How To Start Quail Keeping
You may be a seasoned veteran when it comes to raising animals or quail may be your very first pet. Fear not for quails are incredibly easy to care for and we believe they're so simple that everyone should be keeping quails. Whether you're on acreage, have a backyard, a front lawn, town house or apartment, there is an appropriate arrangement for you.
Where do I start? - A step by step:
- A house becomes a home
Before you start to come up with names, or rush out and buy feeders & drinkers you need to decide on how you plan to house your new bevvy of quail, more importantly how you plan to keep them safe from threats.
No matter what housing situation you choose (rabbit hutch, purpose built enclosure, raised cage, aviary etc.) they all need to be threat proof. Now I use the phase threat proof instead of predator proof for a reason, there are more threats to quails than predators with teeth and claws. Storms pose a threat to quail, and I learnt that lesson the hard way very early on having an enclosure blow over in heavy storms, luckily it was built like a bomb shelter and none of my girls were lost.
So when considering how you want to house your girls, make sure they're safe from their surrounding environment and other animals with bad intentions
A BIG NO, NO: Open roofed enclosures are strongly discouraged. Quails can fly, not very far or well but good enough to make great escape artists. if that's not enough discouragement birds of prey are. A bevy of quail make they perfect food source to hawks and eagles. A threat from not only the air but also the land with their highly dexterous claws (a full safety checklist/ enclosure designs can be found HERE) So unless you're sharing quail custody with your neighbors, open air enclosures are a recipe for disaster.
TLDR: Your enclosure needs to be secure from the environment as well as predators. No open roof,
- The requirements for life - Food and Water
Now we can start to think about what we are giving our quails, remembering the better the quality and generous supply the better the fresh, golden-yoked gifts you'll receive in return. I'm not saying they need a michelin star chef and glacier water, but they do need the right nutrients and clean drinking water accessible at all times.
Water seems pretty simple right? Sure is, but lets make sure it's easy and fresh. Stand alone drinkers are great for simplicity and affordability but they do come at a trade off with increased cleaning and refilling. I suggest suspending them to minimise your girls scratching filth into them, just make sure they're at a comfortable drinking height! Now to the Rolls-Royce, automatic drinkers. These require more planning, a quick youtube tutorial on basic plumbing (don't stress most modern systems are plug and play) and a little more cash. Holidays have now become stress free with the beauty of their holding capacity being potentially infinite (if you hook them up to a tank or mains water). The down side? they can have a tendency to block up or leak as they become dirty but a clean out here and there and you're golden.
Food supply follows a similar story as free standing drinkers, although there isn't much available to the backyard quail keeper in the way of automatic feeders. There is however great little systems that allow you to turn any container into a feeder, 20kgs worth or even more if you're that keen! Both systems are susceptible to rodents so unless you plan on feeding the local nest of mice or mischief of rats, make sure your enclosure is vermin proof (No bigger than 10mm gaps, gold standard is 6.5mm) or you have other rodent control measures in place.
Now we have supply sorted lets looks at what we're actually giving them. Quails believe it or not, are different to other poultry. They require a higher protein intake than chickens (ideally 20%), my girls receive 22% protein and my babies get a 28% mix from hatch to maturity. Additionally, calcium is highly important for laying quail, no calcium - no eggs. Some feeds add calcium, some don't so it is important to check the label. Can't find one with calcium or want to give the girls choice of upping their calcium intake? You can use your egg shells! simply dry them out (bone dry in the sun or the oven) grind them into a fine grit and serve it up (separate to your food supply, the girls will know how much they need, just make sure its in a feeder arrangement where they don't dust bath in it).
TLDR: Make sure you use a game bird specific feed with <20% protein, their diet includes calcium and their water is clean and in constant supply.
- How big is a bevvy?
The answer to that lies with you. There is two ways to look at it: How many eggs would my family ideally like to consume? or How many quail can I keep in the enclosure I have already? either way Quail are social creatures and do best in a group of 5 or more.
Lets start with the easy question, how many quail does my enclosure hold? A good rule of thumb is 3-5 quail per square meter. This number can be easily increased but it comes at the need for environment enrichment (plants, dust baths, more waterers, feeders) and an increase in cleaning but who wouldn't want more free fertilizer for your garden or to trade with.
Now for our mathematicians playing along at home:
Quail lay on average 300 eggs a year but there are some factors that can lower this number. Although quail are far better suited to extreme weather than chickens, their laying can be temporarily put on hold during these extremes. Make sure they have shelter from rain, cold and the hot sun, finding a balance of fresh open air and a safe place to seek refuge is key here.
Light is a requirement for egg production believe it or not. Quails are most productive when they receive 14-16 hours of light a day. Summer time that's easily done but in the colder months you might consider adding in a light on a timer to extend the daylight hours.
Above all, no one is perfect and laying rates can vary for no reason at all. So my suggestion is the more the merrier. It is better to have a few spare eggs to give away or trade than the dreaded trip to the supermarket to pick up some over priced eggs. Plus fresh eggs keep for a surprisingly long time in the fridge, up to 6 weeks!
TLDR: 3-5 Quails can be kept per square meter (you can increase this number with environment enrichment and more frequent cleaning). Quails lay on average 300 eggs a year, make sure they have enough light and shelter to keep this rate up. You can never have enough quails! eggs make a great gift or commodity to trade with your neighbors for other produce.
- Do I need veterinary training to care for their health?
Absolutely not, most common health problems in quails are easily cared for by yourself but preventative health care forms the foundation. And at the end of the day if you're not sure, seeking a veterinarian's advice is always the safest option.
Nutrition, appropriate housing and stress free environments are key for a healthy bevvy. In addition to this, quarantining new birds is important to not introduce diseases or pests.
Dust baths are great for keeping the birds happy and healthy but they also play an important part at keeping mites and lice at bay, use whatever you have on hand for this like sand, fine dirt, wood ash. In addition to keeping pests at bay and your birds entertained, it helps to clean their feathers clean and healthy.
Occasionally you may experience overgrown nails or beaks, these are simply trimmed with nail clippers but make sure you're well informed on the how to, either through youtube university or a bit of googling. Depending on what the ground condition under your enclosure is like, you may find dirt balls forming on your girl's toes, a simple little soak in warm water until they break up is the fix here.