I have been doing a little research, and am DEFINITELY intrigued by the prospect of raising them for the meat and the egg production on a small scale to accommodate the two people in my household. Does anybody here have experience raising them, and how's it working out for you? PROS / CONS? Thanks guys.
ANYBODY RAISING QUAIL??
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I was, but a bear climbed the gate to my back yard and popped open the hutch and ate the quail.
Tasty little boogers, well, I mean for people too, but I think they're too much work for so little return. The eggs were fun too, I once made deviled eggs from two dozen. Took forever though. The eggs are higher in fat, so they taste richer, but the inner membrane is way thick and hard to break open. Not to mention it takes nearly a half dozen to equal one chicken egg.
Tasty little boogers, well, I mean for people too, but I think they're too much work for so little return. The eggs were fun too, I once made deviled eggs from two dozen. Took forever though. The eggs are higher in fat, so they taste richer, but the inner membrane is way thick and hard to break open. Not to mention it takes nearly a half dozen to equal one chicken egg.
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
Quail have been mentioned quite a bit lately... Quail-Questosis (Quaveosis?) seems to be a complimentary affliction to Raging Rabbitosis.
I, however, have not succumbed.
Since those that have are apparently out collecting a gazillion quail eggs to make an omelet or something, :fryegg: allow me to present you with this to occupy your time until they respond:
search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&keywords=quail&fid[]=33
I, however, have not succumbed.
Since those that have are apparently out collecting a gazillion quail eggs to make an omelet or something, :fryegg: allow me to present you with this to occupy your time until they respond:
search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&keywords=quail&fid[]=33
AmysMacdog
Well-known member
We've had quail, we enjoyed them. We've had Gambrel, Coturnix (sp?)and Button.
They were fun! We never ate any of the birds but we pickled the eggs sometimes but mostly we kept them for pets. Especially the button quail, they are so cute and tiny! Incubating their eggs was interesting to say the least and the babies were soooo tiny!! Button quail have to stay in the house though, they aren't as hardy.
Anyway quail were easy and fun to have, I'd love to have some Bobwhite quail someday but Georgia requires a permit. I just never checked into it.
I have a funny quail egg story. My mom used to work at a restaurant and she had this regular customer who kept complaining to my mom that the eggs were to small. Yep, you guessed it, he got 2 quail eggs over easy! :lol: My mom said it was not easy to cook those little eggs! :shock:
At first he wasn't amused and then he started laughing along with all the other regulars who of course knew about the prank in progress.
He ate his quail eggs and mom served his regular eggs too and the other regulars never let him forget about that! If any new folks became regulars they were also warned not complain about the size of the eggs! LOL
They were fun! We never ate any of the birds but we pickled the eggs sometimes but mostly we kept them for pets. Especially the button quail, they are so cute and tiny! Incubating their eggs was interesting to say the least and the babies were soooo tiny!! Button quail have to stay in the house though, they aren't as hardy.
Anyway quail were easy and fun to have, I'd love to have some Bobwhite quail someday but Georgia requires a permit. I just never checked into it.
I have a funny quail egg story. My mom used to work at a restaurant and she had this regular customer who kept complaining to my mom that the eggs were to small. Yep, you guessed it, he got 2 quail eggs over easy! :lol: My mom said it was not easy to cook those little eggs! :shock:
At first he wasn't amused and then he started laughing along with all the other regulars who of course knew about the prank in progress.
He ate his quail eggs and mom served his regular eggs too and the other regulars never let him forget about that! If any new folks became regulars they were also warned not complain about the size of the eggs! LOL
We loved button quail - as mentioned, they are SO DARN CUTE! They can be as personable as chickens and we raised them in a large flight aviary with finches (and later cockatiels) They cleaned up the wasted seed and we had tiny adorable eggs everyday. Did we eat them? Sure, but even better, we gave them in egg cartons to our chicken-egg-customers and they LOVED them - they would show their kids and grandkids and co-workers. Our chicken egg sales picked up just from people showing off the 'itty bitty eggs'!
