Newbie wants to keep quails - any advice?

Hi half a sqare foot isnt realy enough for each bird they will fight, i breed CPQ which are the smallest of the quail group and i give them 2 sq foot each ie; a treo in a large rabbit hutch, if you only want eggs then you would want one of the larger breeds ie jap quails there eggs are the ones that you usualy find for sale, these would need more space as they are bigger, space is a controvertial point the law states chickens can be kept in cages with a minimum of 1 sq foot each but that is no where near enough and the general rule of thumb is 10sq foot per bird. i would say that jap quails would need about 4 sq foot each, I cant find actual law on space for quails but the more you can give them the better 

You can go onto the DEFRA website to get info re space requirements but please note that that is the very minimum and I would NEVER advocate using that. The height of their run is important as when startled they take off vertically and can injure/kill themselves.

Splash101 has given good advice. I happen to use dust extracted shavings (large bales available from horsey shops for about £8. It will be very expensive to use the pet sized ones!!), but there is nothing wrong with sand. The shavings can be put on the compost heap although they do take a while to break down.

Depending upon where you live you may need to bring them in in the winter - advice on this is very mixed on the internet. I keep mine under the window in a stable and on very cold nights just put a piece of carpet over their run. You will find they do not nest and will lay any and everywhere. I think you may find it very difficult to add to the 'flock' as they are so territorial and the girls can be just as vicious as the boys so would advise getting the number you wish to keep and sticking with it until their demise. Others may offer different advice to this.

They are rewarding to keep and I have found lay well. I have Italian quail and will get more when their time comes. Children seem very drawn to them, more than my hens and ducks! They are noted for being flighty but I have to say mine have been fine but they are unlikely to be up for a cuddle. Care is required when handling as it is easy to break bones, apparently. There is much spoken of them being smelly, but I have not found this to be the case.

Hi Jual and welcome to the site.

I have 10 coturnix quail all female, 7 are Italian and 3 Japanese.  Mine are currently in a chicken ark and seem really happy.  It is not huge about 3' x 6' so 18' square.  Hubby is going to convert a shed to an aviary for them but that is after making a walk in run for the hens. 

I have found my Japanese are less flighty than the Italian ones but this might be down to breeding.  You will need to look out for toe balling which is when poo/bedding gets stuck to their feet and dries on. 

As the others have said they are territorial so I would suggest you get atleast 6 girls so that you will get 1 dozen eggs every 2-3 days.  I have had to relocate my quail to neutral territory when introducing new ones so it is much easier to get them all together.

If you can get them at around 8 weeks old you should be able to guarantee their sex and avoid getting a male.  This is harder to do by feather colouring in the paler coloured Italian and impossible in white coturnix quail.   

 

Glad they are all doing nicely and yes, soon you will have more eggs than you'll know what to do with. I thought mine had stopped laying but they hadnt, they were just getting creative in where they were laying. How they expect me to reach into some of their hidey holes.

My golden ones are quite flightly but not so much the japanese ones.

ANHBUC, my Japanese ones are more aggressive than the Italian too and the male tries to mount the Italian females which is quite funny because of the size difference.

Hope yours recover soon