Raising Quail for Meat and Eggs - Great Lakes …greatlakespermacultureportal.com/.../12/...quail-for-meat-and-eggs.pdf · 3 Raising Quail for Meat and Eggs. Like most domesticated

Raising Quail for Meat and Eggs:Protein Production on 1/3 of an Acre

BRAD DAVIES

The author would like to extend special recognition to"Fat Daddy Clause," "Digger," "Moby" and the rest of theTatanka Breeders Club on the Backyard Chickens forum,as well as the White Quail Blog, Jack Spirko and thecommunity at thesurvialpodcast.com.

We would also like to thank Bill Mollison, Geoff Lawton,Mark Shepard and our other teachers for changing theway we think.

Author and Photographer Brad Davies livesand teaches technology classes to middleschoolers in Clarkston, MI. He is a graduateof Central Michigan University with a B.S. inEducation majoring in Industrial Educationand Earth / Space Science. He received his

Permaculture Design Certificate from Geoff Lawton. Anature lover, woodworker, avid fishermen, and semi­fearless adventurer since childhood, Brad has beenfeatured on multiple Permaculture podcasts, andpresented at the 2013 Michigan PermacultureConvergence.

Designer, Editor and additional ResearcherBryan D. Mets lives and forest farms in RayTownship, MI. He is a graduate of MichiganState University with degrees in EnglishLiterature and Biochemistry. He received hisPermaculture Design Certificate from Mark

Shepard at New Forest Farm in Viola, WI. Currentlycompleting a Masters in Biochemistry at MSU, he hastaught across Michigan, was a lead organizer for theInnaugural Michigan Permaculture Convergence and is aco­founder of greatlakespermacultureportal.com.

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Biography Acknowledgements

Inputs ........................... 181) Feed ........................... 182) Water ........................... 20

Outputs ........................... 21

Quail Egg Nutritional Value ........................... 22

Behaviors ........................... 24

Slaughtering ........................... 25

Selective Breeding ........................... 26

Suburban Issues ........................... 28

Resources ........................... 30

Why Quail? ........................... 11) Resiliency ........................... 12) Size Constraints ........................... 23) Regulations ........................... 3

Why the Breed? ........................... 4

About the Breed ........................... 5

Process overview ........................... 6

Housing Requirements ........................... 71) Incubation ........................... 72) Brooding ........................... 103) Grow Out ........................... 144) Layers ........................... 155) Other Housing Methods ..................... 17

Table of Contentsii

I decided to start raising quail for a few reasons:

1.) Resiliency

When I began thinking about household resiliency,food production seemed to be a good place tostart. Looking at my grocery bills, I realised mymajor expense was the purchase of proteinproducts like meat, eggs and cheese. I decidedthat raising livestock might be a good way toincrease financial resiliency as well as food selfsufficiency.

Because I am set on being as resilient aspossible, I am simply not willing to put forth thetime and effort of raising and caring for livestockthat will only have the potential to supplement25% of my daily needs. If I’m raising something,I'm raising it to replace the need to purchasesomething else, not to lower the amount I need topurchase.

Why Quail?1

Quail lay smaller eggs than chickens, but theysure are prolific! Over 100 quail eggs plus achicken egg for scale.

2.) Size constraints.

Living on a third of an acre makes it important toselect elements that will not be stressed in smallspaces and also not detrimentally effect theecology. Larger livestock, like cows, pigs andsheep did not seem appropriate, because of theirspace needs. I decided I would not be able toprovide for their needs and maintain a productivegarden on my site. For large animals I decided tostick to hunting deer and help manage a wildpopulation.

2Why Quail?

Overhead view of the author'shomestead. Raising quail ispart of his plan for establishingan example site for small scalepermaculture systems in a coldtemperate climate. The narrow1/3 acre backyard provides avariety of challenges for raisinglivestock while developing anecosystem that provides forhuman needs as well.

3.) Regulations

Living in the suburbs, I face regulations fromauthorities regarding what I can and cannot raiseon my land. As I knew I did not want to raise largerlivestock, I began looking at my options for smalleranimals. Rabbits, ducks, and chickens seemed tobe the most obvious choices.