Button quail have very colorful eggs too.
But they aren't easy to raise. We only had one hen ever go broody, the rest we incubated but the babies are likened to bumblebees in size and flight ability and despite a tank and a good tank lid, a few made it out and were a bugger to catch.
The best set up we have seen for bobwhite and coturnix quail was a 1/2" x 1/2" wire mesh run INSIDE of a 1" x 1 wired horse stall. The barn kept the bigger predators out. The small wire for the inside run kept the rodents and snakes out.
Button quail have very colorful eggs too.
But they aren't easy to raise. We only had one hen ever go broody, the rest we incubated but the babies are likened to bumblebees in size and flight ability and despite a tank and a good tank lid, a few made it out and were a bugger to catch.
The best set up we have seen for bobwhite and coturnix quail was a 1/2" x 1/2" wire mesh run INSIDE of a 1" x 1 wired horse stall. The barn kept the bigger predators out. The small wire for the inside run kept the rodents and snakes out.
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
Duman, I had a trio of button quail in my finch aviary, too! I gave them a tumbleweed to nest under, but alas, they never sat and I didn't have an incubator. Their little spotted eggs were adorable, though!
I'm going to try them this spring. I'm culling ALL my rabbits this weekend for various and sundry reasons. So the hutches will sit empty till this spring...instead of starting over with rabbits (which I may do at some point) I'm going to put quail into the hutches for one season and see how I like them.
for various and sundry reasons. So the hutches will sit empty till this spring...instead of starting over with rabbits (which I may do at some point) I'm going to put quail into the hutches for one season and see how I like them.
AmysMacdog
Well-known member
Awwww Tegan I'm so sorry you have to cull all your rabbits! I know how hard that is, I've had to do it myself before.
Along about next Easter when the Cadbury Bunny commercials show up on TV you'll get rabbitosis again. :mrgreen: :good-luck:
Along about next Easter when the Cadbury Bunny commercials show up on TV you'll get rabbitosis again. :mrgreen:
:good-luck:Thanks for the replies and advice guys. The breed I'm looking at is the Standard Coturnix. I'm gonna give it a shot and see how it goes. I saw this video of a guy housing them in what looked like a cardboard box with 1/2" hardware cloth covering the top with wood shavings covering the bottom. Looks like he also keeps it inside of the house. It looked pretty simple and straightforward. I'll attach the video so you could see his set up. A friend of mine already has offered to send me some fertilized eggs. The only thing I have to get is the incubator. I like to prospect of having the ability to harvest eggs AND meat from these birds. Sounds like it beats the HECK out of raising chickens for me with my urban lifestyle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9czfxMxQUs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9czfxMxQUs
AmysMacdog
Well-known member
That's neat. LOL Its true they are not very ambitious about trying to escape. They are so docile and sweet. :good-luck:
Thanks Amy.
AmysMacdog":3q27bo7j said:Awwww Tegan I'm so sorry you have to cull all your rabbits! I know how hard that is, I've had to do it myself before.
Along about next Easter when the Cadbury Bunny commercials show up on TV you'll get rabbitosis again. :mrgreen:
Thanks. Yeah...I'm already planning on what I want to start over with LOL. It'll just be much easier this winter if I don't have any rabbits...
I'm looking forward to seeing your setup Zee (That means please post pictures!) I think I'm going to try for Standard Coturnix as well!
