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quail or chickens #7470601
01/23/22 09:45 PM
01/23/22 09:45 PM
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,144
Ohio
BuckMink Offline OP
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BuckMink  Offline OP
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Ohio
I was thinking about raising some for table fare and eggs, are quail easier than chickens? Anyone experienced with both, pros and cons? thanks!

Re: quail or chickens [Re: BuckMink] #7470627
01/23/22 10:05 PM
01/23/22 10:05 PM
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 2,786
Western Shore Delaware
SJA Offline
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SJA  Offline
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Western Shore Delaware
Quail are generally harder to raise, taste better than chickens IMO, the eggs of course are smaller, and are very good and often in Asian recipes :-)

Last edited by SJA; 01/23/22 10:06 PM.

"Humans are the hardest people to get along with."
Dr. Phillip Snow
Re: quail or chickens [Re: BuckMink] #7470654
01/23/22 10:21 PM
01/23/22 10:21 PM
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 349
East Central Mn.
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uplandpointer Online content
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uplandpointer  Online Content
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Posts: 349
East Central Mn.
My opinion is that quail are born looking for a reason to die. We use a lot of them for dog training.

Re: quail or chickens [Re: BuckMink] #7470688
01/23/22 10:42 PM
01/23/22 10:42 PM
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,144
Ohio
BuckMink Offline OP
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BuckMink  Offline OP
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Ohio
lol.. well two for two on death rates. So alright, I'll look into some yickens... thanks.

Re: quail or chickens [Re: BuckMink] #7470741
01/23/22 11:15 PM
01/23/22 11:15 PM
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 16,512
Oakland, MS
yotetrapper30 Offline
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yotetrapper30  Offline
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Oakland, MS
I wonder if the people saying quail die easy are talking about bobwhites? Corturnix quails are quite easy to raise and have good meat and delicious, though tiny, eggs. If you get chickens for meat you'll want Cornish x


~~Proud Ultra MAGA~~
Re: quail or chickens [Re: BuckMink] #7470754
01/23/22 11:23 PM
01/23/22 11:23 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,896
Oakland, MS
Drifter Online content
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Drifter  Online Content
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Oakland, MS
Biggest problem I saw with raising the Courtunix was you have to hatch them in an incubator. Other then that they are very hardy.


Some individuals use statistics as a drunk man uses lamp-posts — for support rather than for illumination.

Andrew Lang (1844-1912) Scottish poet, novelist and literary critic









Life member NTA , and GA Trappers assoc .
Re: quail or chickens [Re: yotetrapper30] #7470759
01/23/22 11:26 PM
01/23/22 11:26 PM
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 349
East Central Mn.
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uplandpointer Online content
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Originally Posted by yotetrapper30
I wonder if the people saying quail die easy are talking about bobwhites? Corturnix quails are quite easy to raise and have good meat and delicious, though tiny, eggs. If you get chickens for meat you'll want Cornish x


Yep Bob's for me

Re: quail or chickens [Re: BuckMink] #7470763
01/23/22 11:28 PM
01/23/22 11:28 PM
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 20,241
The Hill Country of Texas
Leftlane Offline
"HOSS"
Leftlane  Offline
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The Hill Country of Texas
I think it was Keith that said he has raised a bunch of quail. Maybe he will chime in. They might be harder to raise but I think quail are as good of eating as I ever have.


“What’s good for me may not be good for the weak minded.”
Captain Gus McCrae- Texas Rangers


Re: quail or chickens [Re: BuckMink] #7470765
01/23/22 11:29 PM
01/23/22 11:29 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,002
Oregon
beaverpeeler Offline
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beaverpeeler  Offline
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Oregon
I would ask this question of KeithC. He's the quail expert on here. I do believe that I have read that quail beat the pants off of chickens for feed to egg ratio gram per gram.


My fear of moving stairs is escalating!
Re: quail or chickens [Re: BuckMink] #7470775
01/23/22 11:42 PM
01/23/22 11:42 PM
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 4,528
MN
D
Donnersurvivor Offline
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Joined: Jan 2018
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MN
They're both easy but very different. Want something that can eat table scraps and forage in the yard? If so chickens. If you are keeping them in a cage in a building, quail would be my choice. As others have stated Keith has th most experience on here.