I could probably get away with raising somechickens or ducks without anyone complaining,but there is no way that I could raise enough tosupply my households needs on a 1/3 acre lot.Currently we consume the equivalent of 15chicken eggs per day. Unfortunately rabbits don'tlay eggs, contrary to popular depictions of springfertility rites (sorry Easter bunny), so I decided Ineeded to raise some form of poultry.

Upon researching the various options I had to addpoultry to my system, I stumbled upon the bookMicro­Livestock: Little known Small Animals withPromising Economic Future, a link to which youmay find in the references. These quiet little birdsseemed like the perfect option for my situation.They had the potential to provide all of my eggneeds, and there were no specific or localordinances restricting them. After three years, theyhave performed even better than my expectations.

The following information comes from countlesshours of research as well as my personalexperience raising quail. I hope it will be avaluable jumping off point for developing your ownquail system for meat and eggs.

Raising Quail for Meat and Eggs3

Like most domesticated animals, there are anumber of quail breeds with a variety ofcharacteristcs. For quail, there are two distinctspecies, Old World and New World quail. Althoughthese species have physical and behavioralsimilarities, there are some important differences.

New world quail, such as Bobwhites, grow largerthan old world quail, but they take twice as long toreach mature size (~16 weeks) than Old Worldquail (~7­8 weeks). Also, Old World quail lay 200­300 eggs a year, while Bobwhites lay around 150.

Bobwhites are more wild and prefer a fly pen oncethey have developed. Old World Japanese quailhave been domesticated for thousands of years,and are well adapted to confined spaces.

For these reasons I chose to raise a variety ofJapanese quail. If you want to raise quail in amore natural environment, Bobwhites, TennesseeReds or another new world variety might be abetter choice. Each breed has strengths andweaknesses; the one that works best depends onthe situation.

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Why the Breed?

fertility and productivity fall off greatly. Eggsaverage 10 g in weight, and chicks weigh a mere5­6 grams when hatched.

I chose the Pharoah variety of Japanese quailbecause of the available breeds, they had thehighest potential for meat and egg yields.

Japanese quail (Pharaoh Variety)

Old World quail are native to Asia and Europe. Inthe wild, Old World quail prefer temperateclimates, with northern habitats reaching 38°N.They are omnivores, eating a mixture of insects,seeds and grains. They have been domesticatedfor thousands of years, especially in Asia andOceania. They continue to be raised widely andare popular in Japan.

Originally raised for ornamental value assongbirds, in the early 20th century Japanesebreeders selected for meat producing domesticbirds. During World War II these birds nearly wentextinct, but extensive breeding has since createda resurgence for these quail.

Aside from their rapid growth and rampent eggproduction, Japanese, or Coturnix, quail are hardy,disease resistant birds that are adapted to smallspaces. The females begin laying eggs as early as5­6 weks old and reach full production in 7­10weeks. Highly productive females may lay 250­300 eggs in a year, however after the first year,

5

About the Breed

Female Pharoah quail (left) have a speckledbreast. Males (right) have a rust colored breast.

1) Incubation ­ 17­18 days

Japanese Quail need to behatched in an incubator, as theinstinct to brood has all but beenbreed out of them. They requirethe same conditions aschickens, with a slightly shorterhatch time. Most eggs will hatchin 17­18 days.

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Process Overview

2) Brooding ­ 17­21 days

A brooder is a heated containerfor the birds to live in. Thetemperature should be kept inthe mid 90’s until the birds startto feather out. The ambient airtemperature for your brooder willdetermine the wattage of bulbyou need to achieve thistemperature.

3) Grow out ­ 21+ days

Once the birds have reached 21days they are feathered out andno longer require supplementalheat. At this stage you can putthem into a grow out containerof your choice. This can be anycontainer or system from a cagebattery to a quail tractor, justsomething to contain themwhere they can eat, drink andgrow.

Equipment

1.) Incubator

Any incubator will work as long as you keepeverything in the correct range, which is easiersaid than done. I have personally used a LittleGiant and a Bower Top Hatch incubator. Bothgave me similar results. In the future I will moveup to a larger capacity cabinet style, probablyhomemade.

2.) Thermometer

You’ll need a few of these. Make sure youcalibrate them and are measuring the temperaturewhere the eggs are.

3.) Hygrometer

Used to measure the humidity, two is better thanone. Make sure it’s calibrated, Google “hygrometersalt water calibration” for instructions on how tomake sure it’s calibrated correctly.

