Attention Quail Raisers.

Oldcountryboy · #1 02/04/09, 09:41 PM

I need your expertise help!

Been wanting to get started in raising quail but don't know anything about them except their wild cuzin's taste great.

Anywho, a lady is gonna trade me about 30 live quails for some minor electrical work this coming Sunday. But I'm not sure where I'm gonna keep them or how much to feed them, etc. I have some rabbit hutches not being used. Can I use them for quail?

Any advice you can give me will be very much appreciated. Thank You!

Beaners · #2 02/04/09, 09:52 PM

Do you know what kind of quail they are? There are a few different kinds. What are you wanting them for? Eggs? Meat?

Depending on how the rabbit cages are constructed they might work. You aren't supposed to use solid tops because they might fly up if they get startled and break their necks. But my coturnix have no interest in flying up, even when they get spooked. My buttons will though.

How much they eat is going to depend on what kind they are. We use a gamebird ration, and I haven't been keeping a close eye on how much they get. We only have a few though, and we haven't had them for very long, so I wouldn't call myself an expert.

Kayleigh

Avalon Acres · #3 02/04/09, 10:10 PM

We have raised two to three hundred each year from day old chicks (Bobwhites) for our personal use and to release to hunt. Can you provide any additional information? How old are the birds, what breed, and what is your goal. In the mean time check out these sites.

www.msstate.edu/dept/poultry/pubs/bwqprod.htm

http://www.lakecumberlandgamebirds.c...ite_chicks.htm

Frenchy · #4 02/04/09, 10:15 PM

Not a expert by any standards but I can tell you I kept bobwhite quail (Do Not want anymore of this kind) in a rabbit cage for a winter an late into a summer and I have also kept the courtnix in them also right now these are in a cage made from 1"x1" wire 2' high with 1/2" by 1" floors measuring 3'x9' long ...........my bobwhites were always scared an flighty where as the courtnix are friendly an inquizative I am always having to watch them an make sure none fall out when I open the cage door since they come to me an climb all over my arm an hand while feeding them ......as to the amount of feed I give them I have a game bird feeder tray made by GQF and I fill it about half to 3/4 full everyday an I have 20 birds eating out of it ......I would guess maybe a pound an half tops at the most per day???? just guessing weight here...........

Good luck on yours mine are a blast an they are really good little layers too

65284 · #5 02/05/09, 12:11 AM

If you are getting day old's you will be amazed at the innovative ways they can find to commit suicide. Little buggers will drown themselves in their waterer, stick their heads into and trap themselves in every niche they can find, slip through the most minute openings imaginable, pile up and suffocate, etc. It gets a little easier if you can get them to about two weeks old. Then they just fly into the side of the cage and break their necks, or hit the top of the cage and scalp themselves. Oh yeah, if one is unlucky enough to show any blood or any kind of a spot the rest will pick it to death. I've somehow, in spite of all that, managed to raise tons of them. Have fun.

Oldcountryboy · #6 02/05/09, 09:37 AM

Well my goal is to keep breeding them and have a supply of tasty little birds on my dinner plate. I just can't imagine cracking a bunch of little bitty eggs open for breakfast. Not when I got big tasty free range eggs supplied to me by my little girls.

It's still very cold over here in Oklahoma so do I need to provide some kind of heat for them? A heat lamp? I'm hoping they're all adult birds. But I didn't think to ask the lady details about the birds.

ihuntgsps · #7 02/05/09, 11:09 AM

I have raised many quail from day old chicks to use in training my German Shorthairs. Easy to raise if you put some antibiotic in their water the first few weeks, keep the area draft free and warm, and do not put them on wood chips of any kind.

piglady · #8 02/05/09, 11:21 AM

If they are grown, they are not hard at all to keep. Just food, water and shelter. Collect your eggs before they soil them or break them and once a week put them in the incubator. While storing the eggs, turn them at least once a day and keep them cool (basement, under bed etc.). Do some research on the internet about the humidity, temp, days etc.to incubate. Get ready before they hatch. We found the red light keeps them from pecking each other. You need a brooder with the red heat light and clean bedding. You can make a brooder out of a box or about anything. Place small rocks or marbles in the waterer so they can drink but can't climb into it and get wet. Leave game bird feed out at all times. I like to crush mine a little more than out of the bag because these are some very tiny birds. Like they said, if you can keep them alive the first week, they'll do fine. As they grow and start to feather, move the light further away from them so the temps gradually drop. Eventually they won't need it and you can move them to the cage once they have feathers. From then on, it's keep food and water and kill them when they are big enough. Pick out your very nicest to keep using as breeders.

Linebacker · #9 02/05/09, 11:48 AM

I hatch 200 jumbo coturnix a month to raise and sell as meat birds. All the advice given so far is good advice. There are a lot of variables due to the unknown age or breed of the quail you are receiving. Searching the Internet will help you answer your basic questions. I will list a few things that I've learned that I wish someone would have told me before I learned the hard way.

