Gardening with Quail

[Detlor Poultry]

Does anyone have any experience gardening with (or simply eating ) Quail (Coturnix coturnix)?

 

[897tgigvib]

We have at least 2 kinds of Quail up here. Bob Whiting, and what we simply call Mountain Quail.

They are not very big, and I suppose if a person was hungry they'd make ok food.

But, what would gardening with Quail be about? Quail seem not interested in my garden. Oh, but they do love to hang around inside the patches of Blackberry around here in the area, including the secret patches.

Some folks seem to be moving in near one of my secret blackberry patches...

 

[Detlor Poultry]

I mean since the covy I'm getting are the size of your fist, they would do less damage to leafy things and more damage do crawly things, right?

 

[digitS']

O, wow, J.R.!

I've had 35 Coturnix quail in cages in my garage before. They are tiny!

If'n you were to take them out to the garden, I think you'd lose them in about a minute. They are wild quail in North Africa and, if I remember right, there are now some wild coveys in southern Texas.

Marshall thinks Mountain quail are small - Coturnix are about the size of a robin . . . after you get the feathers off them. Yes, I've eaten them and really wonder why I bothered. They are super egg producers, tho'. Their eggs are, of course, small but much larger than one would expect.

I have taken chicks out into the garden (baby chickens). If you try that, keep the total number down to about 5 or 6. And . . . watch your feet. They will have a good time hanging out with you and playing with their buddies. However, once they've got some feathers and can fly a little, it gets risky. They will want to stay with you when they are babies.

It has been forever but Mountain Quail breasts baked in a sour cream sauce is really very good and quite a bit of meat. We don't have the larger quail here. Ruffed Grouse.

Steve

 

[Detlor Poultry]

O, wow, J.R.!

I've had 35 Coturnix quail in cages in my garage before. They are tiny!

If'n you were to take them out to the garden, I think you'd lose them in about a minute.

I have a rooster who will take care of that. Besides, I'm not in Texas or north Africa. I'm in South Canucklandia

Marshall thinks Mountain quail are small - Coturnix are about the size of a robin . . . after you get the feathers off them. Yes, I've eaten them and really wonder why I bothered. They are super egg producers, tho'. Their eggs are, of course, small but much larger than one would expect.

I have taken chicks out into the garden (baby chickens). If you try that, keep the total number down to about 5 or 6. And . . . watch your feet. They will have a good time hanging out with you and playing with their buddies. However, once they've got some feathers and can fly a little, it gets risky. They will want to stay with you when they are babies.

True, but weeds are still around when those chicks begin crowing and laying eggs . Besides, (*starts whining like a toddler*) I want Quails. For some reason. Not quite sure anymore.

It has been forever but Mountain Quail breasts baked in a sour cream sauce is really very good and quite a bit of meat. We don't have the larger quail here. Ruffed Grouse.

Steve

We have Grouse here, too. We also have Fool Hens, but you never see them. Ever. But they're there, alright. They're just sneaky.

Here's the Quail plan for Detlor Poultry:

1 - Locate and Secure fundamental quality stock of Japanese Quail (did you say they're actually from Africa? Linnaues must've been a drunkard)
2 - Bring Quail (approx. 20-30) back to farm, and put them in one of the quarantine compartments. Lazarus will still be recovering in the main part of the barn, so we will use that to our advantage:
2A - We will be able to learn able the habits of the Quail to better raise them later;
2B - Lazarus will imprint himself upon them since he is without harem.
3 - After 7 days, let Quails out into main part of barn and supervise carefully, especcially Lazarus' demeanor towards them
4 - When Lazarus is ready to return to the flock, set up fence near Quail coop. Set quails in coop, and begin pre-ranging them with Lazarus.
5 - Return Lazarus to his flock once he fully imprints and responsibilizes upon Quails.
6 - Set Quails to Landranging 30 min. later than Lazarus in the morning, and 30 min. before him in the evening.
7 - When winter dawns, the Quails will be first to be stationed back in the Barn.

 

[digitS']

I guess there are wild populations in lots of places: Coturnix coturnix (click).

So, your idea is to place them under the "supervision" of a rooster? I don't know . . . I'm rather bird-brained but bird psychology is beyond me. If it works, it could be real fun. I once had a Sebright rooster - gift from my brother. Cecil couldn't have been a whole lot bigger than the quail .

Be patient, is the best I can advise. They aren't patient - you'll see. Those chicks will show up and they'll be busy, busy little bees!

Steve

 

[Detlor Poultry]

Lazarus is an old little fellow who is just a mother hen. He lives to protect. He just needs to be suckered into thinking the quails are his flock. It's worked with ducks before. Right now he's in the barn full time recovering/'hiding' in the barn. He's been mingling with a doomed flock of sad, pathetic chickens nearby. He killed one of the roosters (which is over 14x his weight, I might add), and mating with the hens. All of those chickens have NFM, which is both sexually transmitted and fecally transmitted. In other words, Lazarus is on restriction until all of that other flock is destroyed this summer. That gives him time to befriend his quails. He is lonesome.