What's the Deal with Quail?

[2020Chickadee]

Just wanted to add to the magic of quail poo in the garden. My winter garden (lettuce and brassicas) needed a quick pick me up. I took a few scoops of quail poo and put it in a five gallon bucket, flled the bucket up with water, let it sit for 24hrs, then watered my garden with it. The garden exploded a few weeks later. I'll definitely be doing it again this coming winter.

 

[Nabiki]

My quail live on my garden beds during fall/winter when I'm not growing anything. That's part of why I got them.

 

[AntiqueB]

Do quail do well in hot weather? I was thinking of keeping them in my enclosed porch. We get into the 90s in summer, and the porch may be a few degrees warmer, since it doesn't have quite as much air as the great outdoors.

 

[kurby22]

Do quail do well in hot weather? I was thinking of keeping them in my enclosed porch. We get into the 90s in summer, and the porch may be a few degrees warmer, since it doesn't have quite as much air as the great outdoors.

They are pretty hardy birds, but they do need good air flow. If you keep them on an enclosed porch I would just make sure to set up a fan on the warm days to keep air moving and maybe some frozen treats and frozen water bottles on the really hot days.

 

[AntiqueB]

Thanks! I've read so many people's posts saying how they love them, but I already have my chickens taking up the back yard, so quail would have to either be inside, or in the porch.

 

[kurby22]

Thanks! I've read so many people's posts saying how they love them, but I already have my chickens taking up the back yard, so quail would have to either be inside, or in the porch.

You bet! I wouldn’t want them inside, they LOVE to fling their dust bath and pine shavings ALL OVER haha. Definitely entertaining and silly and very different from chickens! It’s nice having some that love to be loved and interacted with by having chickens, but also some birds that are pretty and more wild and need less attention

 

[GreedySeedFeedy]

Someone else may have said it already, but you should know that "1 square foot of space per bird does not mean you can keep a quail in a 1x1 space, it would be miserable! I've seen people try... The birds were not happy at all. It was like a battery cage.

I'd say that rule is more realistic the more space you have. Like! you can keep up to 12 quail in a 12x12 enclosure... there has to be a minimum. I'd say your smallest cage should be 4x4 feet for two quail.

You should know I'm a quail-spoiler though! I mean it's physically possible but it's also physically possible for me to be kept inside a refrigerator box for my whole life, so take the 1x1 space thing with a grain of salt.

Other stuff you should know:

-Coturnix roosters crow at all hours of the day and night when lost or unhappy, otherwise you might hear it 1 or 2 times a day. It's about as loud as a budgie screeching or a loud human sneeze. Your neighbors will hear them, but they probably won't keep them awake.

- Quail are poor breeders and unless you sre lucky, you have to hatch and raise new ones yourself

- They can be treated yearly for coccidiosis! And a spot-on monthly for parasites is good too! In my experience they DO catch coccoid easily so keep some harker's on hand

-roosters are a handful. They will overwork the hens, so be prepared for that. Even if they have 8 to themselves, they will sometimes pick favorites and just harass them bald and bloody, so have a backup plan on where you'll keep any overworked hens to recover should this happen.

-they don't live very long! Average for a hen is onkly 1.5/2 years. The roosters can live much longer, but tend to get arthritis at around 4, especially if they eat the same diet as the hens which can hardly be avoided.

-they are a lot more personable and tameable than people think! You get out of them what you put in, pet-wise.

-they are happiest in small groups of about 10

-quail eggs are DELICIOUS. It takes 4 large or 5 normal quail eggs to equal one chicken egg in a recipe.

-Quail eggs have a lot more yolk per-egg than chicken eggs.

-except for a few breeds, quail are a greasy dark meat. It reminds me of extremely tender turkey wing meat. Their diet affects the flavor of the meat as well!

-quail egg shells are very thin, but the mebrane is thick. So, when cracking quail eggs, try to rip them open like paper at the initial crack site, not break them open like other eggs! You will have a much easier, less messy time.

 

[GreedySeedFeedy]

You bet! I wouldn’t want them inside, they LOVE to fling their dust bath and pine shavings ALL OVER haha. Definitely entertaining and silly and very different from chickens! It’s nice having some that love to be loved and interacted with by having chickens, but also some birds that are pretty and more wild and need less attention

Yes, omg the dust is really bad... my house is incredibly dusty... I moved mine outside, lol

 

[GreedySeedFeedy]

Thanks! Males raised together won't be aggressive? I initially planned to take out any other males besides the one, but I had no idea males raised together wouldn't fight!

It depends on the individual. I've had it go both ways, but the reaction is a lot better if they're raised together. Males need to have so many ladies to themselves though, it's a huge hassle having more than one in my experience.