Button quail

[67temp]

My newest venture in farming/feeder breeding. I just picked up 15 straight run button quail that are 3-4 weeks old. They are very similar to mice. Their incubation takes the same amount of time which is 21 days. They are fully mature and able to breed in 6-8 weeks. Babies are about the size of a bumblebee and grow to about adult mouse size. They also come in a variety of morphs like silver, white, tuxedo, Vader, and cinnamon.

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[crackerhead]

I raise both Button and Coturnix quail for food. I use the eggs to feed my egg eating snakes. They both hatch out after 17 days incubation and are crazy cute. You'll need to grind their feed at first if you are using either crumbles or pellets. They grow very fast; pullets laying eggs at 6 weeks post hatch. The hens are prolific layers too. I get eggs 6 out of seven days a week and all winter if I give them light. I keep them outside all winter in the coop with the my chickens (they have their own enclosure). I don't provide additional heat but I do have heated waterers because it gets very cold here in the winter. I've never lost an animal to weather but I did lose a colony to a racoon.:angry01: It reached into the pen and pulled the quails wings and legs through the wire and then chewed them off. It was awful. So I changed the housing design and eliminated the murderer. Otherwise they are one of the easiest animals I own.
BTW the eggs are delicious! If you end up with more than one male, you will need to separate them or feed off the extra males.
Best of luck!
Terri

 

[MysticExotics]

I've contemplated getting some after I get settled on the property.

 

[crackerhead]

I just acquired some of the Celedon Coturnix Quail. I was lucky to get a get mix of colors and the eggs are a beautiful shade of blue. A few of the hens lay blue eggs that still have some of the little brown speckles on them.

Terri

 

[67temp]

Yeah I've heard about grinding their food to dust for the babies. I've had quail eggs to eat before and they were great. When I picked these up I thought about getting some jumbo cotirnix for myself to raise and eat. But those will come once I get settled into the new farm more.

 

[67temp]

crackerhead, what kind of watering device are you using? I'm using a 1 qt watering bottle with a quail base similar to the one in the link. My issues are the birds somehow keep soaking their bedding requiring me to change bedding ever day or two. I've tried elevating the water on a 2x4 also putting the water bottle in a Ziploc container to catch what they splash out.

https://www.amazon.com/Miller-730-Q...ocphy=9007852&hvtargid=pla-335257352124&psc=1

 

[crackerhead]

I use nipple waterer for both the quail and the chickens. If you can't find one they are easy to make. The nipples can be purchased online and you can use a plastic bucket as the water reservoir.
I've also had success by elevating the gravity waterer on a piece of wood. That way they can't physically get into the water and make a mess. Of course they still foul the water with feed though. Using the nipple waterer eliminates most of those issues. You need to teach them how to use it but they eventually catch on.

Terri

 

[67temp]

Thanks, I'll have to give the nipples a try. I have a few left over from my chickens watering bucket but didn't think the quail were strong enough to use them.

 

[67temp]

Using the nipples made a world of difference in how often I had to clean their cage. One thing I did learn is that there are nipples for use in vertical and horizontal applications. if a vertical one is used in a horizontal position it leak like crazy.

They finally started laying last night and produced a nice green egg with tiny brown spots.

 

[crackerhead]

The other difference between the nipples is where the valve is located which effects how fast they freeze. I have to use a heated watering system here in Chicagoland for both the chickens and the quail in the winter. The vertical nipples have their valve outside the reservoir so they freeze. The side mount horizontal nipples have their valve inside the water tank so the heater, which is warming the water, also keeps them from freezing. Just something to consider if you intend to keep the quail outside all year round.

Terri

 

[james1QB]

I raise both Button and Coturnix quail for food. I use the eggs to feed my egg eating snakes. They both hatch out after 17 days incubation and are crazy cute. You'll need to grind their feed at first if you are using either crumbles or pellets. They grow very fast; pullets laying eggs at 6 weeks post hatch. The hens are prolific layers too. I get eggs 6 out of seven days a week and all winter if I give them light. I keep them outside all winter in the coop with the my chickens (they have their own enclosure). I don't provide additional heat but I do have heated waterers because it gets very cold here in the winter. I've never lost an animal to weather but I did lose a colony to a racoon. It reached into the pen and pulled the quails wings and legs through the wire and then chewed them off. It was awful. So I changed the housing design and eliminated the murderer. Otherwise they are one of the easiest animals I own.
BTW the eggs are delicious! If you end up with more than one male, you will need to

It was pretty cold winter in our area, that why we've been insulating our Large SnapLock Formex

 

[james1QB]

When we were looking for different options of chicken coops, we've been looking Petsfit Weatherproof and Large SnapLock Formex ( from here: https://bestyardproducts.com/best-chicken-coops/ ). And we've purchased the second one because it's way more functional that PetsFit, and it's large enough in size so that there is enough room for the hens to run all around, inside the coop, and plenty of space for inner insulation as well.

 

[crackerhead]

"Pretty cold" is a relative term. When I use that term I thinking 9F, as opposed to Freaking cold which is -14F. We get both temps in a regular winter here in Northern IL. Sadly I don't think the SnapLock Formex coops would do well in our wide temp swings. It looks like a nice product. How does it hold up in direct sunlight and heat?
Terri

 

[67temp]

Successful feeder testing.

 

[Lore]

Wow! I had no idea corns would eat quail eggs. Very cool

 

[Mike_Es]

Why not? We're growing quails together with chicken in a coop, using the same feeder that we use for chicken. Actually any of these is fine