought from murray mcmurray hatchery. I only raise chickens but I am sure they have other fowl. I have not been disappointed by them

 

[bingrancher]

what kind of quail are you planning on raising? I only have some experience with coturnix quail but if thats what you want to raise I know a good place for eggs. If your wanting bobwhites then sorry im not any help. The only thing I know about pheasants is they can be nasty to each other if conditions arent right. If I were you Id take out the gravel or most of it and plant grass or some kind of foliage for either quail or pheasants.

 

[Mwilliams32931]

Welcome! I'm new to all this too but I'm having a lot of fun.

 

[Rhonda0115]

My permit is for Bobwhite quail but my understanding is that I can have coturnix (of course, I would check on this). I like the suggestion of removing the gravel and putting in grass instead. Was also thinking about dragging in some brush for hiding places for them. I've seen people keep them in a cage but not sure I want to do that.

Thank you for your suggestions!!

 

[windzbreezy]

Do you keep quails for their eggs?

 

[Rhonda0115]

Per my permit, I can have them for personal consumption and eggs but not for release. There is a program I am looking at that would allow me to release but I have to go through some inspections, so I will work towards that purpose. The quail population has decreased a lot in Missouri, so want to do the responsible thing...would rather harvest my own than take from the wild here.

 

[James the Bald]

Per my permit, I can have them for personal consumption and eggs but not for release. There is a program I am looking at that would allow me to release but I have to go through some inspections, so I will work towards that purpose. The quail population has decreased a lot in Missouri, so want to do the responsible thing...would rather harvest my own than take from the wild here.

Thought I would share a thread from a few years past pertaining to raising quail to release. Here is another one that discusses releasing quail. If you do intend to eventually release them, I would recommend a flight cage similar to this one for pheasants.