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Quail rearing

When you live in an area where raising larger poultry such as chickens is not an option, quail are a great alternative. Most homeowners associations normally allow you to raise quail even when other types of birds are frowned upon. The truth of the matter is, as long as you keep the smell of quail manure in check, they will probably never know you have them. Quails are relatively quiet birds. Even when the males sing, they sound like other birds in the area and will go unnoticed.

Okay, quail can be raised anywhere, but are they worth it? Yes, quail are small, weighing between 3 ½ and 5 ounces, so they can take 1 to 2 quail per person for a meal. The eggs, of course, are also small, requiring about 5 quail eggs to equal 1 large chicken egg. An adult quail will eat between 20 and 25 grams of food a day, which will probably cost about 2 cents a day to feed it. In the long run, that would be a pretty good return on investment.

Another great advantage of quails is that they reach adulthood between 6 and 8 weeks and have a life expectancy of just over two years. So in less than 2 months they will be ready to eat or better yet they are ready to reproduce. One important thing to remember is that over the years, Coturnix quails have lost the instinct to hatch their own eggs, so you will need an incubator or you will need to place them under a chicken. Coturnix quail, which are the most commonly raised quail, are easy to identify as male or female by the color of the bird’s chest. Females have a mottled breast, while males have a light brown breast without the spots. Quails generally breed between the months of March and September, when they can get 14 or more hours of sunlight. When the days get shorter they will stop laying but adding a light to their cage can extend the season and get around 300 eggs per year per adult hen. As they age, these women will tire and produce less. Eggs are also highly edible and are considered a delicacy in some areas. There is really very little difference in taste between quail eggs and chicken eggs, in fact, if it weren’t for that size, I don’t think you would notice a difference.

You’ll want to raise your birds in a cage to keep them safe from predators like those tireless hunters, dogs, and cats. You will want to give them about 10 inches of space per bird and try to keep the cage about 8 inches tall. Quails fly and can be injured by hitting the top of the cage if they have enough space. The typical cage has a floor of ½-inch wire fencing so that they can walk on the ground and their debris falls to the ground. If you’re a gardener, these bird waste makes a great fertilizer. If for some reason you don’t like the idea of ​​keeping them in a cage, you can let them out in a fenced area, but as I mentioned before, they fly so you will have to clip their wings.

Quails are fairly tame birds, so if you have a runaway, stay calm. Do not run or chase them or you will scare them and they may be gone forever. Just walk slowly towards them and corner them and you can easily pick them up. If you really think you need it, you can use a net, but do it carefully and it should be easy to catch.

Quail really gets into things. By that I mean they get into food and water and where they go, they go. In other words, when they get into food and water, they will leave their waste there. You will need to keep these things clean so they don’t get sick from bacteria or disease. Chicks should be starter fed until they are 6 to 8 weeks old to ensure they are getting enough protein. Although you can feed them chicken feed, it is best to feed them quail or game bird food. Don’t let your food get wet. Wet food will get moldy and can kill your birds.

When your quail lays eggs, you can store them for about a week before hatching. This will give you the opportunity to collect multiple hatching eggs at once. When storing them, you should place them pointed side down and try to store them in a cool area between 50 ° to 55 ° Fahrenheit or 10 ° to 13 ° Celsius. Handel the eggs very carefully because they are quite fragile. Be sure to wash your hands before handling, as perspiration, oils, or other foreign matter can penetrate the egg and cause bacteria to grow. Also make sure your incubator is clean and sanitized before use, as chicks are susceptible to disease. When choosing eggs for hatching, choose eggs that are clean and without cracks. Do not wash the eggs or it will remove the protective coating or it will bloom from the eggs and they will not hatch. You will need to set up and run the incubator for at least 24 hours before using it to ensure that it is working properly and is at the proper temperature. The Coturnix quail will require a temperature of around 99.9 ° Fahrenheit or 37.7 ° Celsius if you are hatching Bob White quail, it will need a temperature of 99.5 ° Fahrenheit or 37.5 ° Celsius Your eggs will need to be turned 2 to 3 times a day at the same time if it does not have an automatic egg turner. 3 days before the eggs hatch, you will want to stop turning them. If you’re turning the eggs by hand, it’s a good idea to circle them on one side and an X on the other so you can keep track of which side they are on. Make sure that if you mark them you do it with pencil and not with ink. Ink can penetrate the peel. The Coturnix quail will take up to 18 days to hatch. If you are breeding Bob Whites, it can take up to 23 days. The humidity in your incubator should be between 25% and 60%. When the chicks hatch, leave them in the incubator until they dry.

Once the quail are dry, you can transfer them to an incubator. A brooder is a kind of large box or container with a heat lamp. You will want to keep the brooder temperature around 98 ° Fahrenheit or approximately 36.6 ° Celsius. Then lower the temperature about 10 degrees per week until it reaches average outside temperature and your birds are ready for the outdoors.

Quails are easy to raise, inexpensive, an excellent food source, and can be entertaining to raise regardless of where you live.

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