Quail owners, please educate me!

[big brown horse]

I really am interested in getting some quail. I primarily want them for their eggs.


Is it true they start laying at 6 weeks old?

How long do they lay?

How long do they live?

How often do they lay?

How easy are they to keep?

How big of a "house" would they need?

What do they eat?

Are they loud?

What are your favorite kind and why?

What do you do with their eggs, besides making pickled quail eggs?

Are they worth it?

 

[miss_thenorth]

They will start laying at 6-8 weeks, considering they are getting at least 14 hours of daylight and sufficient high protein feed.

I can't say how long they lay, since I butcher mine after I get a new generation going. Look in the quail section at BYC, Monarc has an excellent thread up there, I believe it is stickied.

You would usually get an egg a day and they are extremely easy to keep. i keep mine in cages, 2-trios in a 24x24x18 " cage. I use chick feeders and crocks for water. I also put in a shallow pan filled with sand for dustbathing.

They eat gamebird starter. Mine is by Purina. They need a high protein feed. Some people feed chick feed with some catfood to up the protein.
No they are not loud. Although the roo's crow can be heard from a distance, it is not offensive. (they only crow when they are getting enough daylight, too)

I only have coturnix, as I use them for food for my family. There are some cuter varieties out there.

I incubate the eggs and with the surplus, I make pickled egg.

To me they are worth it, only becasue I use them for meat. they are extremely easy to keep, they don't take up alot of room, they are easy to clean, and they are delicious. I don't think that I would raise them just for eggs though, as the eggs are too small for anything other than pickling and then it is labour intensive. I would much rather have chickens or ducks for eggs, (and I do) but then,- that is only my opinion.

 

[big brown horse]

Thanks!!

I don't think I've ever eaten quail!

 

[miss_thenorth]

They are quite tastey. If you get wome, and then decide to eat some, I have a few favourite recipes that I can share.

 

[big brown horse]

Thanks! How are they butchered? I would love to have some recipes!

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=102281

You are right, Monarch has lots of info.

 

[Occamstazer]

My favorite thing to do with quail lately is to douse them in mashed garlic and hoisin sauce and bake 'em up.

I get them at walmart...it's $6 for a four-pack, so they're special occasion food, but tonight is a just-because-we-want-them quail night

 

[big brown horse]

Mmmm! Sounds good!

 

[FarmerDenise]

DSS's girlfriend is Thai and they make a wonderful vegetable soup that has hardboiled quail eggs in it. I'd ask for the recipe, but we ARE talking about DSS here. He'd promise to get it for me and he!! would freeze over before he'd come through. He doesn't bring the GF over very often, so I cannot ask her.
But you might look into Thai food for recipes.

I grew up with oxtail soup, (Knorr soup mix) It was always served with hard boiled egg and whole grain sourdough bread dropped in the soup after serving. I would think quail eggs would be good in this particular soup too.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Thanks! How are they butchered? I would love to have some recipes!

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=129174

Another Monarc thread. Sadly last I heard she gave up all her quail as she was experiencing a difficult pregnancy.

I do things a little differently than her, but you'll get the jist.

 

[rebecca100]

When we had quail my dd(6 at the time) wanted each quail egg fried individually with a runny yolk. It didn't take long for me to realize that the runny yolk thing was impossible. It took about six to make 1 egg sandwich. The main problem I had with them is that the chicks seem to look for ways to commit suicide. Other than that they are easy to keep and hatch.