Interested in Coturnix Quail... Questions!

[Whitehouse Quail]

1) Do you prefer to keep them on wire or bedding (especially really cold weather, as I live in Maine)? I prefer wire, keeps em cleaner. We have a fairly cold climate, and they do fine, but the wire is enclosed to the ground so they don't get too cold.

2) Is it possible to only keep like 1 male and 4-6 females or would it be more wise to keep lots? Yup, that is a good ratio for fertility vs. picking. I like it.

3) What would be the best size house/cage (attached together) to keep the number that I want to? I understand the 1 sq ft per bird but is this accurate? And is that 1 sq ft per bird in the run, in the coop, or both? Most people don't do a coop/run, but for mine, I just assume 1 sq ft per bird total, with the run being large enough to accomodate them all in small lots at a time. (I dare to be different in letting them outside.

4) At what age do you switch from the Medicated Game Bird Starter to Regular Game Bird Feed? Is this a trick question?

Please, don't use medicated gamebird food for ANY quail. It screws up their liver, messes up fertility, and more.

5) Is there a light that you use to keep them laying? I have heard of using christmas lights? I use flueroscents when they get to be laying low, but christmas lights do work, especially LED versions.

6) Do you usually loose chicks when they are small or are they fairly hardy chicks? I prepare for one or two casualties per batch, just for incubation errors, my errors, or the chicks being suicidal.

Hope this helps, happy hatching!

 

[Rozzie]

1) Do you prefer to keep them on wire or bedding (especially really cold weather, as I live in Maine)?
My layers are in 4x4 pens. I am known here for spoiling my birds rotten. The layers have pine pellet bedding. Every one of my bachelor boys has his own individual pen to keep them from ripping each other to shreds or making each other their prison wives...and ripping them up in the process. Two of the boys have pine pellet bedding. The other 5 have wire bottoms, because the cages were given to me. This summer, I plan to build some more cages to get them all off wire, if possible.

2) Is it possible to only keep like 1 male and 4-6 females or would it be more wise to keep lots?
4-6 is a good number. Some sources will say 3 is okay. You can get by with this (though it depends on the male). You may see more feather loss/damage with the girls, though. Increasing to 4-6 will reduce this but should maintain fertility.

3) What would be the best size house/cage (attached together) to keep the number that I want to? I understand the 1 sq ft per bird but is this accurate? And is that 1 sq ft per bird in the run, in the coop, or both?
My "big" pens are 16 square feet. These are for my layers. They have four birds in one & 7 in the other layer pen. (one male in each). The rest of my pens are smaller. They vary from about 6 square foot to eight square foot and have one bird each. I plan on replacing the three that are six square feet this summer with larger pens. These are smaller than I like. Again, see the note that says I like to spoil my birds. (Others here would keep 15-20 birds in my big pens.)

4) At what age do you switch from the Medicated Game Bird Starter to Regular Game Bird Feed?
I don't feed medicated food at all for quail. It is my understanding that you should not do so. I have a local feed store special order non medicated Purina Game Bird Starter for me. They now keep it in stock for me and order a half dozen bags at a time.

5) Is there a light that you use to keep them laying? I have heard of using christmas lights?
My coturnix layer pens have the large sized LED Christmas lights -- the size people use outdoors. They also each have a strand of patio lights, just because I like the way they look. The garage light (100 watt fluorescent bulb) is left on for a while in the evening, as well. This is probably unnecessary but it makes my life easier since we go through there constantly with the dogs anyway.

6) Do you usually loose chicks when they are small or are they fairly hardy chicks?
I haven't lost any yet. However, I only have 18 coturnix. I've hatched 14 coturnix eggs and had 14 coturnix make it to maturity in healthy condition. If you are hatching in large numbers, you should plan that there may be some get trampled, smothered, freak accidents, etc.

Note: I am not a "big time" quail keeper. I have 18 coturnix and about 30 button quail. So, I can provide a different type of setup for my birds -- and do -- than someone who hatches thousands of birds a year. Mine are pets & layers. They are not for meat (I'm a vegetarian - hence why all the boys get to live out their lives in luxury pads.)

 

[JJMR794]

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[mychookschick]

Thank you for all of your replys! I have thought of one more question:

How much does it cost per week per bird? They are only going to be pets so I have to pay for them with money that I earn off from my chickens... So I want to make sure that I can affrod them before I commit!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rozzie]

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I can't give you a breakdown because I don't track that, but it's not all that much. It will vary some depending on your area and what feed costs are. I pay about $15 a bag for 50 pounds of feed. The price can change a bit depending on brand and location. Otherwise, once you have your startup equipment (cages, feeders, waterers, etc.) the other main cost will be bedding, if you use it. (You won't have this cost if they are on wire. Mine are so much happier on bedding that I spend the money...) You will also have some electricity costs for lighting, if you supplement that, and for heat, if you supplement that. (Most people here probably don't do so.) If they become ill, you'll have costs to get medications.

Coturnix do eat more than you would expect for such small birds. They are pretty much always hungry...

Also, don't forget that you can eat their eggs or sell those, too. In some areas, quail eggs bring more per dozen than chicken eggs!

 

[mychookschick]

I am basically just interested in the cost of feed... Because I get bedding from my neighbor for free (he owns his own mill). And my parents paythe cost for electricity which wouldn't add much anyway.

Do you know how long a 50 lb bag of feed would last for a maximum of 6-7 birds? Quite awhile, I would think.... But I would like to have atleast a guess at it...

ETA: I thought of another question... I know that you shouldn't keep chickens and quail together, but if the chickens free range, is it ok if the chickens go near the quail pen?

 

[joe125]

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This answer will be all over the board (Because there are way to many variables), but my best guess for a fully grown jumbo coturnix in breeding mode, will eat and waste, between 1/2 to 1 pound of feed per week. (Yes they can get by on less)
This gets tricky, because the larger the bird, the more they eat, but even the smallest bird in the flock can get off on wasteing feed. My best guess on a flock wide average weight of feed per bird per week is 12 oz..

My basic feed cost per bird per week is 25-35 cents per week.

 

[thekid]

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

i dont know if this was already posted on here but..... Here it is haha

 

[mychookschick]

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Thank you for posting this, but I already read through it! Haha!

I have been PM-ing tennessered (I think that is spelled right!)... I have gotten lots of info that way too, but I need to know about the chickens free ranging near the quail pen... Is it ok?