requirements to own in ohio

[goodolsurvival1]

hi i am curious if other ohioans (lol) could help me out with the laws and stuff when it comes to owning, selling, etc. certain types of quail... I'm having a hard time finding out information on certain ones

coturnix quail - i know you do not have to have anything to own, raise, sell, etc.

what about:

button quail

bobwhite quail -----(if i understand right since they are indiginance to ohio you have to have a permit (ive seen people selling them on craigslist and in their description doesn't say you must have a permit to buy them), if this is true what types of things do you go through to gain that permit. i.e. inspection of cages etc. or just apply and you get the permit and just have to keep records of how many you have, who you sell to, etc.?)

and are there any other types of quail like the coturnix quail that don't require to own, raise, sell, etc. them in ohio?

prior i had called about coturnix quail and didn't think to ask about others and it's late now to call them back...

at first we will be getting our feet wet and just sell/give eggs to family and friends and maybe some live quail to those that want to eat and or raise them (we wont be doing the whole butcher and give as i am not 100% understanding of that law there, but doesn't mean we wouldnt make a dish for people to eat )

we live outside of city limits, not 100% country and were going to get chickens but with me not wanting neighbors upset cuz of a rooster i can't see the cost paying off from buying chicks from the store to add new blood to the flock (id rather do a 50/50 where we also hatch some).... so decided to get into coturnix quail and others that may not need a permit (those that do may look into that in the future)... been doing all my research and the vet we have for our two silkies (dogs - kinda like a yorkie for those that don't know the diff.) sees all types of animals... i am a stay at home mom so look at this as a way for us to homestead on our almost 1/2 acre with a livestock that has a dual purpose (qual= fertilizer/addition to compost + meat+ eggs) and have a small mini home business possibly (have seen many people in the area and close to the area that has popped up with selling of quail eggs etc.)...

the only other questions i can think of that i have aside from the ohio law question above... due to seeing mixed suggestions on the forum is: can the cages have a solid bottom (like plywood that is treated with a waterprotector/sealer) with stray on it that gets changed obviously or is it just best to have a wire bottom with stray or something on that? plan on having a dusting pan for them and a little box shelter like made from a plastic container like i saw a few people do on the forum.

if this next question has been answered i must of missed it, but i know if you do a wire buttom must be 1/2 gage for adultishs and 1/4gage for the smaller hatchlings (they more then likely will be in a setup in our house till they are able to go outside so to raise their chances of making it with the change, but what is the biggest you can go on any of the other wire that maybe on the sides, back/front, or top? can you use a chicken wire or can they get out of this?

this one i may find the answer to as i plan on doing some more reading after posting this but do coturnix quail mate/potentially mate all yr long or just certain times? i guess what i am asking those hens that are housed in with a roo will their eggs always have a chance of being fertile that they lay?

my husband laughs at me but he is game.. we will be hatching our own as we are getting eggs from a local jumbo coturnix quail farm just a few miles down the road from us and plan on using them every so many yrs to bring in fresh blood to the flock along with hatching our own, i plan on from the hens that are hatched keeping the ones that reach a min weight at 6wks for breeding and those that aren't at the min for just reg egg laying (not housed with a roo), extra roos will be feed to be processed after we pick out ones that show good designs etc. for breeding, the hens will be processed too once i learn at what age they start to tapper off with egg laying/good viable reproduction state.

im doing more research to learn about breeding for color etc. so can house types that way to have offspring that are tuxedo, pharoah, and white? cant remember the other colors... as like i said my goal is to also turn it into a mini biz selling the non fertile eggs, fertile eggs, hatchlings/1wk-adult type of setup, thought about their soiled stray/material to people for fertilizer but dont know if there is rules about that... plan on keeping records so that have a strong flock setup, and if a potential buyer of something asks a question can show that we take pride in our quail (i grew up on a farm that we helped with and miss it so this is the closest i can get to it lol) is anyone else doing a setup like this?

