For a while now, we've really wanted to add quail to our farm. We had initially planned to hatch out some quail in early summer - but that just didn't happen. We have been so busy! But we finally bought an incubator a couple of weeks ago. We ended up choosing the Brinsea Octagon 20 Eco, which we had heard so many amazing things about. A little while afterwards, we ordered some quail hatching eggs!
We are planning on raising Coturnix Quail, also known as Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). We are so excited! We ordered an assortment of hatching eggs, including Texas A&M, Jumbo Brown, and Tibetian. Coturnix take about 17 days to hatch, as opposed to 21 days for chickens. Quail eggs are so tiny! It's hard to imagine that a chick can develop inside of them.
For those of you that may not know anything about Coturnix, here are some facts about them. They are also known as Japanese Quail, and were found in Asia. People have been raising them for quite a long time - since the 11th century! Originally, they were raised as song birds & pets. They mature very quickly, are raised for both eggs and meat, and have simple housing requirements. They come in a multitude of colors and there are a few jumbo varieties. Their average size is 4-5oz, with the jumbo varieties being larger. Their eggs are speckled, but can also be all white or all brown, and the average size of each egg is 1/3 of an ounce.
This will also be our first time hatching anything in our own incubator, so wish us luck for a successful hatch! The eggs we are using came shipped through the postal service. Anytime you have eggs shipped, there is always the possibility that the eggs are damaged in shipping resulting in a lower hatch rate. Our eggs were packed very well and had no visible signs of damage upon arrival. You can see how they were packed in the video above, if you're interested. Most people are very surprised to hear that you can order hatching eggs through the mail!
Do you raise quail? What kind? Let us know in the comments!
Are you going to keep them caged or will they stay close to home?
ReplyDeleteNever raised em. Hunted them in my younger days and ate many a pickled egg whilst sitting at the bar with a beer in hand. But, that was long ago...
Good Luck
We will keep them caged in small groups. They are quite fun little birds to raise :)
DeleteI am just wondering what you plan to do with your Quail? Are you raising for meat or eggs? It looks like you are just getting started but I'm wondering if you have pickled any eggs yet or cooked any meat? Are you planning on selling? Sorry for all of the questions I am just curious.
ReplyDeleteWe raise them for both meat & eggs. We haven't pickled any eggs (just not a fan of the flavor of pickling) but we have cooked plenty of them. They are very good! Easy to process and cook. I like marinating them overnight. Right now we're just raising them for ourselves and family, but eventually we may sell hatching eggs. Hope that helps :)
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