Quail

[susang]

I'm becoming very interested in raising quail, for meat and eggs. I know the eggs are small about four quail to one chicken. Quail seem to need less space then chickens and I've read they dont roost, are good layers (if they have light) and they're tasty.
So has anyone raised quail? Any tricks google doesn't mention?

[jlmissouri]

I raise quail and chickens. I am in the process of adding different breeds of quail and increasing my numbers. My goal with the quail is to make money with them, eggs and meat as a side benefit. If I had to choose I would go with chickens especially in rough times, but quail have their place especially for people without much land.

My quail lay better than the average chicken, but I just weighed a med chicken egg and compared it to my quail eggs. It took 6 quail eggs to weigh the same(2.6oz), and it would take more if you didn't count the shell, as there is more shell weight when wrapped in a smaller package.

Quail shine in compact spaces as you can keep them in much smaller cages, but that is also because the bird is smaller. Quail don't seem to be bothered by confinement as much as chickens. For my breeding groups I am giving them 1sq ft a bird and putting them in ratios of one male to 4 female.

Quail are naturally ground dwelling birds, so yes they don't roost and they prefer to sleep on the floor. Quail are also active at night unlike chickens. To take advantage of this I put solar walkway lights in my cages to attract insects the quail can eat. This is the best way I have found to supplement their diet, as unlike my chickens most of the feed my quail eat is purchased.

My chickens can free range and get most of their food doing so, my quail would never come home if I let them loose and are not as good at providing for themselves as chickens. I have and still use some quail tractors, but my new cages will be more of the battery style. The quail don't seem to utilize a tractor as well as a chicken, and they are also more prone to losses. I lost several by a kitten pulling the quail through the wire while in a tractor.

For my quail I use chicken water nipples and for my new cages will be building feed silos out of 2" pvc for each breeding group. In each cage I put a small bucket so the birds can get off the wire and have a place to stay warm in winter as well as have shade in summer. Quail also like access to some dirt or sand to bath in, and if you give them a bowl to do so they will also lay most of their eggs their. Some people keep their quail much more crowded, and have sloped floors so the eggs can roll out. I prefer to give my birds more space and a little variety.

To sum it up I like quail. If you don't have much space, need a quiet bird, and don't mind having to purchase feed the quail are great. If you have the land chickens are more self sufficient. I say keep both.

[susang]

Thanks for info. I would prefer chickens but we have a small yard and I love quail meat.

[Tim Horton]

I worked with a guy long ago, his Mom raised quail/partridge...... As I remember, just for meat... He said they took less time, space and less feed to get to a butcher size/weight than chickens... But then they are a smaller finished bird.. About eggs, I have no info...

Escape and predators can be an issue, I guess...
OUT OF THIS WORLD tasty....
My 2 cents of info..... Good luck...

[jlmissouri]

Originally Posted by susang

Thanks for info. I would prefer chickens but we have a small yard and I love quail meat.

They both have their good points, thats why I raise both.