Re: quail or chickens [Re: BuckMink] #7470806
01/24/22 12:22 AM
01/24/22 12:22 AM
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 15,539
Champaign County, Ohio.
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KeithC Offline
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Champaign County, Ohio.
I hatch out around 60,000 coturnix quail a year. Coturnix quail are hardy as adults, with no extra heat, slightly below zero, as long as you have around 25 or more in a group. Below 20 they don't lay as well. I've raised a lot of species and breeds of birds. For me, Coturnix quail are the easiest and definitely the most prolific bird. Most Coturnix hens, if given 14 hours or more of light, will lay 300 plus eggs a year. There are roughly 5 Coturnix eggs worth of mass in 1 extra large chicken egg. Coturnix eggs will average around 14 grams. Coturnix mostly start laying at 6 weeks and 2 days of age. The earliest I have Coturnix lay is 5 weeks and 5 days. 20 Coturnix hens will lay enough eggs for a normal family of 4. I feed a 16% protein layer mash at all ages. You get faster and more growth on a higher protein diet, but the hens won't lay as well. You can effectively caponize the males by keeping them in low light, to gain about 2 additional ounces of weight.

Coturnix quail have a better feed conversion rate for eggs than chickens do. Chickens have a better feed conversion rate for meat. Chickens can be free ranged. Coturnix quail must be contained. The eggs taste very similar. Coturnix eggs have about 1% higher protein than chicken eggs. i can completely butcher a quail, if I skin it, in under 2 minutes.

I raise a lot of chickens, but not nearly as many as I do quail. I personally recommend raising some of both. There is much better profit margins on quail and their eggs than on chickens, unless you are raising very high quality show chickens.

Keith

Re: quail or chickens [Re: BuckMink] #7470817
01/24/22 12:37 AM
01/24/22 12:37 AM
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 404
kodiak alaska
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otter3006 Offline
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kodiak alaska
Wife asked how long will they lay eggs

Re: quail or chickens [Re: otter3006] #7470850
01/24/22 01:29 AM
01/24/22 01:29 AM
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 15,539
Champaign County, Ohio.
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KeithC Offline
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Champaign County, Ohio.
Originally Posted by otter3006
Wife asked how long will they lay eggs


The hens will lay for at least 2 years. They lay best under 1 year of age. I usually don't keep them for more than 6 or 8 months, but I sell a huge amount of adult quail for pet food and constantly grow out more.

Keith

Re: quail or chickens [Re: BuckMink] #7470855
01/24/22 01:44 AM
01/24/22 01:44 AM
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 15,539
Champaign County, Ohio.
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KeithC Offline
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Champaign County, Ohio.
If you live in an area of low competition, close to a major city. You can make very decent money on Coturnix quail.. 210 hens can be kept in 96 square feet and produce 63,000 eggs in 1 year. Quail eggs typically sell for $3.00 a dozen or more. 63,000 eggs is worth $15,750.00 at $3.00 a dozen.

I keep 350 to 400 Coturnix breeder hens most of the year.

I sell live chicks for $2.00 each.

Keith

Re: quail or chickens [Re: KeithC] #7470864
01/24/22 02:38 AM
01/24/22 02:38 AM
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 5,849
ohio
Ohio Wolverine Offline
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Ohio Wolverine  Offline
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ohio
Originally Posted by KeithC
If you live in an area of low competition, close to a major city. You can make very decent money on Coturnix quail.. 210 hens can be kept in 96 square feet and produce 63,000 eggs in 1 year. Quail eggs typically sell for $3.00 a dozen or more. 63,000 eggs is worth $15,750.00 at $3.00 a dozen.

I keep 350 to 400 Coturnix breeder hens most of the year.

I sell live chicks for $2.00 each.

Keith


I did some research on Bobwhite quail , and it said there's a disease that chickens get that chickens can live with , but quail die from it at about 2 months of age .
Do you know anything about it Keith ?
Reason I ask is because some Amish friends tried to raise some that they let chickens hatch .
All the quail dies at about 6 weeks or so .
They just lay down and look like they're sleeping .
They stumble some and lay down and close their eyes , and they're gone .


Last edited by Ohio Wolverine; 01/24/22 02:42 AM.

We have met the enemy and the enemy is us!
Re: quail or chickens [Re: BuckMink] #7470869
01/24/22 03:32 AM
01/24/22 03:32 AM
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 15,539
Champaign County, Ohio.
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KeithC Offline
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KeithC  Offline
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Joined: May 2009
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Champaign County, Ohio.
Originally Posted by Ohio Wolverine
Originally Posted by KeithC
If you live in an area of low competition, close to a major city. You can make very decent money on Coturnix quail.. 210 hens can be kept in 96 square feet and produce 63,000 eggs in 1 year. Quail eggs typically sell for $3.00 a dozen or more. 63,000 eggs is worth $15,750.00 at $3.00 a dozen.

