Why keep quail?

[JJMR794]

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You must be joking. My quail throw food EVERYWHERE! They make the ducks look neat and tidy!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA........................ I KNOW THATS RIGHT!

 

[ice329]

I must have well behaved kids...... heheh I have there bowl in a bigger bowl... not really a feeder. I just pour there food in there bowl each day... They really are good about flinging... I loose almost 0 from them.

The Chukers are bad and the RIR chicks throw more then they eat, there bad.... I keep tryin to think of a way to stop it... And why do all the feeders you can buy have such low sides????? I think they make them like that on spite... either that or they dont have a clue how birds fling stuff... a deeper dish would help a lot.

 

[JJMR794]

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HA HA, I JUST HAD 1 TONIGHT THAT TOOK THE FEEDER CUP RIGHT OUTTA MY HAND AND SHOOK IT LIKE A RAG DOLL! FLUNG GAMEBIRD STARTER ALL OVER THE PLACE. I JUST WANTED TO SMACK THE SNOT OUT OF HIM..... MY PHEASANTS ARE BAD ABOUT IT TOO, BUT I FOUND THAT IF I ANCHORED THE DISH TO THE CAGE WIRE THEY CANT DO IT.... MY BOBS/ VALLEYS DONT SEEM TO MESS WITH IT THO.... THEY JUST SNEAK UP AND EAT WHAT THEY WANT AND LEAVE THE REST. FOR THE COTURNIX I USE THE STICK FEEDERS AND THAT SEEMS TO STOP THEM.

FOR REALLY PERSISTANT OFFENDERS I HAVE FOUND THE STICK FEEDERS WITH PLYWOOD "PLATES" SCREWED TO THE BOTTOM STOPS THEM--- THEY CANT GET THEIR FEET INTO THE STICK FEEDER AND WITH THE PLATES SCREWED TO THE BOTTOM THEY CANT DUMP IT OVER...

 

[wing it]

I keep them for the eggs and mine also throw there food everwhere, all the time

 

[canter6]

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Quail throw food?
The next thing I'm going to be told is that their poo stinks.
What a world we live in!!!!!

 

[Wifezilla]

Mine seem to have a competition to see who can throw it the furthest. So far my English White seems to be in the lead.

 

[ice329]

I really am not kidding my birds do not fling there food.... Now if I put a bowl of grass clippings in there you will get hit with it faster then you can flea the area... I posted this already but here it is again as proof I am not fibbing.... this is how they eat... maybe its how I have the food set up?

I also just made a feeder for the chicken chicks with the Idea I hate to see food flung... Its simple and they cant throw food... I would guess the same idea just smaller might work for all your food flingers...hehhe I will take a pic later and post it.

Here are my non food flinging GG and JW bobs... heheh http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n103/ice0329/?action=view&current=MVI_3056.flv

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

Thanks for the links!
The more I look into it, the more I think I want the California Valley Quail.
Since I have heard distressing things about disease problems of keeping chickens nearby, I am leaning more toward the idea of keeping the quail indoors. I have plans of building a large greenhouse planted to resemble an indoor jungle (around the edges anyway, the middle would have empty floorspace) I have always wanted to do this (and even if I decide I don't need quail, I still want the greenhouse) and in my mind this 'jungle' won't be complete without some form of wildlife in it. Is this a bad idea? I don't want any of my pets to be in danger or unhappy. It seems to me that most people recommend letting valley quail run on the ground, but keeping them separate from chickens. Can they be happy in a greenhouse/aviary? I plan on just getting a pair of them to start. I can plant some things they like to eat close to the ground so they can forage... but does anyone know if they have the sense not to eat plants that won't be good for them? I already have a bunch of plants I want to put in this greenhouse and I do not know if they are safe to eat. My free ranging chickens have a plethora of poisonous plants around and they don't eat them, will quail be the same way? Or will they be like dogs who eat things just because they are there and will poison themselves if I let them? The more I think about this the more I realize my quail will have to wait a while so I can prepare for them. In the meantime, I want to figure out if my plans are sound.
Advice anyone?

 

[zaylinda]

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I don't know about the quail, but about the greenhouse-jungle (I have the same dream,

) the one problem I could see is that greenhouses are usually colder around the edges - hence tropical plants would likely not do well too close to the walls in winter.

 

[Elite Silkies]

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You must be joking. My quail throw food EVERYWHERE! They make the ducks look neat and tidy!

Mine too..... They are the messiest little things I have ever seen. They waste more food than they eat. Their food is higher. It cost me $14.25 for a 50 lb bag of 28% Gamebird Feed. That's the highest protein percentage I can find around here. I have to fill their feeders about every other day, and the feeder holds about 68 oz of ground up feed. That is for 12 birds. They waste alot. I added tape to the side of their feeders and they don't waste as much, but they still find a way.

Mine are Texas A&M and I love them. They are beautiful birds. I got mine from Mamawolf and had a great hatch. Very strong healthy chicks and all that hatched lived.

When I go back to work and I am going to buy a couple of pairs of the Mexican Snowflake. I think they are very pretty.

My quail are much flightier than my chickens also. I almost lost one earlier getting their waterer out to clean it and fill it back up. That's another thing. I have to clean their waterer at least 3 or 4 times a day, they are messy!

I hear they are tasty too, but I haven't tried one yet. Mine are only a little over 4 weeks old now. I love the sound they make. It makes me laugh every time I hear it.