Raising Quail

[Sunshineagh]

Hi! My husband decided that he wanted to start raising quail for a food source and we have fallen head over heels in love with doing it. I am so excited to check out and work with my birds everyday. He started it and I completely ran with it. I love all animals anyway and would love to have a small farm. I'm constantly scouring the Internet for information and new learning tools. I'm loving the process. I decided to start this thread for any and all ideas for raising quail. There is a lot of info on here now, but I find there is never enough information. My husband and I have jumbo bobwhite and coturnix quail for food and eggs. We also have some button quail for my personal pets. We have some Texas A & M eggs in the incubator now. Friends of ours also have another set with different types of quail in their incubator. As I said, we're addicted. My husband has really gotten into building coops/housing for all our birds. We both have stressful jobs. This is a kind of therapy for us! I will try to take and post some pics when I can. All of you who enjoy raising quail please take this thread and run with (or fly)! Looking forward to some great information!

 

[Whittni]

Cute, I hand raised two button quail as pets.

 

[Sunshineagh]

That's Awesome! We have 7 buttons right now. They are 3 weeks old and a hand full. I'm still learning about them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. What colors are yours?

 

[Sunshineagh]

Can anyone tell me how old button quail need to be before you start trimming their wings??? They are really starting to fly, but I don't want to do too soon!

 

[DK newbie]

Why would you trim their wings? I have buttons in cages and aviaries and I never trim their wings. For the cages, I pad the top to prevent boinking injuries though, if that's why you want to trim them..

 

[Sunshineagh]

That's why I would trim them. I'm gonna to have to look into pacing the top of the aquarium I'm making their home. Right now, they're still in the brooder I have for my birds. They're doing well in that. I've started to pet them and hold them so they can get use to my hands.

 

[DK newbie]

If it's an aquarium, I'd probably use a soft-ish mesh to make a lid. I have used both tulle and a plastic insect mesh for cages, both work well and have the advantage of allowing both light and fresh air to pass through. You could put it on a frame or use velcro to attach it.
I know truly tame button quail can be achieved, but as far as I know, you'll need to spend most of your time with them to achieve it. Some of mine will take treats from the hand, but none actually allow me to touch them. I haven't done much to try to tame them though. It'd be interesting to know whether yours will allow you to touch them as adults.

 

[Sunshineagh]

Thanks about the advice. I have to pick them up to settle them down and actually hold them. They are escape artists and will try to get away. But if I hold them securely ( but not too tight) they'll settle down and fall asleep. What colors do you have?

 

[DK newbie]

Wild colored, tuxedo, blueface and I-have-no-clue. Pics of the last one here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1112273/button-quail-color-identification

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Will you be selling the Coturnix after they hatch? I only want a few but I cant find any places that will ship 2 or 4. And if you are willing to sell them how much, and can you ship them? (I'm near Albany, NY) Thanks!