I keep 350 to 400 Coturnix breeder hens most of the year.

I sell live chicks for $2.00 each.

Keith


I did some research on Bobwhite quail , and it said there's a disease that chickens get that chickens can live with , but quail die from it at about 2 months of age .
Do you know anything about it Keith ?
Reason I ask is because some Amish friends tried to raise some that they let chickens hatch .
All the quail dies at about 6 weeks or so .
They just lay down and look like they're sleeping .
They stumble some and lay down and close their eyes , and they're gone .




Bobwhite quail have not been in captivity long and don't have immunity to many common viruses, bacteria and parasites. Coturnix were likely kept before people even started keeping chickens. Most captive Bobwhite are killed by ulcerative enteritis, which is caused by a Clostridium bacteria and Coccidia, a tiny parasite. Both can be treated with sulpha drugs. The best treatment was Di-Methox, but the AVA, who wants a monopoly on selling medicine for animals, paid Congress to make it illegal to get without a prescription. Bacitrin can be added to feed to help with enteritis in bobwhite. Most domestic poultry can carry both Clostridium and Coccidia, with little adverse effects, unless they become stressed. The chickens likely had both in them. Bobwhite are best kept on wire or at least deep clean sand, if outside or deep pine shaving bedding on concrete, if inside.

If they did a necropsy on their Bobwhite, the Amish would probably have found a lot of small lesions in the guts. They need to keep Bobwhite away from other poultry in dry pens.

Once, I did lose a pen of Bobwhite to poison hemlock, that was in the hay I used. They ate it, fell asleep and died. Poison Hemlock slows the nervous system down, causing the heart and lungs to work progressively slower, until death.

Chukar are effected just a little less than bobwhite by enteritis and Coccidia. Hungarian Partridge and Pheasants have much better immune systems.

Keith

Re: quail or chickens [Re: BuckMink] #7470870
01/24/22 03:42 AM
01/24/22 03:42 AM
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 6,518
MB
J
Jurassic Park Offline
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MB
I’m convinced! I’m getting Quails this Spring! Woot Woot!!


Cold as ice!
Re: quail or chickens [Re: BuckMink] #7470943
01/24/22 08:26 AM
01/24/22 08:26 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 41,592
Northern Maine
Bruce T Offline
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Bruce T  Offline
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Northern Maine
In a pen quail are easy to raise up.


Nevada bound
Re: quail or chickens [Re: KeithC] #7471153
01/24/22 11:52 AM
01/24/22 11:52 AM
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 5,849
ohio
Ohio Wolverine Offline
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Ohio Wolverine  Offline
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ohio
Keith C ,


So if chickens aren't around , quail have a better chance of survival ?
To get the Di-Methox, you need a vet to prescribe a prescription .

Well , they really aren't the type to use a vet for quail . I could be wrong , but I don't see them doing it.
I told them to ask the people they got the eggs from about it .
Seems they raise deer and other game animals also , so they may be able to get the medicated feed for them .
I'll see them when the weather breaks , as they don't worry about snow in their driveways , and it's easy to get stuck in them .


We have met the enemy and the enemy is us!
Re: quail or chickens [Re: Ohio Wolverine] #7471162
01/24/22 12:04 PM
01/24/22 12:04 PM
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 15,539
Champaign County, Ohio.
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KeithC Offline
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Champaign County, Ohio.
Originally Posted by Ohio Wolverine
Keith C ,


So if chickens aren't around , quail have a better chance of survival ?
To get the Di-Methox, you need a vet to prescribe a prescription .

Well , they really aren't the type to use a vet for quail . I could be wrong , but I don't see them doing it.
I told them to ask the people they got the eggs from about it .
Seems they raise deer and other game animals also , so they may be able to get the medicated feed for them .
I'll see them when the weather breaks , as they don't worry about snow in their driveways , and it's easy to get stuck in them .


Yes, if your Amish friends can keep other birds, including wild birds, away from the quail, they are less likely to get sick. Dry pens help greatly, especially with Coccidia, which needs moisture to live.

Yes, you now need a prescription for Di- Methox. The long name is Sulphamethadioxine. I used to buy cases of 6 1 gallon bottles.

Keith

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