quail?

[jeepster]

my wife and i were poking around the craigslist and saw quail for sale, and it got us thinking.

we want chickens but we don't really want chickens, we would like ducks, but aren't really set up for ducks... we have a few acres, but because we rent, we don't really want the noise of chickens, or to build something huge, but we want birds, and don't want to draw attention. we like eggs, but don't go through them too fast, so they are nice to have, but not really something we buy often. everything that we see about quail kind of fits our lifestyle. smaller birds, less space requirements, better quality eggs, albeit smaller, but quail seem like a low risk, alot-in-a-small-package, approach.

i know nothing about quail, and while we are just talking about it at the moment, there is the option of making it a reality if we wish.

anybody do quail? any advice, insight, or opinions?

thanks!

-Erik

[jackelope]

We don't keep quail but there's a kid behind us who does. He's got ~15 of them. Gets a dozen eggs a day and sells them at a couple stores in town and at the farmers market. We've gotten eggs from him a bunch and they're great. Ive been to his house and seen his setup. Really it's a cage about 12' long. That's it. He built it himself with it designed for egg production. The floor is sloped and they roll down to the front of it. He goes out every morning and grabs them in about 30 seconds. The front of the cage has an opening a little taller than the egg is with a rolled up lip to catch the eggs as they roll down. It's really a clever setup. The quail don't have any access to grass etc. They just stay in the cage all the time. He also has homing pidgeons which are pretty neat too.

[NW-GSP]

What kind of quail are they?

[Bigshooter]

We don't keep quail but there's a kid behind us who does. He's got ~15 of them. Gets a dozen eggs a day and sells them at a couple stores in town and at the farmers market. We've gotten eggs from him a bunch and they're great. Ive been to his house and seen his setup. Really it's a cage about 12' long. That's it. He built it himself with it designed for egg production. The floor is sloped and they roll down to the front of it. He goes out every morning and grabs them in about 30 seconds. The front of the cage has an opening a little taller than the egg is with a rolled up lip to catch the eggs as they roll down. It's really a clever setup. The quail don't have any access to grass etc. They just stay in the cage all the time. He also has homing pidgeons which are pretty neat too.

My buddy just got into quail and he built the same kind of cage. 

[jackelope]

What kind of quail are they?

Coturnix quail.

[NW-GSP]

What kind of quail are they?

Coturnix quail.

Will they lay on their own eggs or do they have to be incubated.

[jackelope]

You mean fertile eggs? I don't know. These are all infertile. Just for eating.

[Birdguy]

Sounds like coturnix quail will suit your needs very well, they are great layers and females will lay an egg almost every day that there is 10-12 hours of light (I used to keep them outside the back door and the motion light would give them enough light to lay year round). You can keep them in almost any cage set up, from an old rabbit style cage to an old aquarium (knew one guy who kept them in cardboard boxes and just through out the box when it was dirty) the roll out pens work great unless the crows can get to them as they will eat them all. Coturnix hatch  in 17 days and are laying eggs in 6 weeks. They are so cheap give them a shot and see what you think, you will not be out much. PM me if you have any questions I have raised them on and off for 15 years or so.

[jackelope]

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,189150.msg2501368.html#msg2501368

[Special T]

I know some one who raises Bob White quail.The are bigger that cortnix prolific breeders and bigger than cortnix. I think they sound cool and if i had a little more room id raise some. IF you do it right yoou can kind of free range them. You can put in a recall door. You let loose a few at a time and att he end of the day they whistle the recall for the covey to join back up. Bobwhites are not native to the area so they are legal to raise with no real permits. https://quailforever.org/ some good reading.

[jackelope]

I know some one who raises Bob White quail.The are bigger that cortnix prolific breeders and bigger than cortnix. I think they sound cool and if i had a little more room id raise some. IF you do it right yoou can kind of free range them. You can put in a recall door. You let loose a few at a time and att he end of the day they whistle the recall for the covey to join back up. Bobwhites are not native to the area so they are legal to raise with no real permits. https://quailforever.org/ some good reading.

I think part of the appeal to the coturnix quail is the size of them, the small area needed to keep them and the speed in which they reach maturity to lay eggs.

[Special T]

Some rice and veggies a bobwhite or2 is a meal. If you were just after eggs maybe cortnix are the way to go dunno.

[huntingfool7]

I know some one who raises Bob White quail.The are bigger that cortnix prolific breeders and bigger than cortnix. I think they sound cool and if i had a little more room id raise some. IF you do it right yoou can kind of free range them. You can put in a recall door. You let loose a few at a time and att he end of the day they whistle the recall for the covey to join back up. Bobwhites are not native to the area so they are legal to raise with no real permits. https://quailforever.org/ some good reading.

I think part of the appeal to the coturnix quail is the size of them, the small area needed to keep them and the speed in which they reach maturity to lay eggs.

I'd met a russian that had coturnix in his garage.  Cages were about 18''x18'', maybe a little bigger,  that held four females and a male.  Had the cages stacked 8 high, three wide.  He was hatching them out in an incubator fifty at a time.  A lot of birds in very little space.

[Birdguy]

I know some one who raises Bob White quail.The are bigger that cortnix prolific breeders and bigger than cortnix. I think they sound cool and if i had a little more room id raise some. IF you do it right yoou can kind of free range them. You can put in a recall door. You let loose a few at a time and att he end of the day they whistle the recall for the covey to join back up. Bobwhites are not native to the area so they are legal to raise with no real permits. https://quailforever.org/ some good reading.