 

[goodolsurvival1]

i guess i should of also said that their setup to help with gettin answers to the wire question will be out side once they are able from being hatchlings... but will be in a kind of converted concept from the garden coop so that there is an extra fence area and a few plywood walls to help not only with the wind we get from in from one direction but also the few predators that we have which is the cats people let run around and the one dog that its own doesnt keep in its yard way back behind us and looks like it doesn't feed it enough cuz it is always getting into trashbags that arent in the cans.

but anyways plan on having the cages inside a setup like that so they have a bigger shelter from the elements and i can have them 2ft off the ground with a gaged in run under divided in two under each setup so i can rotate each group in this way they can get some access to the ground in a safe way and able to run around instead of cooped in their main cage all the time.. the run isn't going to be no chicken like run it will be prob a 2x4 area (2x8 but cut in half so two groups can be down at once)...

we will be getting 3 dozen eggs (at a good deal) to try and hatch to get our startings if it doesn't go well for us then we would buy hatchlings just cant see paying $1 a bird if we can get a dozen fertilized eggs of jumbo c.quail for $4 or 3 dozen for $10 lol. if going off the 50/50 hatch rate we should get around 10-18+ hatchlings maybe less once we find what our hen rate is to roo rate. we plan on making two cage setups .. seeing what we get from our first hatch try and then getting another 1-3dozen to hatch again to fill up the second setup of cages if the first hatching doesn't fill both cages.... we plan on building the cage setup 4 ft tall with a 2 foot off ground 2ft deep and 8ft long. similar to flockmaster's setup except we will have the bottom fenced in divided into so we can manual but sets in there to get some run/ground time (rotating sets).

*edit... meant to put 12"/1ft off the ground since we are doing a run and dont want them hurting themselves.

 

[Sill]

Check with your state game and fish department. They are the regulating agency for quail in each state. It may take a bit of searching their web site to find the pertinent information. This thread is a good place to start https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/429252/game-bird-permit-licencsure-information

 

[TwoCrows]

You can keep Button Quail and Coturnix Quail without a license anywhere in the US. As for Bobwhites or any of the other New World Quail...Gambels, Caifornia, Blue Scale, etc...these all require a license.

Contact your local Fish and Game department. "Sill" has left you with the link. They can tell you all you need to know, get the proper forms to sign and how to go about it. Click here for all the states listings....http://www.fws.gov/offices/statelinks.html

 

[goodolsurvival1]

we will be getting coturnix quail (kind of a redundant name cuz coturnix in latin means quail already lol) it will be jumbo browns since we can get eggs locally that we an incubate and hatch.

we have talked a little bit with the jumbo coturnix farm and they do some different things than what others do on the forum along the lines of how long they keep the stock for breeding etc.

any we plan on cull out wont be until they are at least a yr old or 18mos min. we got to taste the diff between a 8wk cull quail and an 13wk cull quail, the taste of the older quail beats out the younger one lol... we also learned if you let the hen go after the 8wks and continue to lay the lay count can be much higher... now they only keep their breeding hens and laying hens for about 2yrs and then they are rotated out.

those of you that breed coturnix how long do you keep your hens before you cull them out with fresh blood (rather hatched or bought hatchlings etc.)?

we will be hatching all our fresh flock from what is produced and getting a dozen or so from the local supplier when wanting to bring in fresh blood or more stock that will be cull out for our freezer and plates.

one thing i did forget to ask them was for those of you who have hens in a pen with no rooster and just have them for laying, what size pen do you give them and how many do you house? (i know of a ratio but didn't know if they are just for laying if you can have a higher ratio in a pen and not have to much fighting since there is no roo in with them)

 

[Sill]

we will be getting coturnix quail (kind of a redundant name cuz coturnix in latin means quail already lol) it will be jumbo browns since we can get eggs locally that we an incubate and hatch.

we have talked a little bit with the jumbo coturnix farm and they do some different things than what others do on the forum along the lines of how long they keep the stock for breeding etc.

any we plan on cull out wont be until they are at least a yr old or 18mos min. we got to taste the diff between a 8wk cull quail and an 13wk cull quail, the taste of the older quail beats out the younger one lol... we also learned if you let the hen go after the 8wks and continue to lay the lay count can be much higher... now they only keep their breeding hens and laying hens for about 2yrs and then they are rotated out.

those of you that breed coturnix how long do you keep your hens before you cull them out with fresh blood (rather hatched or bought hatchlings etc.)?

we will be hatching all our fresh flock from what is produced and getting a dozen or so from the local supplier when wanting to bring in fresh blood or more stock that will be cull out for our freezer and plates.

one thing i did forget to ask them was for those of you who have hens in a pen with no rooster and just have them for laying, what size pen do you give them and how many do you house? (i know of a ratio but didn't know if they are just for laying if you can have a higher ratio in a pen and not have to much fighting since there is no roo in with them)

So far I have not kept any hens over a year and only the very largest roos a bit longer until fertility drops. I'm working on getting my jumbos bigger so when I get a batch of chicks that are bigger than one of my existing coveys the older birds are replaced by the bigger, younger quail. I've been able to increase the size of my breeder quail and their eggs by doing this. Keeping birds of inferior carcass size or layers of smaller eggs is counter productive to what I'm trying to achieve. So the small older birds get replaced.

