quail?

[frugal-fannie]

My town will not allow chickens, so I am thinking what if I had quail. Has anyone tried raising them?

[Patty A]

quail can be very hard to raise, they are costly to get started in and it can be very disappointing and discouraging trying to raise them. They have to be guarded form the cold, and you usually have to hatch your own chicks. Many states require a permit also, so that would be something else you would have to check on. They are a game bird, and in many states you have to have special permits to be able to raise a game bird privately.

[stinkbug]

Patty is right. Not to mention, since they are small, they are food for all kinds of predators unless you have a completely enclosed pen. If you are thinking food and eggs, they really don't supply much of either. Dh has raised a LOT of game birds...and quail are wonderful and have lots of personality, but they are a lot of work and a whole different set of problems. What about ducks???

[Persimmon Lace]

What about pigeons? They are easy to raise.

[frugal-fannie]

I had thought about ducks but Pigeon . Can you eat them and the eggs. I have heard of pigeon pie and have eaten quail and pheasant and of course duck but have never really heard of anyone that has actually eaten pigeon. At the Chinese market they sell duck and quail eggs. It is something to consider. I have heard ducks will clear all the snails also. Snails are different here than in Ohio where I grew up they eat your plants, especially lettuce.

[dcompton]

This is a comment from someone who doesn't know anything at all about it, but it seems that if chickens aren't allowed, ducks would not be either. I would check first.

[Persimmon Lace]

Yes, pigeons when processed, are called squab. I've had it before it's pretty good. As for their eggs, that I don't know about but since eggs are edible I would think you could use them, although I doubt that they are very big!

[Missy]

You can order quail as day olds or as eggs from several internet sources. My plan is button quail soon. I think they are adorable. Or Cornix. Some people keep them in pairs inside or in a garage or shed. That might be an option for you. I have a chicken coop that mine will be in, once my babies are old enough to go in there.

Pigeons eggs are edible I think the ratio is 5 to one small chicken egg. I am not positive, but I think that's what i was taught. Treat a plucked and cleaned pigeon as you would a smaller cornish game hen when you are baking. They are delicious. Same with quail...yumm

[Patty A]

We have pigeons, but as pets and for fun. Believe me there wouldn't be much meat on one and about the only thing big enough on them to eat would be the breast. They also require special food that is costly, otherwise they get sore crops. The size of a pigeon egg is tiny, but about the size of a quail. If you are wanting eggs, ducks and geese offer the best size, equal to about two chicken eggs. The taste is stronger (and often the yolk is more on the orange side), and they are best used to bake with as you can't taste the difference there.
Hope this helps.

[old_lady_in_the_shoe]

we raise quail, for meat and eggs. We ordered our 1st ones last year from a hatchery and we decided on cortunix quail. We did this because they are not a native breed to our area and no permits are required. Most hatcheries will tell you what stated have requirements, as they are responsible for this as well.

We have ours in a 4x8 hooped pen that we have raised off the ground about 3 ft. on one end there is a small box area, with a lid that raises up can down so we can "check for eggs". The can go in and out all that they please. We keep a regular 40-60 watt light bulb in the box area in the winter to help with heat and light.

The cortunix quail have done pretty well for us and require little. We purchased 50 (which was the minimum) day olds...and at 6 weeks old, we received our first egg. We seperated them and kept about 20 females (that was all of the females) and 5 of the best looking males. The other 25 were males and we butchered them.
We receive about 15-20 eggs per day during the summer months.

Quail do not really hatch out their own, so we also incubate the eggs for new stock. It took us quite a while to "get it all right" and we have now been able to hatch out 40-60 in one hatch. We recently replaced our females and butchered males again.

The nice thing is that it only takes 6 weeks to have full grown and egg laying stock...they are quick to raise and easy too. The worse part is the fact that we have to do the incubating.

The meat on the cortunix quail are all dark meat and the eggs are tasty and are just like chicken eggs, just smaller...it takes about 4-5 to equal a chicken egg. They make the best little deviled eggs out there too.

They are pretty quiet, but the males do call and it is noticeable, but it sounds more like a bird or such, not like a chickent crowing.
We like ours, they are fun and not a lot of work, the droppings are good in the garden or to compost.

[Persimmon Lace]

We used to hunt dove, they are in the same family as pigeons and they are small when considered for eating. But my understanding is that there is a breed of pigeon bred for meat.

I would also encourage you to petition the city council of your town and see what it would take for them to allow chickens.

[old_lady_in_the_shoe]

there is a good article in the current issue of backwoods home mag on quail... (march/april issue #116 i believe) I just received it in the mail, but it is not on their website yet.
If you can get it at your library, it is a good read.

[daisymay1960]

pigeon is wonderful ,served in good restaurants over here ,at a price that would make your eyes water lol you get very little meat though.

How about raising rabbit?