Wanting to know about bobwhite quail!!!

[chicken farmer]

I'm wanting to buy some bobwhite quail chicks or fertile eggs soon and I have chickens and read about them but I'm wanting to know tips or anything I should know from someone that has raised bobwhites thanks!

 

[cstronks]

Most quail are generally the same to raise. I have had coturnix quail, and they were very easy. The housing for quail is simple. A chicken brooder type of set up is a good start for quail, depending on how many you want to have. It is best to have quail on a wire floor, and offer straw in certain parts of the enclosure as a nesting area. The inside part of the enclosure will need a coop like part with a roost. I also have roosts on my run area of the quail pen in order to give them varied levels and something to do. A good note when raising quail is that you will need 5-6 females per male in the pen. If you have too many males, they will pick on the females and fight with each other. This can get ugly, so ratios are key. Bobwhite produce nicely and are easy birds to raise. Them and coturnix seem to be the top breeds. My quail hens gave me about 250-300 eggs each per year which was great. Processing can be tricky. They're small, and it takes a wild to get used to. I never did it, but a lot of friends have.

 

[dc3085]

I'm wanting to buy some bobwhite quail chicks or fertile eggs soon and I have chickens and read about them but I'm wanting to know tips or anything I should know from someone that has raised bobwhites thanks!

Almost none of the rules for raising coturnix apply to bobwhites. Bobwhites have a lot more of their natural instincts intact and are more fun to watch, but a bit harder to raise. They are a much more aggressive bird and to a beginner they have the ability to seem like evil embodied. If you are raising bobs the wrong way you will know because they will be killing each other.

Adult bobs must be housed in pairs during breeding season. During the rest of the year they can be kept in a colony.

Give them no less than 4 sq ft per bird.

Brood them a couple degrees cooler than coturnix and brood them with red light. They will eat each other in the brooder if you overcrowd, have it too hot, or leave a white light on.

A bobwhite hen will usually lay 75-100 eggs a year. With lighting this can be brought closer to 200.

They flush easily and fly a lot harder than most gamebirds so have more force to crack their skulls with if something scares them into flushing.

Feed is same 20-24% for hens 30% protein starter feed. Feed hens oyster shell freely.

 

[TwoCrows]

DC is 99% right on all accounts with the exception of brooding them...Bob babies need higher heat to start in the brooder. They mature slower than Coturnix quail and need to be started at 97 degrees. 95 degrees will chill baby Bobs right after hatch. ALWAYS use a red bulb only when brooding. Make SURE to give them plenty of space in the brooder and keep the heat off to one side so they can chill out on the other side. If fighting occurs at any point in the brooder, THEN you can lower the heat a few degrees to stop the aggression. However they will not fight if given enough room and you use a red bulb.

BUT...DC is correct on all other statements. They are not easy birds to raise, they do not tolerate being handled and take a bit more attention to detail to keep alive. You cannot ignore Bobs. They need more care than other quail. But they can be very rewarding to keep.

 

[dc3085]

DC is 99% right on all accounts with the exception of brooding them...Bob babies need higher heat to start in the brooder. They mature slower than Coturnix quail and need to be started at 97 degrees. 95 degrees will chill baby Bobs right after hatch. ALWAYS use a red bulb only when brooding. Make SURE to give them plenty of space in the brooder and keep the heat off to one side so they can chill out on the other side. If fighting occurs at any point in the brooder, THEN you can lower the heat a few degrees to stop the aggression. However they will not fight if given enough room and you use a red bulb.

BUT...DC is correct on all other statements. They are not easy birds to raise, they do not tolerate being handled and take a bit more attention to detail to keep alive. You cannot ignore Bobs. They need more care than other quail. But they can be very rewarding to keep.

Good catch, absolutely correct. I always reverse that in my head.

 

[chicken farmer]

Thank you guys SOO much!!!! I was thinking about keeping a few in my brooder
Then most of them I was gonna put the quail eggs or chicks under my silkie hens when they go broody cause they do all the time but I would wait for spring right now I have 14 chickens and have 3 silkie hens and they all go broody a lot

I'm wanting to give most of them to the hens so since I want to release them they will get use to a hen and not rely on a human for food/water and just plain out not gettin use to seeing humans around so I think being raised by a hen will make them more wild any more tips or anything are DEFINITELY welcome

 

[chicken farmer]

And bein with the hens will definitely give them more room from chicks to ready for release

 

[chicken farmer]

And since they will be with the hens like I said will keep them more wild and natural since they will be outside in the dirt/mud/grass/logs/bugs/sky/trees and everything outside instead of being in the wood box brooder with a light haha and of course they would have there coop/pen/and free range and I live in the country so they would have a good life for sure

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote: I am HORRIBLY dyslexic and constantly have to read and reread what I type because I have been known to write things backwards a lot! LOL

 

[James the Bald]

Quote: I am HORRIBLY dyslexic and constantly have to read and reread what I type because I have been known to write things backwards a lot! LOL
I do a spell check and always "preview" my response atleast 3 times before I hit the submit button.

I had a few minutes at work this morning, so I started to read this thread from the beginning and I noticed that the request was for replies for anyone who has raised bobwhites. At that point, I was going to stop reading and get back to work, but I almost lost my coffee while reading the first response, then as I read on, I saw that DC responded, so I logged off and got back to work knowing this thread was in good hands.

I've ordered 2 dozen Bobwhite eggs and should be getting them in March, so I'm trying to read up on Bobs so I can make new checklists for hatching / brooding / raising bobwhites.
James