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Housing Requirements: Incubation

Process

Quail require the same incubation conditions aschickens, with a slightly shorter hatch time. Mosteggs will hatch in 17­18 days. The eggs should bekept at 99.5°F if you’re using a forced airincubator, 101°F for a still air incubator. Humidityneeds to be between 25%­50% for the first 14­15days. The last 3 days are called the “lockdown”period and the humidity is raised to 60%­75%. Theeggs must be turned at least 3 times a day. Anegg turner is recommended. Cease turning duringthe lockdown period. Do not open the incubatorduring lockdown! Chicks can live for up to 24 hrsin the incubator so wait until there are a few ofthem before you open it and quickly get them out.Read and follow the instructions of your incubatorfor best results.

8Housing Requirements: Incubation

Quail Eggs inside an incubator. The dualthermometer/hygrometer is placed at the sameheight as the eggs for enhanced accuracy as theair may stratify in the incubator. Additionally, it isplaced in a location where it is easily visiblewithout opening the incubator.

Additional considerations

Incubation is by far the hardest part of raisingquail. If you have hatched other birds out, youshould be fine. If you have never hatched anythingbefore expect failures. Everything must beprecisely kept in the aforementioned ranges, closeenough works for horseshoes and hand grenades,but not incubation.

Egg storage is an important variable in thehatchability of your eggs. The general internetwisdom is to hatch eggs that are no more than 10days old. However, if kept in the proper conditionsthis can be extended with only a slight decline inhatchability. I personally know a commercialoperator who keeps his eggs for 30 days and stillachieves an 80% hatch rate using a commercialsetup. Hatching eggs should be stored pointedend down, in a cool, temperature stable place.Basements or cellars are ideal for this. Anywherewith a stable temp that doesn’t get over 75­80°F

should be fine. Also, turning the eggs that havenot hatched will help increase the hatch rate. Anextra egg turner works very well for this.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting bad hatches is extremelyfrustrating. When you look up troubleshootingmanuals on the internet or with your incubatorinstructions it’s a bit of a joke. Basically, recheckeverything. Calibrate your thermometers andhygrometer. Make sure the eggs are storedproperly. Make sure there is an adequate numberof males to females; 1 male for every 2­4 females.Make sure the light cycle is correct for thebreeders, with a minimum 16 hrs of light. Makesure the breeders are healthy, ect... Pretty muchrecheck everything, then try again.

Raising Quail for Meat and Eggs9

Equipment

1.) Brooder

A brooder is nothing more than a heated containerfor the birds to live in. The temperature should bekept in the mid 90’s until the birds start to featherout. The ambient air temperature for your brooderwill determine the wattage of bulb you need toachieve this temperature. You can use anythingfrom a 75w flood light up to a 250w heat lamp.Make sure your socket and wire can handle thewattage of the bulb you are using! I use a 75w redflood light most of the time, and add a second onein the winter. I also have mine wired to a dimmerswitch for more control, but that really has beenunnecessary. As long as the brooder is largeenough, the birds will self­regulate and movecloser or further from the bulb as they see fit.

My brooder is 2’x4’ 13” tall made from scrapplywood. Rubbermaids® and stock tanks also workwell.

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Housing Requirements: Brooding

Temporary Rubbermaid® brooder. I keep one ofthese next to the incubator so I can place chicksdirectly into the warm dry environment. Once adozen or two are in it I transfer them to a largerbrooder.

2) Feeder

In the brooder, Any type of chick feeder will work,store bought or homemade. I prefer the largestcapacity feeder that I can fit, to make sure theynever run out of food. If you use a feeder that thebirds need to stick their heads into, it will reducewasted feed as dropped food will stay in thefeeder.

3) Water

A variety of items may be used for water, from abowl to an automated system. I use a gravitychicken waterer for a few days in conjunction withmy automated system. After the first few days Iremove the chicken waterer and rely on theautomated system. If you use a bowl or chickenwaterer, it is recommended that you put marblesor pebbles in the bottoms so very young birdsdon't drown. I ignored this advice, until one day Ichecked the brooder and there were 4 little quaildead with their heads underwater. It was a ratherawkward sight, only missing some white Nikesand Kool­Aid.

4) Bedding

It is recommended that you keep some sort of drybedding for the birds to walk on. Pine shavings,shredded paper, perhaps leaves or straw, usewhat you can get. For the first couple of days laydown some paper towel. Their legs are very fragileand if they slip, it might end in a damaged legwhich is game over for that little bird.

