Topic: Any one keep quails

[DaisyDeb]

I am at present putting plans together to build a chicken house/run, but am unsure as to wether they can be kept with chickens, Can they?  Are they difficult to keep?

[Old bird]

Funnily enough DaisyDeb - I was driving to a mates last week and saw a budgie cage out on the pavement with something scuttling round at the bottom and a sign which said 2 male quail - free to good home!

Poor little mites they were terrified.  Lorries whizzing past them and there was an old lady with a jack russel dog which was fairly determined to get them - so I popped them in the car and took them up the lotty.  My chicken run is empty at the mo as I am waiting for some ex-battery hens in a couple of weeks time.

They are really sweet little things - and will - hopefully settle with the chickens when they arrive.  They make a fairly alarming squawk every so often more particularly in the evening.

One has a long beak which doesn't look right but it manages to eat and drink OK so have left it to settle in! 

I have seen them in aviarys scuttling round and as my chickens will be new to my coop - they will consider the quail to be part of the furniture so to speak and ignore them - I hope!!

I think they live outside - so I am going to build them a home outside just for them with a small entrance - so that should they need an escape - they can go there!

Good luck if you get any!!

Old Bird

 ;D

[manicscousers]

one of the farmers by us has chickens and quail together, they all seem to get on fine  ;D

[DaisyDeb]

Fancy leaving them at side ov road bless em, hope they settleing down ok.

I've been doing a bit ov reseach, aparently they live happly in rabbit hutches but u are suppose to put foam on the ceiling cause when they get spooked they fly straight up. They can do them self damage or break there necks.

I'm thinking off giving them there own run so that while i'm down the allotment i can leave the door open on run for chickens with out thinking that the quials are locked away.

I love quail eggs and i'm looking forward to them in my salads and pack lunch.

[manicscousers]

forgot to say, welcome to the site, daisydeb  ;D

[Borlotti]

I don't know anything about quails but before I found this site used to read 'Allotment lady'.  She is mad about chickens and quails so if you type Allotment lady in then click on Simply living and then do a search on quails you will find loads of info.  Hope this helps.

[DaisyDeb]

Great i will try that .

thankyou for the welcome.

[Philbasford]

Funnily enough DaisyDeb - I was driving to a mates last week and saw a budgie cage out on the pavement with something scuttling round at the bottom and a sign which said 2 male quail - free to good home!

Poor little mites they were terrified.  Lorries whizzing past them and there was an old lady with a jack russel dog which was fairly determined to get them - so I popped them in the car and took them up the lotty.  My chicken run is empty at the mo as I am waiting for some ex-battery hens in a couple of weeks time.

They are really sweet little things - and will - hopefully settle with the chickens when they arrive.  They make a fairly alarming squawk every so often more particularly in the evening.

One has a long beak which doesn't look right but it manages to eat and drink OK so have left it to settle in! 

I have seen them in aviarys scuttling round and as my chickens will be new to my coop - they will consider the quail to be part of the furniture so to speak and ignore them - I hope!!

I think they live outside - so I am going to build them a home outside just for them with a small entrance - so that should they need an escape - they can go there!

Good luck if you get any!!

Old Bird

 ;D

Have they settled in ok?

[Old bird]

Phil

Yes thanks for asking they have settled in.  They are a bit strange they don't "do a lot".  They live on the ground they don't go in the house at all and they let out these occasional squawks - but apart from that they are very low maintenance!

I am going to try to rehome them soon tho as when my chickens arrive on Sunday I will be wanting to let them out when I am up the lottie for a larger run and these little things don't appear to have learnt any discipline yet!!!

My chooks learn that when I call them - they all come running!  There is food/worms/snails or treats in the offing!   But these things will just hide and leg it I think.  There was a cat up there watching them the other day and being that size would be easily caught by cats!

The limpy one is better now!

Old Bird

 :D

[BockingBill]

We had to build a new run for our 2 quails as they had started to be pecked by one of the buff sussex bantams and they couldn't really escape.
Currently building a new run for the chicckens and am thinking of joining the 2 runs together with the entrance/exit being only big enough for the quails to escape if need be.

[Old bird]

I have been incredibly lucky as a neighbour who also has a lotty said that she knew someone that may have my quail - they weren't happy with the new chooks around.

Anyway said lady called round to collect them and took them home with her - she has 16 female quail - what lucky boys there were!

O B

 ;D

[bronwylfa]

We kept quails once, they are very good at cleaning around the run, the mistake we made was to assume they could free range with the hens.  After about a month of living all together in the run, out they went with the hens, the hens did what hens do, the quails got their heads together and went to see what was over that hill in the distance and were never seen or heard from again.  The fox did leave a note of thanks on the side of the hen run.  It read, "What a delicious pair of idiot quails, thank you"  We gave up on quails then..  ::)

[manicscousers]

Hiya, bronwylfa..welcome to a4a  ;D