Like mentioned before if they can commit suicide they will. You can adapt most any poultry appliance to work for a quail (i.e. waters, feeders, etc.). Put marbles or rocks in the waters to keep them from drowning or build a platform around a feeder so they can reach the food inside. These ideas I got from the Internet and other people, work; however it's best to use the correct quail size appliances.

Quail grow fast! My A&Ms are completely feathered in 10 days and eating size in 8 weeks. Make sure you have adequate space for them to grow.

I keep the heat lamp on them for 3 weeks and still provide supplemental heat on the coldest nights even for my breeders.

Mine are livestock so I grow them out as efficiently as possible. I keep feed and water in front of them at all times. I use game grower and game conditioner crumbles exclusively. All waters and feeders are cleaned daily and a complete disinfecting weekly.

Put a pan of sand/dirt in with the breeders to serve as grit as well as a place for the hens to lay their eggs in. This keeps the eggs cleaner also. (To help control dust in my aviary I use the bagged play sand from the home improvement chain stores. Collect the eggs at least twice a day.

I hope some of these suggestions will help you.

Brad

blufford · #10 02/05/09, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Linebacker

I hatch 200 jumbo coturnix a month to raise and sell as meat birds. All the advice given so far is good advice. There are a lot of variables due to the unknown age or breed of the quail you are receiving. Searching the Internet will help you answer your basic questions. I will list a few things that I've learned that I wish someone would have told me before I learned the hard way.

Like mentioned before if they can commit suicide they will. You can adapt most any poultry appliance to work for a quail (i.e. waters, feeders, etc.). Put marbles or rocks in the waters to keep them from drowning or build a platform around a feeder so they can reach the food inside. These ideas I got from the Internet and other people, work; however it's best to use the correct quail size appliances.

Quail grow fast! My A&Ms are completely feathered in 10 days and eating size in 8 weeks. Make sure you have adequate space for them to grow.

I keep the heat lamp on them for 3 weeks and still provide supplemental heat on the coldest nights even for my breeders.

Mine are livestock so I grow them out as efficiently as possible. I keep feed and water in front of them at all times. I use game grower and game conditioner crumbles exclusively. All waters and feeders are cleaned daily and a complete disinfecting weekly.

Put a pan of sand/dirt in with the breeders to serve as grit as well as a place for the hens to lay their eggs in. This keeps the eggs cleaner also. (To help control dust in my aviary I use the bagged play sand from the home improvement chain stores. Collect the eggs at least twice a day.

I hope some of these suggestions will help you.

Brad

Brad, Where do you find your market for your birds? Just curious. blufford

Linebacker · #11 02/05/09, 04:42 PM

Blufford,
Marketing is a challenge and I guess I happened to be in the right place at the right time. Unfortunately, our wild quail have all but disappeared around here. I not against a farmer by any means, but you can't find a grown-up fence row or ditch bank anywhere here anymore. We have wild game suppers at my dad's place about once a month and once we started serving a few of my quail my business just kinda took flight. (Pun intended lol) Then word of mouth, free samples and delivering a consistent product have been working since last November.

Big Dave · #12 02/05/09, 06:37 PM

Hey OCB I have a friend down the road who uses his old Garage to raise those little buggers in.

Oldcountryboy · #13 02/05/09, 10:00 PM

Just one problem there Big Dave, we don't own a garage! I'm thinking of dragging a couple of rabbit hutches to the house and placing them on the south side so they can catch the southern sun exposure. And also be up next to my bedroom window so I can better keep an eye on them. Raccoons and possums are bad around here.

Well do any of you quail raisers provide some type of roost for them? Will the quail roost inside the nesting boxes?

eam · #14 02/06/09, 08:07 AM

We hatched and raised Bobwhite Quail to release. They're an absolute joy to have around the yard. The calls they make to each other are delightful.

However, we did have some disasters. Usually because of racoons. We kept some in a rabbit hutch outside. Every night we would close them up with a tarp and bungee cords. The racoons were able to get underneath the tarp and pull the quail by their little legs. We lost the hutch-ful in one night (they also decimated my corn that night as well but that's another story).

Racoons can be very persistent; if the quail are in something like a hutch, they have nowhere to escape to....

Elizabeth

Oldcountryboy · #15 02/06/09, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eam

We hatched and raised Bobwhite Quail to release. They're an absolute joy to have around the yard. The calls they make to each other are delightful.

However, we did have some disasters. Usually because of racoons. We kept some in a rabbit hutch outside. Every night we would close them up with a tarp and bungee cords. The racoons were able to get underneath the tarp and pull the quail by their little legs. We lost the hutch-ful in one night (they also decimated my corn that night as well but that's another story).

Racoons can be very persistent; if the quail are in something like a hutch, they have nowhere to escape to....

Elizabeth

yep, same thing happened to me when raising some cornish hens a few years ago. The raccoons kept reaching through the welded wire and pulling legs and wings off and some all the way through the wire. Also ate a few feet off my rabits. But I'm more prepared this time around. I ordered a bunch of leg hold traps and snares and am gonna battle the coons this next summer.