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Quail i need some advise

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  • #1

    Quail i need some advise

    hello i have just had a large rabbit hutch given to me, it is 6ft long, depth and width 3ft, a friend of mine has offered me 4 Japanese quail, will this hutch be suitable and big enough to keep them in, they will also have an area of the garden that is about 10-12ft long and around 6ft wide is this big enough, never had any thing like this before, so any help or advice about looking after them woud be appreciated, they are still eggs at the moment, so have a few weeks to decide to get them or not, i have wood etc so can modify hutch if needed.
    Last edited by bishop; 06-06-2010, 09:27 PM.
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  • #2
    I've never kept Quail, but Shellingtons has some so she'll be able to advise you better than I can. All I know is that they can fly - straight up so you'll need a roof of some sort on their run. Good luck
    My girls found their way into my heart and now they nest there

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    • #3
      And don't get a cockerel...........they sound like rattlesnakes!

      They don't need much room so you'll probably be ok!
      My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
      to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

      Diversify & prosper


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      • #4
        They do need a fair bit of headroom though because of their upward flight when panicked, they can give themselves nasty head injuries. An aviary is the best thing for them (you can get then second hand quite cheaply)
        They are lovely little things to keep, very easily tamed and lay really well. Pickled quail eggs make lovely gifts.
        My cock bird doesn't sound like a rattlesnake, Snadge, he's got a dear little "crow" a bit like a bell!
        I shall always keep them, they don't live very long though,eighteen months at the most.

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        • #5
          we have reared countless quail in a 5'x2'x2' rabbit hutch, but make sure it is on legs and off the floor as a rat will make short work of quail.

          They will NOT free range, as they will just take off never to be seen again. The male quail makes a kakkaka sound, that isnt too bad and the hens are usually silent. Do not keep two males together as they will fight to the death.

          hope that helps

          Mike
          My Blog
          http://blog.goodlifepress.co.uk/mikerutland

          Comment

          • #6
            Originally posted by Bramble-Poultry View Post
            we have reared countless quail in a 5'x2'x2' rabbit hutch, but make sure it is on legs and off the floor as a rat will make short work of quail.

            They will NOT free range, as they will just take off never to be seen again. The male quail makes a kakkaka sound, that isnt too bad and the hens are usually silent. Do not keep two males together as they will fight to the death.

            hope that helps

            Mike
            Re above-------Wondered why they were usually kept in rabbit hutches! Handy to know as I was fancying a few!
            My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
            to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

            Diversify & prosper


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            • #7
              if you hunt out Katie Thear's book on raising and rearing livestock (bloody good book by the way) there is a whole section on rearing quail for eggs and meat and is almost like a bible!
              My Blog
              http://blog.goodlifepress.co.uk/mikerutland

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Bramble-Poultry View Post
                if you hunt out Katie Thear's book on raising and rearing livestock (bloody good book by the way) there is a whole section on rearing quail for eggs and meat and is almost like a bible!
                Amazon have got it and remarkably cheap!
                Gardening requires a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. Lou Erickson, critic and poet

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                • #9
                  thanks everyone for the advice, looks like longer legs for the rabbit hutch and an Avery on the side of my shed, will have a look on amazon for that book, my friend has got 5 eggs in incubator for me, so as soon as this rain stops i will get started.

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                  • #10
                    the katie thear book is great as it covers poultry (ducks, chickens, geese, and turkeys) and also covers rearing rabbit, cows, goats and even a section on horses and mules!

                    it is a must have - honestly. failing that, goodlife press has some quail specific books

                    Keeping Quail by Katie Thear
                    My Blog
                    http://blog.goodlifepress.co.uk/mikerutland

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                    • #11
                      Looks like this has been well covered.
                      It's right about the flight and not free ranging. I was moving my quails pen and had them in a box most chickens sit in happily. The sight of a quail rising up in front of me to escape was funny till I realised 2 had got out! I thought I had lost them but they (very luckily) found a place to sit and waited for me to pick them up. Not something I shall wnat to test out again.

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                      • #12
                        got my quail 7 japanese, had them 2 weeks they are 3 weeks old, still in the house at the moment in a large cage, going to build a new pen for them starting tomorrow, need to move my greenhousae first, so going to be busy, for a week or so, pen will be 9x6ft and 6ft high. katie thears book has been orderd, looking forward to reading this.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by bishop View Post
                          got my quail 7 japanese, had them 2 weeks they are 3 weeks old, still in the house at the moment in a large cage, going to build a new pen for them starting tomorrow, need to move my greenhousae first, so going to be busy, for a week or so, pen will be 9x6ft and 6ft high. katie thears book has been orderd, looking forward to reading this.
                          Excellent - don't forget we neeeeeeed piccies!
                          All the best - Glutton 4 Punishment
                          Freelance shrub butcher and weed removal operative.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Glutton4... View Post
                            Excellent - don't forget we neeeeeeed piccies!
                            yer will put some piccys of birds, and finished pen hopefully next weekend .

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