Raising Quail for Meat and Eggs11

Process

Once the birds start to hatch, wait until there are abunch of them. Remember you do not want toopen the incubator during lockdown any morethan is absolutely necessary. I have also foundthat if you introduce birds into the brooder hoursapart they do better in groups rather thanindividuals. If you notice all of the birds arehuddled under the light, the brooder is too cold. Ifall the birds are pressed to the outside edge of thebrooder it is too hot. If the birds are evenly spacedthe temp is good enough. After the birds featherout supplemental heat can be reduced oreliminated. At this point you can move them to thegrow out container, or just use your brooder as thegrow out container if you want.

12Housing Requirements: Brooding

Be gentle! These little guys are pretty delicatewhen they're young.

Additional Considerations

Make sure the bedding stays dry, either throughchanging it or adding more. Quail have small feetthat can easily get damages if they are kept in wetor mucky conditions. Depending on your stockingdensity you might need to adjust the beddingfrequently.

The birds are golf ball­ tennis ball sized when inthe brooder. I have kept stocking densities of up to12 birds / sq foot without problems. These were allbirds of the same size, and from the same hatch.

Occasionally you’ll check the brooder and find oneor two of them mysteriously gave up the ghost. Ithappens. Try to look at it from the perspectivethat you just saved some feed on birds whosegenes you probably didn’t want anyway. Thisusually doesn’t happen anymore after the firstweek.

Raising Quail for Meat and Eggs13

Fore!

Equipment

After the birds have feathered out and don’trequire heat anymore you can move them to thegrow out pen. The grow out pen can be anycontainer of your choice. This can range from acage battery to a quail tractor, just something tocontain them where they can eat, drink andgrow. A large capacity feeder combined with anautomated watering system is suggested tominimize work, but not necessary.

My grow out pens are 2’x2’ 9” tall, made from ½”x ½” hardware cloth.

The feeder is a 4” pipe with a slot cut outmounted on the outside of the cage. The door ismade from 1”x2” hardware cloth, which allowsthe birds to stick their heads through to get tothe food.

Each cage has its own water cup hooked up tothe automated system.

Process

At 5 weeks from hatch the males will begin to“crow” at that point I graduate the culls to thefreezer, I let the females keep growing until I needthe space. I only cull the males at 5 weeksbecause I want to keep it quiet, and they annoythe hell out of me.

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Housing Requirements: Grow Out

Front view of a grow out box.

Equipment

The pens are exactly the same as the grow outpens, except they are on an angle. The rear of thepen is 2” higher than the front, or a 1/12 pitch. Thisallows the eggs to roll to the front of the cage foreasy gathering. Not all of the eggs will roll to thefront with this pitch, and you might want toincrease it to a 3” differential, or a 1/8 pitch.

My laying pens are 2’x2’ 9” tall, made from ½” x ½”hardware cloth.

The feeder is a 4” pipe with a slot cut out mountedon the outside of the cage. The door is made from1”x2” hardware cloth, which allows the birds tostick their heads through to get to the food.

Each cage has its own water cup hooked up to theautomated system.

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Housing Requirements: Layers

Additional Thoughts

I have kept laying hens at a stocking density of upto 3­4 birds / sq foot, these birds were all from thesame hatch and had been kept together sincethey hatched.

Gather the eggs before you fill the feeder up. Ifyou do that in reverse all of the birds will be at thefront of the cage trying to get the food while you’retrying to get in to get the eggs.

If you get a sudden decline in egg productionscheck the water supply. If the water line getsplugged or something malfunctions and the birdsdon’t get enough water they will stop laying almostimmediately.

If you get spotty egg production, like hit or miss orless than you were getting, check the light cycle tomake sure they are getting at least 16 hrs of light.

Housing Requirements: Layers 16

Feeding tube on the front of a grow out box forlayers.

Quail Tractor

During the summer of 2013 I used an extra rabbittractor as a quail tractor. The quail seemed toenjoy the space and being able to dig and play inthe grass. The quail denuded and scratched upthe area they were kept. Like a chicken tractor, Iwas able to successfully seed pasture seed mixafter each tractor move.

