I have AM White Coturnix.. Think of them as, a bantam Cornish cross that's not only ready to eat a 6 weeks, but also laying an egg a day.
Quail are great because, the coturnix are mature and laying by 6 weeks old. Which means you can put the next "batch" in the incubator and have your next generation hatch out in just 17 days! So you have a quick turnover rate in the generations, where as with chickens it takes 6 months to laying age and then 3 weeks to incubate.
Quail are quiet, making noise not much louder than a song bird. Quail are small and do not require a lot of living space, mine live in a wire rabbit hutch. Quail are easy, easier than chickens, I've never had a quail get sick on me and need antibiotics or other medication. They are very easy to handle, a gentle grasp in one hand and you have them. Mine got out once, and I carried them back to the coop 4 and 6 at a time(by their legs). It's not ideal, but it was an emergency situation.
Quail are delicious! We pluck ours and keep the skin, but they are absolutely delicious! Then with their eggs, one a day for each hen, we either incubate them to raise the next generation, or we boil them and pickle them. We've even made scrambled eggs with quail eggs. They are more work, because they are small, but they are worth it. They make the perfect little deviled eggs, because they are bite sized. To me, quail eggs actually have a sweeter taste than chicken eggs.
So I guess the question is why not raise quail?
-Kim
