Quail Questions 101

[BarredBuff]

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[Wifezilla]

I assume you are talking about coturnix, right?

1) Gamebird starter (unmedicated)
2) About 4-6 weeks
3) Yes, but you have to be more careful about overcrowding. They can turn on each other.
4) Many raise them in wire cages. I keep mine in an old dog kennel with a polycarbonate roof to keep them dry and netting on the sides. I also have a hutch in there. The floor is straw. Deep litter method. I have areas for them to hide and provide a tray full of sand for dust bathing.

They must like their pen since one of my hens actually went broody...

Coturnix normally do not do that.

Here are some pics inside the pen...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=77726&id=1398880757&l=ccfa774f32

 

[BarredBuff]

Thanks Zilla.

What are some SS uses for them?

 

[Denim Deb]

Dinner?

 

[BarredBuff]

Dinner?

He talked about training some dogs on em but he dont hunt so IDK. They could be dinner.

 

[Wifezilla]

Coturnix quail are tasty and lay eggs like mad. They are one of the fastest to mature birds you can get. Sure the eggs are small, but they are delicious and look amazing.

Now if dad is talking about training dogs, maybe his is talking about bobwhite quail. Some places you have to have a permit for those. They are a little harder to raise from what I have heard.

 

[ksalvagno]

Can you free range them or do you have to keep them in some sort of pen?

 

[miss_thenorth]

If you are going to be useing them for dogs, he is probably thinking of chukar. They are a bigger bird, take a bit longer to grow out, but are delicious eating.

 

[Wifezilla]

Chuckar are nummy

But bobwhites are often used for training dogs.

You can't freerange quail. They will just fly or wander off. But they are small birds so you can get a lot in a small pen. I only have 5 in a dog kennel but could easily have a dozen more.

You should be able to keep them in a tractor. That was my original plan, but the dog kennel was free so I went with that.

Coturnix can be pretty darn tame. I can just pick em right up. They flap like mad if you don't grab em right, but it just doesn't seem to occur to them to get out of the way

 

[BarredBuff]

I figured Bobwhite would be the one. I dont figure they will live long enought to free range but after they leave the brooder, not my animals.