anybody raised them before? how do the eggs taste? are they easier to care for than chickens?
raising quail
- Thread starter Nightshade
- Start date
that's what I have heard too and they sure are a lot better looking and smaller than chickens
Yes, like eggs and no. Good enough? My work here is done 
You`ll need fully enclosed, large runs (bottoms too, preferably). You`ll need to predator-proof them really well, snakes included. Racoons love them and can hunt together to herd and catch.
They lay lots of small eggs, all over the place, hidden from you. If you like eggs, they are actually very good.
Easy-ish to take care of. Less easy than chickens mainly because they are so small and fast.
If you want something fun to keep that are not chickens, I recommend Guinea Fowl. The eggs are great, the birds themselves are excellent to eat. They can be a bit noisy sometimes, but are far better than guard dogs for detecting intruders.
You`ll need fully enclosed, large runs (bottoms too, preferably). You`ll need to predator-proof them really well, snakes included. Racoons love them and can hunt together to herd and catch.
They lay lots of small eggs, all over the place, hidden from you. If you like eggs, they are actually very good.
Easy-ish to take care of. Less easy than chickens mainly because they are so small and fast.
If you want something fun to keep that are not chickens, I recommend Guinea Fowl. The eggs are great, the birds themselves are excellent to eat. They can be a bit noisy sometimes, but are far better than guard dogs for detecting intruders.
also you can use the littler for fertilizer
thanks your friend Joe
yes and i am sure you already have taken this into consideration being they are smaller than chicken, yes they are a little harder than chickens but just follow what Nigel saidNigel said:Yes, like eggs and no. Good enough? My work here is done
You`ll need fully enclosed, large runs (bottoms too, preferably). You`ll need to predator-proof them really well, snakes included. Racoons love them and can hunt together to herd and catch.
They lay lots of small eggs, all over the place, hidden from you. If you like eggs, they are actually very good.
Easy-ish to take care of. Less easy than chickens mainly because they are so small and fast.
If you want something fun to keep that are not chickens, I recommend Guinea Fowl. The eggs are great, the birds themselves are excellent to eat. They can be a bit noisy sometimes, but are far better than guard dogs for detecting intruders.
thanks your friend Joe
All bird poop has a white component. It`s Uric acid and if you add bacteria they break it down to release ammonia. The more uric acid the bird excretes the more potential for ammonia. Mammals excrete urea in their urine rather than uric acid. It still breaks down into ammonia if a lot of bacteria are present.
Small birds excrete less.
Small birds excrete less.
thank you nigel and joe I have taken all of the run and cage stuff into consideration the only predators we really have is my dog and I was thinking of quail as a great outside pet considering in vegas we have a ton of wild quail so I figured they would be good for our climate. sound is kind of an issue that's why I turned from chickens
I've been raising them this year and I agree with everything Nigel said. They're more delicate than chickens (they are very fiddly about temperature as babies, for one thing) but quieter and less space-intensive. Don't forget rats as a potential predator---we've had some adults that were apparently killed by our barn rats.
There's a lot of good online information about them, and I think some quite active communities that are to quail sort of what THP is to peppers.
-NT
There's a lot of good online information about them, and I think some quite active communities that are to quail sort of what THP is to peppers.
-NT
I have no idea about raising them in captivity but I know several people who released various amounts of them on their property with ok to great success.
It seems once the newly released birds get to learn to be wild they do quit well.
The people I know wanted to raise a huntable population of birds to make $ guiding limited hunts on their land.
A few stocked Pheasant too..
I do see the eggs sold fresh and aged/rotten(whatever they call it-I forget) in the Filipino stores around here for a lot of $.
A friend love the black rotted/fermented or whatever eggs.
Too nasty for me to try...If an egg looks nasty outside,I don't even want to see or smell the inside,let alone eat it. LOL
It seems once the newly released birds get to learn to be wild they do quit well.
The people I know wanted to raise a huntable population of birds to make $ guiding limited hunts on their land.
A few stocked Pheasant too..
I do see the eggs sold fresh and aged/rotten(whatever they call it-I forget) in the Filipino stores around here for a lot of $.
A friend love the black rotted/fermented or whatever eggs.
Too nasty for me to try...If an egg looks nasty outside,I don't even want to see or smell the inside,let alone eat it. LOL
Me and hundreds of others on the east side over would love to know how their getting such good results. Every restocking program here has failed, to keep any population them must be continually restocked.smokemaster said:
Brooding is tough due temperature requirements. Predators and disease will be your enemy along with their food bill. Lots of options if you get into it. Can sell surplus birds and eggs to restaurants, collectors, hunters and just joe public.
Very cool thanks for the info guys I'm looking at 4 or 5 only just enough for a few eggs
I don't really know what they did.
I got the feeling from one guy Coyotes were a hassle so he started putting out bird feed in specific spots.
He sat up the hill and shot a ton of Coyotes for a while.
I think he got a few foxes and a Bobcat too.
I don't know whether they restock or how often,but they do hold hunts on their land every year.
There always seems to be birds around(mostly Quail and Turkey).
I haven't been there in a few years.
You could be right,maybe they stock before each season.
I know after shooting a lot of Coyotes he was saying the birds were all over the place in good numbers.
They have a Bed and Breakfast type thing-package deal that includes hunts for Deer,pigs and birds.
I never hunted there.
Just went for the BBQ's.
I don't like sitting in a stand in front of a feeder.
Like fishing in a swimming pool.
I got the feeling from one guy Coyotes were a hassle so he started putting out bird feed in specific spots.
He sat up the hill and shot a ton of Coyotes for a while.
I think he got a few foxes and a Bobcat too.
I don't know whether they restock or how often,but they do hold hunts on their land every year.
There always seems to be birds around(mostly Quail and Turkey).
I haven't been there in a few years.
You could be right,maybe they stock before each season.
I know after shooting a lot of Coyotes he was saying the birds were all over the place in good numbers.
They have a Bed and Breakfast type thing-package deal that includes hunts for Deer,pigs and birds.
I never hunted there.
Just went for the BBQ's.
I don't like sitting in a stand in front of a feeder.
Like fishing in a swimming pool.