Not calling anyone out here but I believe a call to the state upland game manager would prove the statement above about "bobwhites being not native to the area being legal to raise without a real permit" to be false. It has been a few years since I have talked to the manager, and a few years since I was licensed but a quick read of the upland regs suggests they are still considered a game bird and thus would require a permit as they did when I was raising them. Page 3 states you are required to have a small game license to hunt them, page 14 and 15 give you seasons for bobs in both eastern and western Washington and page 40 clearly gives a picture of bobwhite quail as well.

The argument of "native" does not apply much to our game birds in WA. Ringnecks, chukar, huns, bobwhites and some might argue that valley quail and not native to where they are found today yet all were considered game birds and a permit/license was required all the years I raised them. Again, maybe to rules have changed but I really doubt it. Perhaps someone who has a current license or vested interest in the rules today will chime in. Maybe I will make a call during the week sometime and double check.

I just want the best information put out to our community here on Hunt-wa.

[huntingfool7]

I know some one who raises Bob White quail.The are bigger that cortnix prolific breeders and bigger than cortnix. I think they sound cool and if i had a little more room id raise some. IF you do it right yoou can kind of free range them. You can put in a recall door. You let loose a few at a time and att he end of the day they whistle the recall for the covey to join back up. Bobwhites are not native to the area so they are legal to raise with no real permits. https://quailforever.org/ some good reading.

Not calling anyone out here but I believe a call to the state upland game manager would prove the statement above about "bobwhites being not native to the area being legal to raise without a real permit" to be false. It has been a few years since I have talked to the manager, and a few years since I was licensed but a quick read of the upland regs suggests they are still considered a game bird and thus would require a permit as they did when I was raising them. Page 3 states you are required to have a small game license to hunt them, page 14 and 15 give you seasons for bobs in both eastern and western Washington and page 40 clearly gives a picture of bobwhite quail as well.

The argument of "native" does not apply much to our game birds in WA. Ringnecks, chukar, huns, bobwhites and some might argue that valley quail and not native to where they are found today yet all were considered game birds and a permit/license was required all the years I raised them. Again, maybe to rules have changed but I really doubt it. Perhaps someone who has a current license or vested interest in the rules today will chime in. Maybe I will make a call during the week sometime and double check.

I just want the best information put out to our community here on Hunt-wa.

Think that would apply to Tennessee Reds? 

[Special T]

Perhaps im wrong about the permitt. I just figured that since you could get them mallard ducks and or phesant at the farms store it was just like rasing some chickens...
Is there an area where bob whites roam here in wa?

[NW-GSP]

What is the process to get the license to raise game birds

[Birdguy]

Huntingfool7, Tennessee reds are a mutation of the bobwhite, just like the many mutations of the ringneck pheasant, while you may well be able to fool a warden the reason they require the licenses is to prevent spreading diseases. The Tennessee reds will cross with other bobs and will actually cross with valley quail (very funky look cross the bob/valley) so the WDFW will require a license to sell them.

Special T, by the law the stores selling (wild type not ruin) mallard ducks, pheasants, bibs, any game bird are to be licensed, and a game bird receipt is required at time of purchase. I know several stores on the west side were told to stop selling without a permit several years ago. Again, it has been five years or so and rules could have changed but I doubt it as when I got out they just increased all the fees for more $$.

NW-GSP, it used to be a call to the WDFW and they would send out a large packet that I had to fill out and return with a check (around $149). During the hatching season May-July I had to have my operation inspected by the state vet, He would come out from the WSU branch in Puyallup, he would tour the place, inspect my incubating, brooding and grow out facilities. He would take blood samples form a percentage of my birds (giving me my NPIP (national poultry improvement plan)certification) that allowed me or anyone I sold to, to release the birds for any reason be it training or just to have around. The birds have to have NPIP cert to be released.

I know Old dog on here has renewed his license for the last couple years after getting out when I did, so a PM to him would get you the current scoop on what the requirements are today. If you get  into it let me know, I will  help out with whatever I can. I still have all my equipment as I hope to get back into it when the kids are grown or at least out of spring sports, but right now I sits a lot.

[Old Dog]

Huntingfool7, Tennessee reds are a mutation of the bobwhite, just like the many mutations of the ringneck pheasant, while you may well be able to fool a warden the reason they require the licenses is to prevent spreading diseases. The Tennessee reds will cross with other bobs and will actually cross with valley quail (very funky look cross the bob/valley) so the WDFW will require a license to sell them.

Special T, by the law the stores selling (wild type not ruin) mallard ducks, pheasants, bibs, any game bird are to be licensed, and a game bird receipt is required at time of purchase. I know several stores on the west side were told to stop selling without a permit several years ago. Again, it has been five years or so and rules could have changed but I doubt it as when I got out they just increased all the fees for more $$.

NW-GSP, it used to be a call to the WDFW and they would send out a large packet that I had to fill out and return with a check (around $149). During the hatching season May-July I had to have my operation inspected by the state vet, He would come out from the WSU branch in Puyallup, he would tour the place, inspect my incubating, brooding and grow out facilities. He would take blood samples form a percentage of my birds (giving me my NPIP (national poultry improvement plan)certification) that allowed me or anyone I sold to, to release the birds for any reason be it training or just to have around. The birds have to have NPIP cert to be released.

I know Old dog on here has renewed his license for the last couple years after getting out when I did, so a PM to him would get you the current scoop on what the requirements are today. If you get  into it let me know, I will  help out with whatever I can. I still have all my equipment as I hope to get back into it when the kids are grown or at least out of spring sports, but right now I sits a lot.

No changes  in the rules.  There is no longer any federal money for the NPIP testing, so you now have to pay a vet for the inspection.  Not cheap!     If you want a vet from the WA Dept of Ag they charge from the moment they leave the building in Oly.  Again, not cheap!  The AI testing kit is still free.