Raising quail easy, and since they are less than half the size of chickens, they do not take much space, time, or resources. On our homestead, we raise Coturnix quail as an accompaniment to our flock of chickens and learning how to start quail farming was simple.

Domesticated quail are worth raising due to their delicious eggs, tender meat, and manageable size. They are dual-purpose birds. These small birds are easy to raise as backyard poultry. This means whether you're a seasoned poultry pro or a homesteading novice, you'll find quail easy to care for.

It's more expensive to produce quails than chickens, as the birds require a higher-protein feed of roughly 28% in comparison with a broiler starter ration that averages between 18% and 20%. [Quails] are also much more labor-intensive to pluck, clean and process.

Quail are from the order “Galliformes” which are any of the gallinaceous (fowl or chicken-like) birds with many different species and subspecies, including chickens, turkeys, pheasants, partridges, peacocks, grouse, guinea fowl, and of course quail.

Compared to eating chicken, eating quail is better for you because quail meat is higher in vitamin C and iron. Quail gives you vitamin A whereas chicken does not. And quail also gives you more minerals and amino acids than chicken meat.

About 2 to 3 years. On average, a quail only lives for about 2 or 3 years which is significantly less than a pet cat or dog…or chicken, for that matter. But a short life doesn't mean they're not worth the time.

Certain quail species and individual birds may exceed these expected life spans, but quails do have typically short lives in comparison to many other birds. This is due in part to both their size and their farmland habitats, which leave them open to predation.

A Coturnix quail hen will usually begin laying somewhere between 5 and 8 weeks of age. She will lay one egg almost every day. She will probably lay at least 300 eggs per year or more. After a brief molt will continue to lay almost as well for her second year.

Quail eggs can be consumed raw. They do not run the risk of salmonella infection, which is common in raw chicken eggs. However, it is safer to avoid raw quail eggs.

The beautiful thing about quail is that they do very well in confinement, so if you are limited on space, your quail can live happily in a cage in your garage, or on your porch. There is nothing wrong with keeping quails in cages, they don't mind and probably won't complain too much either.

We recommend 6 quail per square foot when they are chicks. This will give them plenty of room to move around and keep them happy and healthy.

Once they have feathered (around 3 weeks of age) and you are moving them out of your brooder we recommend 3-4 quail per square foot.

The BIGGEST sign of overcrowding is missing feathers on the back.

The most important aspect of housing quails is that they need to be fully contained. Housing has to be different because you'll want to keep them enclosed. If they have an out, they will fly away, because these are birds that fly.

Chickens are extremely habitual and want to return to their coop in the evenings. Quail, on the other hand, have to be persuaded to come back by other quail. Teaching quail to recall will ensure that they return to their coop after a day of free-ranging.

Adult standard quail will consume about 1.5 oz per day whereas a jumbo quail will consume about 2 oz per day.

They should always have access to their food so that they can freely eat when they desire.

We recommend a high protein crumble gamebird starter for the first 6-8 weeks that is 25-30% protein with a 1.5% calcium crumble is recommended. We also will grind the starter for the first week.

For the quail in your laying program we recommend a gamebird layer. 8 weeks and up.

For your males and non-laying quail we recommend gamebird maintenance.

We you Purina Game Bird feed.

For the first or two we recommend the blue paper towels (automotive/mechanic paper towels) so that they can grip and this will decrease or eliminate splay leg. . Regular paper towel and news papers are just to slick for them.

From here you can remove the paper towels and either keep them on the 1/2 x 1/2 wire or add pine shavings. The most important thing is to keep it clean.

Yes, we have sand for our quail. Dust bathing also prevents parasite in the quail.

Dust bathing also prevents parasites in quail. To get them to dust bathe all you need to do is provide them with a shallow but wide tub of dry sand. They will soon start to dust bathe throughout the day. Clean the container every 1 or 2 weeks.

Quails are very territorial birds that often do not get along well with newbies. However, with the right practices in mind, new birds can be integrated seamlessly into an existing flock.

Be aware of the age gap. If there is too much of an age gap between your newer and older quails, they will start fighting each other and never transition. Younger quails against an adult flock will never stand a chance.

Set up a border in the pen. Use up quarter or half of the space to separate the new quails from the current flock. The border should allow the quails to see each other whilst making sure they don't attack each other. Remove the border after a week or two. After the waiting period with the border set in place it should be time to take away the border and transition the quail together.

If pecking and fighting does occur between the flock, avoid getting involved. This is natural behavior to show dominance and establish a pecking order. If blood draw then that's when you need to get involved and remove the wounded quail immediately. Just like chickens, the quail will only keep pecking at a bloody wound. It is instinct to kill the weakest bird of the flock, especially if injured. Quarantine the quail until the wound fully heals and try introducing them again.

Quails can tolerate temperatures down to -20°F. A typical night could drop to 2°F, which shouldn't bother your birds much. It could be seen as an advantage if you have a lot of quail since these birds usually pile up together and share body heat to keep warm.

When raising quail, it is shocking just how much poop even a small flock of backyard quail can produce. Like chicken manure, you cannot put it straight on the garden. It has to be composted for several weeks to several months, depending on your weather conditions. Be sure you know where it will go.