I don't have any quail set up strictly for egg production. All of them are in groups of 4-6 hens with each roo. The cages are 2x4 foot and 12 inches high.

 

[goodolsurvival1]

So far I have not kept any hens over a year and only the very largest roos a bit longer until fertility drops. I'm working on getting my jumbos bigger so when I get a batch of chicks that are bigger than one of my existing coveys the older birds are replaced by the bigger, younger quail. I've been able to increase the size of my breeder quail and their eggs by doing this. Keeping birds of inferior carcass size or layers of smaller eggs is counter productive to what I'm trying to achieve. So the small older birds get replaced.

I don't have any quail set up strictly for egg production. All of them are in groups of 4-6 hens with each roo. The cages are 2x4 foot and 12 inches high.

i was told it was easy to tell the diff between a male and female jumbo by its feathers... but is there ever causes that its harder from the feathers until say the roo starts crowing? we want to when we breed to breed with def. markings for each sex and then just butcher the others.

so would you say roos are good for 2yrs? and how can you tell when fertility drops? is it by how hatching occurs or how viable the eggs look? unless i miss read the one article i read online i though coturnix only lived to about 3yrs old or maybe the person meant thats usually all the good they are for breeding purposes up to that age.

i was only going to do layers only because i guess i wasn't sure how long quail eggs keep or how long they would keep once in the fridge till they are bought or buyer picks up (havent been able to find that info) so didn't want excessive waste due to spoilage... or it it was getting close to them being to the max storage we would just pickle and can them, and sell them as pickled quail eggs. if you are using them as fertilized eggs and aren't going to hatch them right away how long do they keep? can you tell with them like you can with chicken eggs (we aren't getting chicken cuz of the chances of giving something to quail, but i know the chicken egg trick) where if it sinks in water it's fresh if it sinks but stands up a little on end they classify it B class and if it floats its no good (if it smells its way bad lol).

i know that everyone has their own ways and recommendations but i was also told that if you do 2x2x12high and put 2-3hens in with 1 roo fertility is higher and less hen fighting... but i also read if you do how you do with the size and the amount of hens to a roo it prevents fighting ad the hens being breed to death. is both ways correct or is the larger colony better?

 

[kywest]

I am also in Ohio and own a pair of bobwhites (that I was given). You DO need a permit to own these native birds in OH, no matter where you get them from. Be sure to keep your receipt and the permit number from your source if it is in OH, to make your permitting process go easier.
There are two different permits your can apply for: a "Propagation" permit that allows you to keep and raise birds for your personal use; and a "Commercial" permit that you need if you intend to sell any birds. The propagation permit costs $25/year. An officer will come to inspect your "facility", so you need to have your set-up completed and the birds in hand before applying.
Pardon my editorializing, but I personally find it absurd that it costs me 25bucks a year to keep my two rescued birds. I completely support the laws that protect native wildlife, but captive raised bobs are soooooo common, (probably more captive ones than wild ones in ohio) that it makes no sense for the DNR to spend time permitting every hobbyist that keeps just a few birds. If I were raising birds for my family use, I'd raise courtnix and avoid the whole permitting mess. (Non-native = no permit required)
I have a suggestion for your consideration as well --
I live on 2/3 suburban acre and I keep midget white turkeys (for the table - we eat them year-round The toms are much quieter than roos, and a trio of birds isn't any more trouble than chickens, in fact mine all live together. As a plus, the hens are great moms so no incubation is required, and any excess eggs are great eating! They are friendly, beautiful and delicious! Just a thought!

 

[goodolsurvival1]

I am also in Ohio and own a pair of bobwhites (that I was given). You DO need a permit to own these native birds in OH, no matter where you get them from. Be sure to keep your receipt and the permit number from your source if it is in OH, to make your permitting process go easier.
There are two different permits your can apply for: a "Propagation" permit that allows you to keep and raise birds for your personal use; and a "Commercial" permit that you need if you intend to sell any birds. The propagation permit costs $25/year. An officer will come to inspect your "facility", so you need to have your set-up completed and the birds in hand before applying.
Pardon my editorializing, but I personally find it absurd that it costs me 25bucks a year to keep my two rescued birds. I completely support the laws that protect native wildlife, but captive raised bobs are soooooo common, (probably more captive ones than wild ones in ohio) that it makes no sense for the DNR to spend time permitting every hobbyist that keeps just a few birds. If I were raising birds for my family use, I'd raise courtnix and avoid the whole permitting mess. (Non-native = no permit required)
I have a suggestion for your consideration as well --
I live on 2/3 suburban acre and I keep midget white turkeys (for the table - we eat them year-round The toms are much quieter than roos, and a trio of birds isn't any more trouble than chickens, in fact mine all live together. As a plus, the hens are great moms so no incubation is required, and any excess eggs are great eating! They are friendly, beautiful and delicious! Just a thought!

