i have quail....now what?

[ohiofarmgirl]

i keep wondering if i could get the dogs to herd rabbits.. but i'm pretty sure that would result in a bloodbath
;-)

cages it is!

 

[Farmfresh]

Well, from someone who keeps her rabbits and quail in cages, I feel my toes have been stepped on a little. I don't really feel the need to justify my actions, but Don't judge me.

:/

No need to skootch your toes away.

I have raised BOTH rabbits AND quail for food and done it using a cage system. All I am saying is that there are CAGES and there are cages. I always tried to give my caged animals as much space as I possibly could. I provide them with good food, fresh air, sunshine and try to feed them as naturally as possible to help eliminate any boredom problems.

A rabbit raised in the proper cage and fed plenty of natural roughage in the form of good hay can be quite content. A quail raised for meat can also have a good life in a clean spacious cage with plenty of things to entertain themselves with, a bit of sod from time to time, good company and fresh air.

But I have raised rabbits in the past in a warren system using pens that were buried a few feet deep as well. Those rabbits with the ability to dig in the soft earth and bask in the sunlight were just simply happier healthier animals. I have also seen pheasants and quail kept in a nice flight pen. If I had a choice I would choose the more natural methods, but there are LOTS of good reasons to raise some animals penned and caged. For example a cage inside of a building is much safer for a rabbit. Less threat from dogs and other predators and easier to keep them temperature controlled.

I just see a LOT of animals stuffed into tiny dirty cages and their people think that is just fine. Have you ever seen a rabbit live in an aquarium? BAD news.

 

[Wifezilla]

All I am saying is that there are CAGES and there are cages.

Exactly

Now I have a weird question for those with quail...
Why is my male not mating with my white hen? 2 hens are wild type (brown speckled), and the male is wild type. That leaves the last female as the only white bird. I have seen him mate with the other 2, but little Snowball never gets any lovin'. In fact, little Romeo is so active with the other 2 girls (Keiko & Lucy Lu) they have bald spots on the backs of their head. Snowball has nary a feather out of place. Am I going to have to find her a pasty white man of her very own??

 

[Farmfresh]

This I do not know. All I do know is that you need a LOT more males with quail than with chickens. I thought it was 3 to 1 but maybe your little cock knows something I don't.

If they are not fertile, at least you can still eat her eggs.

 

[Bettacreek]

It's 5:1 hen to roo ratio for coturnix quail. Still not as good as chickens, but they still have a better feed:meat ratio.

 

[Wifezilla]

I have heard anywhere from 3:1 to 5:1. Quads like mine are common. In the wild they pair off and raise young together. I would like to experiment with something like that in the future, but I have to have a much more naturalized environment for that. Also your chances of a broody coturnix are rare, but it can happen if you mimic wild conditions (see article I linked to in the first post).

 

[Wifezilla]

I learned today that a chinchilla "dust bath" container also works perfectly for quail. When I got them they came with a bread loaf pan for a dust bath. HOLY COW what a mess. I then made a covered one out of a clear plastic critter carrier. It worked but it was a little small and they were still kicking sand all over the place.

Someone on BYC suggested the chinchilla dust bath so I went to petsmart to check it out. They are PERFECT.

We got a blue one

 

[okiegirl1]

wifey, you're gonna have the most spoiled critters EVER!!

please post more pics.

I've discovered how to post pictures, now I want EVERYONE to post pics.

 

[Wifezilla]

You asked for it....

They are from my cell phone so sorry about the blurry.

 

[Wifezilla]

wifey, you're gonna have the most spoiled critters EVER!!

You must have seen me eyeballing this at the store...

It's made out of hay so they can pick and scratch at it...even eat it if they want.