Quail
Quails are my daughter's 4H project. She is in charge of how many eggs get hatched, how many quails get sold or processed for meat.
![pharaoh-coturnix-quail_edited.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ca7e23_d3476bd2f2784a32ae91f80c992fa2ee~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_62,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/ca7e23_d3476bd2f2784a32ae91f80c992fa2ee~mv2.jpg)
Breeds
Our quails are Jumbo Coturnix quails. These started as a 4H project for my daughter. We have a mix of colors, Shannon prefers the white and grey birds over the standard brown! Ours lay brown speckled and celadon eggs.
![Quail Eggs Breakfast_edited.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ca7e23_c6acd7e33781464dbb44eb033919a28b~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_50,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/ca7e23_c6acd7e33781464dbb44eb033919a28b~mv2.jpg)
Breeding
This project is 100% on Shannon (ok, I help some, too!) We easily hatch eggs, they take only 18 days! We use a small incubator that can fit 80 quail eggs! Shannon is trying to make certain color combinations, but we really enjoy hatching the little baby quails.
![10.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ca7e23_eaa174169fdc49a089cce35a6d0c2471~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_124,h_93,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/ca7e23_eaa174169fdc49a089cce35a6d0c2471~mv2.jpg)
Hatching
The quails are hatched in a small incubator in the house. Depending on the outdoor weather, the birds spend at least a week inside in brooder tubs in our incubator room. Once they are big enough to go outside, they still stay on supplemental heat for a while.
![coturnix-1_03_edited.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ca7e23_c8ed1ee8ec5c41f29aa41e43bb6165b5~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_43,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/ca7e23_c8ed1ee8ec5c41f29aa41e43bb6165b5~mv2.jpg)
Growth and Feeding
The quails have several different coops around the farm. We have a 4 story coop in the barn for them for winter time. This allows space for a grow out row for the smaller quails, a few levels for the breeding groups, and a level for the bachelors - the extra boys that become food.
Conventional feeds
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We feed 28% Game Bird feed to our turkeys and quails, and baby chicks
We feed a 20% layer pellet to adult birds.