Quail lay eggs early and often. These little birds begin to lay down while the chicks can barely outgrow themselves, and can lie down 300 eggs annually. In the United States, and coturnix Quail is the most common type locally. This breed is also known as Japanese quail, biblical quail and the Nile quail. While quail are relatively easy to breed and raise for eggs or meat, check with your state’s Department of Environmental Protection or equivalent before purchasing a bird. In some states, quail are considered fowl and require special permits.
Quail maturity
Quail reach sexual maturity and start laying eggs at only 6 or 7 weeks old. Males reach sexual maturity and may mate a week or more earlier. You can have sex with quails at about 3 weeks of age, when differences are visible in the plumage of males and females. Females grow larger than males, and the feathers under the throat and breast are white. The female’s feathers are also longer and stronger than those of the male quail.
fertility considerations
While quails start at an early stage, they often peak while domestic poultry are just starting out. Quails are most fertile and productive between the ages of 2 and 8 months, when hens usually lay one egg per day. At 9 months and beyond, fertility declines, although the hen may continue to produce 200 eggs per year. For best results, keep one male with only one to three females.
Index with chickens
Normal pie It has been bred mostly from coturnix chickens. If you want to raise quail without using a brooder, slip fresh quail eggs under a bantam hen. If you go this route, remove the bantam eggs from the nest. The two species hatch at different times, and the variable size of the eggs leads to poor hatching rates for quails.
Incubating quail eggs
You can also incubate eggs. The incubation period until hatching for coturnix quail eggs is 17 days Although it ranges from 14 and 19 days. Store eggs for incubation, the largest at the end, at 55 degrees and approximately 70 percent humidity.
Incubate the eggs as soon as possible but certainly within one week of collection – after that, hatchability levels drop sharply. Incubators vary, so follow the directions provided by the manufacturer. Turn the eggs three times daily, 180 degrees each time, until the 14th day. At this point, stop turning it and wait for it to hatch. You can check fertility on days 7 to 10 with the LED light, looking for a dark appearance in silhouette, against a transparent appearance, which indicates a lack of fertilization.
Bob White Quail
If you want to up your bird game, consider the bobwhite quail. Check with your state’s department of wildlife regarding regulations for raising bobwhite quail in your area. Bubanetti quail chickens do not lay as many eggs as coturnix, averaging 150 to 200 eggs per year. In contrast to coturnix, bobwhite eggs take between 23 and 24 days to hatch.
