A Quailing We Will Go

Well with becoming self sufficent we wanted to look into other sources of protein. We found Japanese Coturnix Quail and they are very practical for small spaces. They produce eggs and meat are fairly quiet and take very little resources. We initially were looking for about 50 quail unsexed. We ended up with 73 quail. As they have started to grow we have learned to sex them and pick out our breeders and which ones will become just meat birds.

We have been keeping ours indoors in large plastic totes while they are young. We put shavings and straw in for them nice and deep and change frequently as well as minimize over crowding we try to give them at least 2 sq ft per bird. This will eliminate stress and disease for our birds. When we first got them I expected them to be much more wild. With how often we are in with ours they are still flighty but easy to handle and transfer. We feed them at this time a Game Bird Starter that is 30% protein. this will gives maximum growth and health for our quail.

We learned quickly they get out of everything but are very easy to catch. We also learned there is a wide variety in colors available. We got lucky and had a very nice assortment. We had Tibetan, Golden, Tuxedos in various forms and then the classic Pharaoh. It should be fun to watch our flock grow and hatch out.

I encourage everyone to get into quail they are very practical for small farms and spaces, low maintenance, and not a huge drain on resources.