Just like with a chicken tractor, how often it needsto be moved depends on many variables. Thesevariables will fluctuate as the seasons change andthe birds grow. Observational experience of howyour pasture conditions rebound will be the bestteacher.

When designing your tractor, be sure not to haveany openings that birds can squeeze out of orunder. Quail are very small. If you use an openbottom tractor, make sure that you have goodground contact all the way around. The birds cansqueeze out of the bottom rather easily if the turfis rough or uneven. A top that shelters the birdsfrom the elements and secures tightly is very

important. A major escape route from my systeminvolved birds jumping up, hitting the tarp ceilingso that it billowed up, and flying out of the spacecreated between the tarp and the 2x4s.

Paddock Shift

I’m interested in trying this for growing out meatbirds. I plan on experimenting with a number of setups and reporting my successes and failures.

Quailtopia

Build your own system! You’re only limited by yourimagination and your willingness to spend moneyon these little buggers. Start small and scalable,make sure your plan is going to work before youstart construction on your own personalQuailtropolis.

Remember to build tall or build small. Quail havepowerful legs and can jump up to 3’ straight up.This can lead to broken necks if the housing isn’ttall enough to accommodate or short enough todiscourage jumping.

Other Housing17

~$0.50/pound. A laying hen will eat ~1pound /month.

I have been informed that the shelf life of this dryfood is 2 months, second hand from a Purina rep.While I don’t doubt that it loses some nutritionalvalue over time, I have never experienced anyconsequences to using “old” feed. I keep aminimum of 2 month supply on hand, knowing itprobably has an additional 2­3 months ofdistribution time already on it before I buy it. I havenever had a quail turn their beak up at it.

Feed

Quail are omnivores and will enjoy as varied of adiet as they can get. They will eat most things thata chicken will eat, as long as it’s small enough forthem to get in their beaks. I am currently feedingmine 100% store bought food with the intent tolower that as much as I can through alternativefeeds.

1) Store bought feed

Store bought feed is available for raising quail. It issimilar to dry dog food in consistency, and not allgrain or vegetarian based. When choosing a feedyou need to get at least 24% protein for good eggproduction. They will survive and still lay withlower protein %, but you will get smaller eggs andless often. The higher the protein % you can givethem the larger the eggs and meat birds will be.

I use Purina game bird starter 27%­30% proteinand have had no problems with it as a stand­alonefeed. Store bought feed is compact, readilyavailable, stores well and is affordable at

Inputs18

2) Alternative feed / supplemental nutrition

A) Black Soldier Fly larva

This looks to be a very promising feed. They turnfood scrapes into protein at a very efficient rate.Good for zone 7+, but I am going to try it anywayin zone 6.

B) Meal worms

This might be my alternative to B.S.F.. Mealworms are somewhere in the 40% protein range,and are very low input. I will be experimenting withthis soon.

C) Sprouts

Freshly sprouted grain, 2­4 days old, before itreally turns into a plant. This is something I wouldlike to try, and will be trying in the early summer.

D) Ticks

Apparently quail love to eat ticks. I am not going topropagate ticks, but if you have a surplus of themin your yard, tractoring quail might be the solution.

E) Seeds

Any tiny seed might have the chance at becomingquail food. Lambsquarter, millet, lettuce, anythingwith a small seed might be worth trying, especiallyif it’s abundant and can be grown with little to noinputs.

F) Other insects

Maggots, larva, beetles, ants and all types ofcreepy crawlies have the potential to be convertedinto delicious quail meat.

Raising Quail for Meat and Eggs19

doohickey to add more water to the cup. Insteadthe bird will try to get the last bit of water out of thecup, and accidentally hit the doohickey, causingmore water to enter the cup. At first I thought thebirds were too stupid to figure it out and I didn’tthink they would work. Turns out they work, justnot in the way I had thought.

Water

There are many different options for providingyour birds with water. Each one has its own set ofpros and cons. From bowls and crocks toautomated systems pretty much any method thatyou can use for chickens can be adapted for quail.

I personally don’t have time to be cleaning andrefilling 10+ bowls a day, and since I already had agravity watering system setup for my rabbits it wasreally a no brainer to just tap into it.

I went with these watering cups. They do a goodjob at keeping things dry and the animals with aconstant supply of fresh water. They can bedisassembled and the O­rings can be replaced ifneeded. One word of caution, if you have hardwater put a sediment filter in line with your systemto prevent the cups from becoming clogged,happened to me once.

