QUAIL CAN be very low maintenance and very beneficial additions to your homestead. They are very sweet little birds and love to chatter away with a myriad of lovely little sounds. I can sit and listen to them for hours and they will sit and tell me quail info for hours too. Quail eggs, ounce for ounce are nutrient powerhouses. Here is an informative article from WebMD about the nutritional benefits of Quail Eggs. Important note: Rather than laying every day like chickens, quail lay during 2 seasons, spring and late summer/autumn. That's it, NO Mas!!! You will want to review egg preservation options with quail egg production.
MOST PEOPLE acquire quail as baby chicks. The products below will be very adequate for raising quail. These products are relatively inexpensive and available from any farm supply store or click the images below for links to purchase them online.
NOTE: Depending on the enclosure size, a brooder is optional if you are using a heatlamp. The General rule of thumb for using the heat lamp is as follows:
if the chicks are huddled...
tightly together under the lamp, the lamp may be hung to high. If the chicks are laying away from the lamp and away from each other, the lamp may be hung to low. In a larger enclosure, the brooder should be located as far from the heat lamp as possible. The chicks can then get under the brooder if they are cold, but will be able to roam freely about the enclosure if the heat lamp is efficiently heating the enclosure. A chicken coop heater may also be a safer alternative to the heat lamp.
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Plastic Poultry Waterer - Screw this to the quail |
Quail plastic Waterer Base - fits A mason Jar
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Metal Chick Feeder Base - fits a Mason Jar
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Plastic Small Poultry Feeder |
Woods Clamping Heat Lamp
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250 Watt Heat Lamp Bulb - Red
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Quail Gamebird Starter Crumbles |
Coastal Shell Powder |
Premier Chick Brooder Heating Plate
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Chick Probiotic - 3 Packets ONLY!!!  |
Quail Egg Cartons |
Quail Egg Scissors
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Urban Quail Keeping
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Dove and Quail Blend Seeds and Nuts
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Radiant Chicken Coop Heater
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Chick Grit for Small Birds
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Purina Game Bird Chow |
Once the chicks are about 6 weeks old, when the outside temperature remains steadily above 65 degrees, they can be transitioned from the brood area to a coop. Here at Right Choice Farms, we converted an old pig sty into 2 chicken pens and 1 Quail Pen. We also repurposed a rusted out stock tank as a quail brooder after we bought 50 tiny quail babies. That worked really well in our garage, until they were big enough to go out.
Older Quail will need an area large enough for them to fly in and safe for them as they 
are a skittish lot and tend to panic and fly off in all directions at any unusual sound. An example of the ideal quail enclosure is seen here. The open upper portion is covered in netting so the quail cant hurt themselves but can fly freely. There is a shelter building at the end for them to go in during inclement weather. The lower portion is wire mesh then wrapped with a shade cloth to prevent outside predators from easily seeing and spooking the quail. The Wire mesh will keep most predators out. The run should be full of grass. Quail will lay their eggs in the grass and also enjoy eating and hiding in it. Most of the products needed to build an enclosure similar to this are shown below. The PVC pipe for the arched top can be purchased at any hardware store. Also the T-Post Anchors for the PVC are also readily available at most hardware stores.
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Quail Flight Pen Netting 3/4" |
Shadecloth Windscreen 4 ft x 50 ft |
Rabbit/Chicken Wire 4 x 100 ft |
Fine Mesh Netting for inside Flight Pen |
Plastic Mesh for Flight Pen |
Once the Birds mature, there will be some differences in the way they should be cared for. Animal husbandry will play a role in their care. Quail for instance, do not have the same territorial disputes as chickens. On average, there is a 1-2 quail hens for every 1 quail rooster. In a covey of 50, our little quail paired up nicely and have laid hundreds of eggs.