Keeping Quail advice?

[Nick69]

Hi all, its my first time in this section lol.

My wife and I are thinking about getting some Quail this year for eggs/pets.
Now before we do does anyone have any advice on cost to buy, how many eggs, laying season, cost to feed and keep etc etc

Thanks all
Nick

[boboff]

I have some Italian I bred from eggs. (off of e-bay, expect a novice return of 50%)

They are quick, easy and really nice birds.

They need a shed and a really well enclosed run (They will dig out otherwise)

They are intelligent and can be trained given time.

Easy to keep, kill, eat, and if you keep the light right will lay allot.

Keep you M - F ratio 1 : 4 maximum or the Males fight.

They make a lovely sound, but are a bit of a waste of time as a commercial thing, but do make nice pets.

[Nick69]

Roughly how much would it cost per year to feed say 10 would you think?

[indy]

I have no real advice apart from whats already been said other than they are an absolute joy and they make me laugh

[FinmoreKitchenGarden]

Hi Nick

I've kept Japanese Quails for a couple of years now. Been really great, with a great egg return. Some days they'll lay twice!! I feed mine on smallholder range layers pellets, which cost £ 7 for 20 kilo bag. This will last my 10 birds for weeks, maybe, two months or more. Make sure that it's kept fresh though, as it goes off really easy! I also give them a few meal worms each in the morning. These cost loads, maybe £10 per month! Well worth it though, I think it gives them a lovely shiny coat!

Mine were kept indoors but because of pressure from friends they are now outside in a big run. You'll have to mesh the floor of the run with 10 mil mesh to keep them in and vermin out! In my experience, this is this biggest cost. Good small gauge mesh cost about £60 for 16 sq meters!

They are kept on small bark chippings, which will need changing about every 8 weeks as long as you turn it over regularly. You will need to give them a dust bath area. I use sharp sand in a tray. They love greens and all but don't give them avacado as this will kill them, I hear!

Hope that's helpful

[Nick69]

Hi FKG, Thanks for the post and welcome.

That sounds more than acceptable cost wise. I was thinking 4 birds, what would be a good size run for the 4?

[FinmoreKitchenGarden]

I would say that a 2'x4' cage would be ok - the bigger the better though. I keep 7 Quails in a run 6'x3'. It's got different layers with ramps between. As long as each bird has got it's own little terratory then things should be calm. Quails are not really passive like chickens and they will fight to the death if they've got nothing to do. Although some people don't report any fighting.

I keep chickens too - they are much less bother!

[rickkerri]

Will def agree with meshing the floor - we lost loads to rats in just one night - ended up having to dispatch the rest as they had all been damaged. They had only been outside for 4 days and we had spent weeks hatching and raising them. Also be careful when taking them outside for the first time - weather plays a major part in when to let them out. Once they are aclimatized they do really well but if you have a freak weather change you can loose loads as we found. All ours had ample outdoor space aswell as an enclosed area for nesting etc. We bred ours not only for the eggs as they are delicious although very tricky to peel! but fo rthe meat aswell - these birds are very easy to disptch and pluck and as you cook them entire (no need to take all the insides out) are a very quick & easy meal to prepare.

Good Luck x

[Nick69]

Right im going to start building a pen next week for the quail.

Anyone got any good designs or pics etc etc. It doesnt matter how fancy or basic, just something to get the creative juices flowing if you know what I mean!! LOL