Also, these cups aren’t supposed to “fill up” andthe birds will never “learn” to hit the yellow

Inputs 20

Watering doohickey. Wateris especially important. Ifyour birds stop laying,check to make sure thewater system is workingfirst, as this is a primarycause of reduced yields.

Eggs: Lots of eggs! 250+ per bird per year. Smallin size, ¼ the volume of a chicken egg, but packedwith nutrients, see the next section for more.

Meat: Quail meat is delicious and extremely low infat. It has a great natural taste and really doesn’ttaste gamey or bland. Cook it similar to venison,or other low fat content foods. It dries out easily ifover cooked. See the slaughtering section (p25) for more onhow to drees a bird

Heat: Quail are warm blooded and will give offbody heat. If you have enough of them in acontained space this could be an asset or aproblem depending on your situation.

Organs: Dog food or people food depending onyour preferences. My dogs have learned torecognize when it’s slaughter time, and alwaysgather around for the spoils.

Feathers: Crafts, fishing flies, high nitrogencompost.

Skin: Compost, can be tanned for dog training /dog toy or so I have read.

Blood: Compost pile, or watered down and addedto garden.

Poop: Brown gold, compost it!

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Outputs

We really like the eggs!

She plays fetch with the big bulldogs. Her chronicear infections have mostly disappeared. Whetherthese effects would be seen from eating chickeneggs raised in a similar manner should probablybe tested, but she's so happy and we raise quail.

In Japan quail eggs were once considered more ofa medicine than a food. Nowadays, more andmore foods are being touted for their superbnutritional and medicinal value. Because theplacebo effect has been shown to modifyoutcomes, and high nutritional density is acommon trait for seeds, fruits and eggs, it isdifficult to discount potential medicinal propertiesfor quail eggs.

From my experience, my seasonal allergies arealmost completely gone since I began eatingabout a dozen for breakfast every morning.

My roommates dog has also benefited from eatingquail eggs. Her dog, an 8 year old pug, would lose80%­90% of her hair in early spring and be bald,itchy, and miserable all summer. Numerous vetvisits procured creams, baths, lotions, steroids,and a suggestion to put her down. Nothing helped.

Then we began giving her quail eggs exclusively.For the first time in her life she kept all of her hair.

Quail Egg Nutritional Value22

Quail eggs make for one happy puppy.

differences are that quail eggs contain greateramounts of iron, Vitamin B1 (Thiamin), Riboflavin,Niacin, Vitamin B­12, short chain saturated andmono­unsaturated fatty acids (14:0, 16:1), andcholesterol. They also have lesser amounts ofcarbohydrates (primarily starches), Vitamin D, andpoly­unsaturated fatty acids compared to chickeneggs.

These differences are most likely due todifferences in relative yolk size compared to thefull egg. It is also important to note that in the caseof fatty acids, diet can have a large effect on therelative quantity represented. At least one studyshowed that supplementation of omega­3 fattyacids in a layer's diet increased the quantity ofomega­3 fatty acids in the eggs. In some ways,you are what your food eats!

What this means to you depends on your personaldietary needs. The best advice I can give is to eata diet balanced in protein, fats and carbohydrateswith sufficient, but not excessive, caloric intake foryour age and activity level.

Because specific nutrients can be measured,some of the more overzealous claims of nutritionalvalue of quail eggs can be qualified. Based onnutrition facts published by the USDA for fresh raweggs, an equal mass of quail or chicken eggshave similar nutritional content. The major

Raising Quail for Meat and Eggs23

Theres a lot of yolk in these little eggs.

Dust Baths

Quail absolutely love dust baths! They will chirpand peep and take turns diving into it. Any sort ofsmall container that they fit in can be used. Dollarstore dishpans make great containers. Getting acontainer with slightly higher walls will help keepthe mess in the container, but not too high thatthey can’t get in. You can use a lot of differentthings for the mix: play sand, dirt, ash, etc.. I alsolike to add a small amount of Diatomaceous Earth(DE) to keep them mite free.

Singing and Bobbing

If your quail are happy and they know it they willsing, chirp chirp. No seriously, the birds will start torecognize you and get excited when you get nearthem. For the most part they just peep quietly, butoccasionally one will break into a song, I like tothink they are singing my praises. It’s pretty funnywhen one starts singing, because the rest of themwill pause and listen.