u have a little bit bigger lot then we do ours is about .48acre (.20 ish less then you)... tom turkeys just gobble like the females correct (not unless they make a sound i dont know of since sitting out with my dad as he turkey hunted when i was youner lol)

are there any rules to having them? like if we wanted to sell them or the eggs etc.?

ive never heard of midget white turkeys, what are their requirements like: food, shelter, run area, etc. do they breed all yr long or what is their egg count like?

my hubby is still keen on chickens too, but from experience i think id rather go turkey cuz where we are at to many neighbors would be ticked if we had a roo so we would only be able to have hens, but with turkeys may not be too much of a problem.. id still want to do jumbo coturnix too only cuz of the potential market for it in our area give me something to do other than manage the house and kids lol.

 

[Sill]

i was told it was easy to tell the diff between a male and female jumbo by its feathers... but is there ever causes that its harder from the feathers until say the roo starts crowing? we want to when we breed to breed with def. markings for each sex and then just butcher the others.

so would you say roos are good for 2yrs? and how can you tell when fertility drops? is it by how hatching occurs or how viable the eggs look? unless i miss read the one article i read online i though coturnix only lived to about 3yrs old or maybe the person meant thats usually all the good they are for breeding purposes up to that age.

i was only going to do layers only because i guess i wasn't sure how long quail eggs keep or how long they would keep once in the fridge till they are bought or buyer picks up (havent been able to find that info) so didn't want excessive waste due to spoilage... or it it was getting close to them being to the max storage we would just pickle and can them, and sell them as pickled quail eggs. if you are using them as fertilized eggs and aren't going to hatch them right away how long do they keep? can you tell with them like you can with chicken eggs (we aren't getting chicken cuz of the chances of giving something to quail, but i know the chicken egg trick) where if it sinks in water it's fresh if it sinks but stands up a little on end they classify it B class and if it floats its no good (if it smells its way bad lol).

i know that everyone has their own ways and recommendations but i was also told that if you do 2x2x12high and put 2-3hens in with 1 roo fertility is higher and less hen fighting... but i also read if you do how you do with the size and the amount of hens to a roo it prevents fighting ad the hens being breed to death. is both ways correct or is the larger colony better?

Yes fertility on older roos will drop. After a year it will start to drop. You will get more clear eggs that don't develop, or don't develop fully. There doesn't seem to be a difference in hatchability if they go to full term. But if you have a prize jumbo roo with excellent size, temperament and conformation it can be worth keeping him, just know his fertility will be less than a young "teenager" roo.

I've not had an aggression problem with my hens, I keep a covey of hens together for life if possible, I've only added to a group of hens twice and after some pecking order business they settled in and accepted each other. Of course you introduce them carefully by caging them side by side for a couple of weeks so they can see each other then put them together in neutral-to-everyone territory. Remember you are breeding for temperament as well as size and temperament is hereditary. If you have aggressive hens or roos cull them! I'm very happy with the temperament of my coturnix.

u have a little bit bigger lot then we do ours is about .48acre (.20 ish less then you)... tom turkeys just gobble like the females correct (not unless they make a sound i dont know of since sitting out with my dad as he turkey hunted when i was youner lol)

are there any rules to having them? like if we wanted to sell them or the eggs etc.?

ive never heard of midget white turkeys, what are their requirements like: food, shelter, run area, etc. do they breed all yr long or what is their egg count like?

my hubby is still keen on chickens too, but from experience i think id rather go turkey cuz where we are at to many neighbors would be ticked if we had a roo so we would only be able to have hens, but with turkeys may not be too much of a problem.. id still want to do jumbo coturnix too only cuz of the potential market for it in our area give me something to do other than manage the house and kids lol.

Make sure you visit someone that has adult turkeys of the breed you want. After visiting a breeder of lovely heritage turkeys and hearing the din they make I decided against having turkeys. The bigger birds make bigger sounds! You will want to see if you can put up with the noise, or rather if you think your neighbors will put up with the noise, before investing time and energy into them.