![]() ![]() Winter is also a time to provide extra calories for both meat and egg birds. If you want year-round egg production, you need to provide 14 hours of lighting during the winter months. At 10 days, babies can be moved to the adult pens. Place pebbles in their drinking tray to alleviate this problem. The top of the brooder box should be covered with mesh to allow for air flow while preventing mice and other rodents from eating the tiny birds.īaby quail will also drown in their drinking water. Check on them often, making sure they are not too cold and that they are not subjected to any draft. For the first 7-10 days, quail are unable to consistently regulate their body temperature. Bobwhite quail hatch in 23 days.Īs soon as the birds hatch out, place them in a brooder box. The incubation period for Japanese quail is approximately 17 days. Store the eggs no longer than one week before incubating. ![]() Collect the eggs twice a day and store at a temperature of 59 degrees Fahrenheit. To breed quail, keep the temperature around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to selling meat and eggs, you can sell live quail. Attach a long, narrow water pot in front of each cage to ensure water stays clean. At that time switch to turkey grower/finisher feed. A non-medicated turkey starter-crumb is perfect until six weeks of age. Quail love to forage but need supplementation for meat and egg production. The soiled bedding and nesting materials can be added to your compost bin but not directly to the garden. Remove and replace bedding and nesting materials seasonally, unless you notice it needs to be changed sooner. Make sure they have areas of sunlight and adequate shade. Give them at least 6′ from the ground to the top of the aviary. Whether you decide to house your quail on the ground or in cages, provide a space for your quail to fly. Each cage will comfortably hold 10-12 birds. You can build this complex up to six-stories, keeping 10 cm distance between each story. Each cage should measure 6′ long by 1′ wide, and it should be divided into six equal compartments. You can build a quail high-rise hotel if you do not want to keep them on the ground. You need to consider four-legged predators as well as hawks, owls, and snakes. The most important thing to consider with a ground pen, like a chicken tractor, is how you are going to make it predator-proof. Collect eggs at least twice a day so they will not get too dirty or cracked. ![]() Sometimes quail will just drop their eggs on the ground, but some quail will hide their eggs in the bedding material you provide. ![]() Provide straw for tunneling, as well as buckets and branches for hiding. First, quail can be housed in pens on the ground, as this most closely resembles their natural habitat. You have two basic options when it comes to the shelter you will provide for your quail. Quail are not terribly fussy about their housing. Bobwhite quail start laying later in life and you need to separate them into mating pairs for more successful breeding but they are still easy to care for and one of the most popular quail breeds. If raising quail for eggs, they begin laying at approximately 50 days old and should lay around 250 eggs a year. They are ready to harvest at seven weeks of age. Japanese quail, Coturnix japonica, is a hardy breed that is fairly disease resistant and thrives in small cages. The two most popular quail breeds are Japanese quail and Bobwhite quail. As with any animal, be sure to keep their area clean and odor-free. Most locations that do not allow poultry find quail to be acceptable – even for backyard homesteaders in a busy neighborhood. If you wonder whether or not you can begin raising quail where you live, check the local zoning regulations. They require very little space and are too quiet to bother the neighbors. Quail can be raised successfully by urban homesteaders who want to produce their own meat or eggs but do not live in a neighborhood that permits chickens. Quail are also family-friendly, making them the perfect animal for homesteads with small children. Quail can be raised in small areas, are low maintenance and are inexpensive to raise with a fast and high return on investment. Homesteaders looking for a money-making venture should consider raising quail for profit. ![]()
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