24

BehaviorsCrowing

The males crow. It’s nothing like a rooster, but it isa rather distinctive sound. Not all males arecreated equal, some have a high pitched shriek ofa crow. While others have a lower pitch almostgrowl.

The distance that this will be audible will vary. Withdirect line of sight and the garage door, andwindows open, I can pick up the sound at 50’away. Further out from that it drops offsignificantly. With the garage door shut and thewindows shut I can barely hear it at 20’ away. Thisall completely depends on the males also. Thehigher pitch call seems to travel significantlyfurther than the lower pitch one.

Some males will crow incessantly, while othersrarely crow. I have found that the ones that arethe most annoying are also the ones that taste thebest. I’m not really sure why, maybe it’s in myhead.

Depending on a number of variables a dressedout quail weighs between 1/4 to 1/3 lb. The meatmay be used fresh, frozen, or canned. Three quailfit perfectly in a 1 quart mason jar, and weighabout a pound for easy record keeping.

I do all of my processing with a sharp pair ofkitchen shears.

First I hold the bird by its legs upside down facingaway from me. I then take the scissors to the backof its neck and clip its head off into the compostbucket. I prefer to clip from the back of the neck asthe bird doesn’t see it coming, it also insures aninstant kill as the first clip severs the spinal cord.

Then I clip off the wings and legs and separate thevent from the skin before peeling off the skin fromthe neck down to the legs. After this, I cut alongboth sides of the backbone, allowing me toremove it as well as the the innards of the quail.

A link to a video by “Fat Daddy Clause” dressingquail in this manner can be found in the resourcessection at the end.

The only thing that I do differently is clip the rearvent before I pull the skin off. Six of one, halfdozen the other.

I’m also not as picky about the feathers. I drop thebird into a bucket of cool water after butterflyingand found that most of the feathers come right offthe meat during this soak.

25

Slaughtering

Soon to be bacon­wrapped deliciousness.

One really cool thing about quail is how fast theyreach reproductive age. They mature to eatingage in about the same amount of time as a rabbit,but reach sexual maturity in as little as 10 weeks.This means you could get through 4 generationsin a single year. This makes it so you can morphand change your breed line very quickly, andadapt them to your climate / housing situation in ashort period of time.

The Rat Breeding Guide is an excellent primer onselective breeding, and a link can be found in thereferences section. Although rats are example,the information is relevant to any selectivebreeding. It’s a long read, packed with valuableinformation.

I follow the “The Tatanka Breeders Club”standards from the Backyard Chickens forum. TheTatanka breeders club is a community of peoplethat have all set the same standards for selectingbirds. Every once in a while they mail each othereggs to keep the blood lines fresh.

Breeding Goals of the Tatanka Breeders Club

Beak: slightly curved not flat.

Eyes: expressive, green.

Head: large, wide. square when viewed from top.

Neck: thick, slight arch.

Wings: fairly small

Breast: prominent, full, well defined.

Body: similar to other poultry meat birds, "like abrick" a fuller and longer fowl to increase egg­laying capacity and to produce a frame with moremeat for commercial purposes.

Back: breadth across the back is a desirable trait.

Legs: muscled thigh. strong to support weight.

Feet and Toes: (4) evenly spaced, long toes

Feathering: rough feathering is common in largerspecimens.

26

Selective Breeding

Aside from physical characteristics, Members ofthe Tatanka Breeders Club also have standardsfor the size of eggs that are selected for breedingand quail growth rates.

Eggs: for hatching, eggs must weigh greater than14 grams.

Weights: All birds male and female must weigh280 grams by 42 days.

A high quality bird will grow at the follow rate:

14 days ~80g21 days ~130g28 days ~200g42 days = 280g56 days ~350g

Once you get the hang of raising quail, I wouldencourage all growers to participate in selectivebreeding, and when you do, to join a club like theTatanka Breeders Club.

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When feeding layers 100% store bought food,eggs cost around $0.50/ dozen. A full sized meatbird costs around $2.50 to raise when buying allits feed. Selecting for larger, more productivebirds helps keep raising quail economical.

Quail are a great option for raising meat and eggsin urban or suburban environments. They take uplittle space, do well with high stocking densities,and are also very quiet. They may also be claimedas pets if need be, and have fewer specificordinances directed at them.

