Quail??

[usamma]

Has anyone here ever kept small quail? I saw a local add for pharaoh quail, and the young ones are already laying eggs. I have been trying to buy more ethically produced eggs but it's often difficult. Even the "cage free" eggs are not always great because it just means they are stuffed into barns really tightly rather than put in battery cages. So I was just thinking (maybe I'm crazy!) that it might be cool to get a couple of quail hens and raise them for their eggs. I read that they only need a 1 x 1 foot area and do well indoors our out. I had this wild idea that I can house them indoors in one of the large cages I already have, and let them run around the back yard in a pen when the weather is not so hot. I am not interested in breeding them, although I might consider hatching like 2 or 3 chicks when the original ones are too old to lay anymore. I would never consider eating them (I would eat the eggs, not the quail).

Do you think this would be way too much work? Is it feasible? Can you tell me more about what is required for their care? Do they smell bad (a consideration if they are to be kept indoors)?

[brdfvr]

That would work. Quail eggs are edible, they are just extremely tiny (I have only worked with Japanese button quail so not sure about the others). Their eggs are about half the size of a small chicken egg. It would take a lot of eggs to make an omelet, LOL!

[usamma]

I just realized how tiny the eggs actually are! Well I will think about this more. I have a feeling my dh would not want me to have a bunch of quail. He would be okay with two or three, but it would probably not be worth the effort for the amount of eggs they will produce. I wish our HOA allowed outside pens and livestock!! Grr!

[NotEnoughTime]

Originally Posted by usamma

Even the "cage free" eggs are not always great because it just means they are stuffed into barns really tightly rather than put in battery cages.

I was wondering what "cage free" was when you said it before - I buy "free range" eggs - which means the chickens walk around and eat bugs on the ground. Many cherry orchards are using chickens now to reduce cherry fruit fly larva... They eat the larva from fallen fruit.

We have tons of wild quail around where I live. I've rescued a few injured animals (usually cat attacks) and they strike me as pretty docile...

You saw: Raising Quail | RaiseQuail.com's Guide to Raising Quail in Your Backyard of course... 1x1foot strikes me as small though... Most pens I've sen may be 20 feet long and 8 feet wide (outside) and house 20 or so birds...

[usamma]

Originally Posted by NotEnoughTime

I was wondering what "cage free" was when you said it before - I buy "free range" eggs - which means the chickens walk around and eat bugs on the ground. Many cherry orchards are using chickens now to reduce cherry fruit fly larva... They eat the larva from fallen fruit.

We have tons of wild quail around where I live. I've rescued a few injured animals (usually cat attacks) and they strike me as pretty docile...

You saw: Raising Quail | RaiseQuail.com's Guide to Raising Quail in Your Backyard of course... 1x1foot strikes me as small though... Most pens I've sen may be 20 feet long and 8 feet wide (outside) and house 20 or so birds...

Yes I try to buy free range eggs vs "cage free", and also I often buy locally from a backyard farmer who has chickens. Unfortunately it's a bit of a drive and it's way too hot to really get out to get the eggs.

I think I'll seriously consider this *after* nursing school. Dh would never let me hear the end of it if he ended up caring for them.

[Ashling]

Very doable, if you're hearts in it. Quails are lovely pets and can get quite tame, I used to breed them when I was 12 and they would eat from my hand. I am getting some button quails again for my new aviary (after it's all set up on the bottom). I'm going to incubate and hatch some eggs at the school farm then hand tame the little cottonballs and train them to come when called. I am so excited! I would do the same- keep them for their eggs and not breed them. Shame you can't have livestock... we're lucky to be able to keep chickens on our suburban block.

[Muffin]

Originally Posted by usamma

Has anyone here ever kept small quail? I saw a local add for pharaoh quail, and the young ones are already laying eggs. I have been trying to buy more ethically produced eggs but it's often difficult. Even the "cage free" eggs are not always great because it just means they are stuffed into barns really tightly rather than put in battery cages. So I was just thinking (maybe I'm crazy!) that it might be cool to get a couple of quail hens and raise them for their eggs. I read that they only need a 1 x 1 foot area and do well indoors our out. I had this wild idea that I can house them indoors in one of the large cages I already have, and let them run around the back yard in a pen when the weather is not so hot. I am not interested in breeding them, although I might consider hatching like 2 or 3 chicks when the original ones are too old to lay anymore. I would never consider eating them (I would eat the eggs, not the quail).

Do you think this would be way too much work? Is it feasible? Can you tell me more about what is required for their care? Do they smell bad (a consideration if they are to be kept indoors)?

Hello! I have two button quail. :)

My female does lay regularly, and although the eggs are pretty small it really wouldn't take too long to collect enough for a small omelet, especially if you had multiple females laying. I have never eaten her eggs, but quail eggs are supposedly a delicacy...

They are pretty low maintenance. They really just need their environment and diet managed. Neither of mine were hand-raised so they are shy and strongly prefer that I not handle them. They are cute and entertaining to watch though. Perhaps if you hatched and hand-raised your own they would be more tame.

I keep my two indoors and I don't really notice a smell in the room from them, but if there were more than just two it might be more noticeable. I know from cleaning their cage that their poo does have a stronger, more game-birdey odor to it than my cockatiels or budgies.

I feel like 1 x 1 is too small for a quail since they do like to run around and forage all day. My two are in a 6 x 1 tank with a mesh top and seem quite content, but I think 6 quail in the same space would be over-crowded. Another thing to consider is that if you have a male in the bunch they will need extra space and hidey places so the females can get away and hide if necessary. Male quail can be pretty aggressive with their ladies... well, they can be pretty spunky in general. My male is too tiny and scared of people to do much of anything, but he will still bravely puff up and charge me on occassion when I collect eggs. As I kid I hand-raised a male California quail that would fearlessly attack anything or anybody that came near me... I'm just glad he liked me!

Good luck on your venture if you do choose to pursue it!

[Abby]

My guys are in the bottom of the 'tiel colony aviary. They've just successfully hatched their first lot of chicks who are ?3 weeks old. (Time passes to fast).

I would advise a bigger area then 1 x 1 foot too. I've got mulch (gum tree from the school put through the mulcher) on the base of the aviary which gives the quails a chance to forage. I feed budgie breeder seed, crumbles occaionally, meal worms then they grab whatever the 'tiels throw down in the way of fresh.

Just make sure if they're outside that they do have a sheltered dry area.

[usamma]

I found a neat website: BackYardChickens.com - Raise Chickens, Build Chicken Coops, Hatch Eggs and they have a quail forum. I got some help and advice. I found out that I probably could keep them in my backyard. I also found out that they are an awful lot of work and expense. It sounds like a fun hobby but I'm not prepared to start from scratch right now. Nor do I just want one or two of them. My husband is not wanting any more birds at the moment and I have to agree that he has a lot of common sense, with me looking forward to nursing school at some point. It is something I do want to keep in the back of my head for the future though. When life gets a little more stable.

[Newticus]

I also had quails (the button type) They were really interesting, but mine were not hand raised and if I came to close to their cage they would pop into the air like popcorn, often hitting their heads on the mesh cage lid. I had 2 females and they were very cute when foraging and scratching around! It was not hard to feed them. I got a bag of chicken mix (scratch - normal feed) and I would put a bit of bugie seed down too. They were pretty messy though.
Once old enough one of mine laid a ton of eggs. I just threw them away though cause I didn't want to try and eat them.
I also wish I could keep chickens or quails outside where I live. We have a no farm animal bi law here in Toronto.

Melanie