Would you recommend quails? Been reading the Jan edition of that mag you recommended
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question for Mike and Jenny
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Jap Quail? nice little birds - can be really beastly if you have more than one cock bird by accident. We have two young cocks that upon maturing one literally pecked the throat out of the other. Had to cull it.
THey are very good layers, although they wont use a nest box and literally lay the egg where they stand. You can keep around 6 hens per cock bird if you want fertile eggs for hatching and rearing. Also, in our experience the hens are more settled with a cock bird around and lay a bit better, but that might just be us being swayed slightly.
For keeping them, they absolutely hate the damp. We found the best way to keep them is either in an aviary with a roof over, in a shed (but thats a bit battery farming for me) or in a large rabbit hutch off the floor.
A decent 5'x2'x2' rabbit hutch on legs so that it is off the ground will support half a dozen quail easily. Feed them on chick crumb and millet etc and you will do well out of them.
Be very careful if they get out, as they fly straight up like a rocket and you will never see them again!
any other questions - ask. oh, by the way, they make crap mothers so you will need to artificially incubate of thats your want.
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Hmmmm happen to have just such a hutch to hand! Would be interested in 4-6 hens, and there's a supplier not that far away! arrghhh lolNever test the depth of the water with both feet
The only reason people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory....
Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.
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sorry forgot to say thank you in the previous post.... so Big thank you!!!Never test the depth of the water with both feet
The only reason people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory....
Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.
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the japanese quail "coturnix coturnix" is the basic bird, which the laying quail is derived from. I believe the Italian Quail is the equivalent of a hybrid layer in the quail world, however, they are so inter mingled now, we just bought half a dozen "quail" from an auction (£1.50 each) and they gave us good egg numbers for several years.
RT - forgot to say, make sure the rabbit hutch is rat proof. If that means changing the wire to 1/4" then do so. a rat can destroy whole flocks of quail in one sitting, so make sure that the b***ers dont get anywhere near your quail
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Thanks for that. Just need to convince DD not to get Guinea pigs .....Never test the depth of the water with both feet
The only reason people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory....
Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.
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