DonnerSurvivor
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I would seriously consider going with Jumbo Corturnix. They will produce a bigger egg and alil bit more meat. I have not had Quail long but I think ill keep them for the rest of my life. They are so simple. I have 4 females that each lay a egg a day. I got sick of the male trying to breed them so I just let him "free range" in my shed I just give him some water and he picks up spilled feed off the floor, He has not even tried to escape yet he just seems content in the shed and will even sit on my foot while I feed the rabbits/quail. I made my Cage out of 1x2 wire on the tops and sides and .5/1 wire on the bottom just like a rabbit cage. I put a old rabbit crock on the outside of the cage and let them eat through the wire so they cant spill so much. I just give them a rabbit water bottle for water. I tilted my cage forward so the back is about 2 inches higher than the front this allows the eggs to roll to the front were I have 2 inches cut out so I dont even have to open the cage. The bottom of the cage sticks out a few inches past the sides and is belt in a L shape so the eggs roll out of the cage but not onto the floor if that makes sense. I have 30 some odd eggs in the my incubator so hopefully I will have a bunch more quail hatch tomorrow. If I have a successful hatch and you come up to St Cloud MN area you can have some free if you would like.
Tegan, I certainly will post pics and maybe a video of my set up. I have some ideas I'm playing around with now. I know for sure that I'm gonna convert one of my rabbit cages into a breeding cage for some of them, and for the others, I'm gonna set something up simple inside the house. I'll keep you posted.
DonnerSurvivor, thank you for the wonderful tips and input. I'm gonna take them into consideration as I do a little more research. Thank you for your generous offer of the free chicks. If I was heading that way, I sure would take you up on your offer. Take care.
DonnerSurvivor, thank you for the wonderful tips and input. I'm gonna take them into consideration as I do a little more research. Thank you for your generous offer of the free chicks.
If I was heading that way, I sure would take you up on your offer. Take care.DonnerSurvivor
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When I first seen your location I thought I seen Iowa not Florida lol. I highly reccomend not coming this way anytime soon! I will try and take a picture of my setup and post it next week cause it really is simple and works quite well.zee":2z6p16qz said:Tegan, I certainly will post pics and maybe a video of my set up. I have some ideas I'm playing around with now. I know for sure that I'm gonna convert one of my rabbit cages into a breeding cage for some of them, and for the others, I'm gonna set something up simple inside the house. I'll keep you posted.
DonnerSurvivor, thank you for the wonderful tips and input. I'm gonna take them into consideration as I do a little more research. Thank you for your generous offer of the free chicks.
DonnerSurvivor, do you raise mealworms for your quail? What do you feed them? I was told to give baby quail chicken (Chick) feed and grind it up in the blender for them.<br /><br />__________ Sat Nov 23, 2013 4:35 pm __________<br /><br />DonnerSurvivor, thanks for sharing your set up. I REALLY look forward to it.
DonnerSurvivor
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I just feed them Layerena which is a gamebird layer feed. I dont do meal worms or anything like that. I tried giving them grasses and food scraps but they didnt really eat them so I only give them feed and give all the food scraps to the chickens now. I will just give the chicks gamebird starter which is already finely ground. Game bird starter also is around 30% protein were chick starter is around 20%. I guess the most important things ive learned about Quail are
1 Rabbit water bottles are great! Do not let them run out of water it will affect their laying even if they only run out for a couple hours
2 Do not let them get into their feed! they will try and dust bath in it and waste tons of feed. I highly reccomend feeding them outside their cage
3 Listen to Martha. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv3Yd_OrzV8 Cracking Quail eggs is actually hard to do without getting shells every were.
as I said before I will try and post my setup sometime but I no longer have internet and dont plan on getting it any time soon.
1 Rabbit water bottles are great! Do not let them run out of water it will affect their laying even if they only run out for a couple hours
2 Do not let them get into their feed! they will try and dust bath in it and waste tons of feed. I highly reccomend feeding them outside their cage
3 Listen to Martha. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv3Yd_OrzV8 Cracking Quail eggs is actually hard to do without getting shells every were.
as I said before I will try and post my setup sometime but I no longer have internet and dont plan on getting it any time soon.
Okay, thank for the info DonnerSurvivor. I will incorporate your tips into my setup. That Martha Stewart video was VERY helpful.
That Martha Stewart video was VERY helpful.
