Quail as Pets
When I first got into quail, I was given a few chicks by someone who was picking up some chickens/chicks from me. I didn't know anything about quail and was not too interested in them. But, I thought I'd give it a try.
Then I started learning about these amazing little birds.
They are not like my beloved chickens - who mature in 6 months -
Quail actually mature in 6-8 weeks! THAT right there got my attention quick! lol
And then I learned how easy it is to process them for their super healthy meat.
Not to mention, the healthiness of the eggs.
Then I started noticing the noises they make.
The first time I heard a male's call (like a rooster crows, only a different sound), it scared the heebie-jeebies out of me!
Now, I love to sit on my back porch early in the morning and listen to the males call and the females do their chirping noise. They don't exactly like to be held or messed with much but it's awesome just watching them!
Even though my quail are housed outdoors, they can easily be kept indoors, as well.
Even if you live in an apartment, you can house these amazing little birds inside just as you would a parakeet, lovebird, parrot, etc.
And, since quail are considered a "game bird", they are not typically restricted by city ordinances or HOA's.
There are several different housing styles for indoor quail.
I have my Celadon's in a rabbit hutch that's made out of wood. It gives them a solid cubby, a place to run around & a small shelf for them to hop up onto. This type of enclosure has a slide-out tray to remove their waste. Plus, the hutch can be outdoors or indoors.
My creams, I have in a regular rabbit cage, which also has a slide-out tray. These are good for housing quail indoors because if you want to acquire more quail, you can stack the cages, therefore not taking up a lot of space.
I have seen that some people actually turn an extra room into a complete quail environment, where the quail can run around loose.
The rest of my quail are housed in cages that I build myself.
It just takes a little research and imagination!
As for the food they eat, they need a game bird feed. And there are different varieties of game bird feed - depending on what you are going to use your quail for. That will give them all the nutrients and vitamins that they require. But, you can also give them treats such as dried mealworms, fresh spinach, kale, raspberries, etc. I, myself, also grow my own alfalfa sprouts for my quail.
They, of course, will need fresh water daily. There is a big variety of ways to supply your quail with fresh water daily. I, at this point, use regular rabbit water bottles. Quail are pretty smart and even the day old chicks learn quickly to tap on the nipple to get their water. I will be setting up an automatic watering system for them in the near future and will post about that once it's finished.
You will also want to give them the means to take a dust bath at least once a week.
I have small "tubs" that I put either play sand or wood shavings in.
The quail LOVE both!
If you live in a city where there is not a feed/farm/ranch supply store, you can still easily obtain all these items from Amazon, or your preferred website.
I will be adding links to all these supplies on my RESOURCES page over the next few days.
For other's opinions on keeping quail as pets, as well as information on the different types of quail and coloring, please click on the following links:
https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/quail-feed-and-diet/
https://petkeen.com/do-quails-make-good-pets/
https://petradioshow.com/quail-can-be-kept-as-pets/
https://silverhomestead.com/category/quail/
https://www.southwestgamebirds.com/genetics/