My basic philosophy is what people don’t see,smell, or hear, they don’t bitch about. Every daywhen I check them I give the garage a quick snifftest around the outside before I go inside. If youwant to keep the smell down you need to stay ontop of the manure. Not literally, but don’t let it buildup. Keep it dry and covered. turn it into compostas soon as you accumulate enough to make apile. The winter cold really does well to keep thesmell down, which is good because carbon tomake a compost pile is hard to come by during thewinter here.

For noise issues I make sure that at night and inthe early morning the garage stays buttoned up,windows and doors closed. This way if one of themales starts with some midnight crowing it will not

be disturbing to the neighbors. If a male is loud, orcrows a lot, I get rid of him. I would rather keep myegg layers and not get harassed than to give upthe whole lot due to a couple of noisy males.Eventually after hatching out enough eggs youfind some males with a quiet disposition that youcan keep around for fertilization.

Be a good neighbor! Having a good relationshipwith your neighbors goes a long way towardsflying under the radar. Both my neighbors aregardeners so giving them compost is a great wayto keep them happy, this works especially wellwhen they see you outside turning it every otherday and know that you put a bit of work intomaking it. Giving away eggs is also a great bribeto keep in their good graces. Give them a helpinghand when they are doing some work around thehouse or loading unloading stuff. All of thesetactics seem to work very well with my neighbors.

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Suburban Issues

Tip:

When offering compost, eggs, a helping hand orwhatever use a little reverse psychology. Phrase itso they are helping you out by you helping them.

When they show up with a truckload ofwhatever.

“Let me give you a hand with that!” Worksmost of the time.

“Do you need a hand with that?” Usuallyends in a polite, “Thanks, but I think I got it.”

Giving them compost.

“I have a ton of compost right now and am runningout of places to put it, do you have anywhere thatcould use some?” Works pretty well.

“Do you want any compost?” Doesn’t work thatwell.

Giving away eggs.

“Here take some quail eggs, my birds are layinglike crazy right now and I’m running out of recipesfor all of these.” Almost always works.

“Let me know if you ever want some quail eggs, Igot a bunch!” Doesn’t work well, they won’t ask.

Raising Quail for Meat and Eggs29

The author giving eggs to a "neighbor" who lookssuspiciously like the editor.

More Info on My System

TheSurvivalPodcast podcast 1071http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/quail­for­eggs­and­meat

Prezi: Raising quail for meat and eggshttp://prezi.com/kssuytlqgjs4/raising­quail­for­meat­and­eggs/?kw=view­kssuytlqgjs4&rc=ref­37650931

My Flickr pictureshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/moonvalleyprepper/

Online Resources

Micro­livestock: Little­known Small Animals with a PromisingEconomic Future (BOSTID, 1991, 435 p.)http://www.cd3wd.com/cd3wd_40/cd3wd/AGRIC/B17MIE/EN/B1143_5.HTM

White Quail Bloghttp://whitequail.com/

Backyard Chickenshttp://www.backyardchickens.com/

Rat Breeding Guidehttp://ratguide.com/breeding/breeding/breeding_methods.php

How to Dress a Quail like Fat Daddy Clausehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AEjAtvIfAOM

ResourcesScientific Literature

Song, KT et Al. A Comparison of Egg Quality of Pheasant,Chuker, Quail and Guinea Fowl. Asian­Aus J. Anim. Sci. 13(7)(2000)http://www.ajas.info/editor/manuscript/upload/13­138.pdf

Vali N, et Al. Comparison of Egg Weight between two QuailStrains. International Journal of Poultry Science 5(4) (2006)http://www.docsdrive.com/pdfs/ansinet/ijps/2006/398­400.pdf

Silva, WA, et Al. Quail egg yolk (Coturnix coturnix japonica)enriched with omega­3 fatty acids. LWT ­ Food Science andTechnology 42 (2009) 660–663

Sahin et al. Lycopene enriched quail egg as functional food forhumans. Food Research International 41 (2008) 295–300www.researchgate.net/publication/225292540_Lycopene­enriched_quail_egg_as_functional_food_for_humans/file/d912f50eae863cdf67.pdf

Minvielle, F. The future of Japanese quail for research andproduction. World's Poultry Science Journal 60 (2004) 500­507

USDA Nutritional Database for Standard Referencehttp://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

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