Last updated
18 February 2012
Quest for the Good Life 
Keeping Quail
We tried keeping Quail towards the end of 2010. The aim was to see if the meat and eggs were a viable addition to our livestock range. We started with some eggs to incubate, adding several batches from different sources to give a strong genetic mix. We also tried to separate the types of Quail and not hybridise too much.
Quail do not need a lot of space so we housed them in a 6x4 shed fitted out with pens that offer enough room. Some even keep them in Rabbit hutches.
The first eating eggs were a treat. They are different. They are more creamy in texture and have better yolk to white ratio than chickens eggs.
Fiddly is the word you would describe to get the egg out of the shell, which incidentally has a lovely pale blue lining to it when you peel them. The taste is preferable to chickens eggs and make delicious sandwiches, but to many the effort of peeling them will be off putting. As a result, we anticipated the demand for eggs to eat to be limited.
On to the meat. The jumbo quail are the better for meat as they have good size breasts. This is all relative though and it still makes for a small, but very nice meal. Anyone with a good appetite will have to have two. The taste is nice being more game like than chicken.
Many people are breeding to sell eggs and birds to others, but we needed to see a more direct pay back to us. Selling eggs on line, with the cost of feeding and egg boxes was not very encouraging. The eggs we hatched ourselves, from our own birds, always had a better hatch rate than those we bought in. We don’t think this was to do with the quality of the eggs from other breeders, but more likely the distress they received through the post, bashing the embryo about in the egg.
Do keep in mind feeding costs and the fact that they do not winter easily. Many kill off most of their flock so they do not keep them through the cold weather then replenish again in the spring. If you intend to keep them over winter you will need some heat and good shelter for them. They also need a low light on during the dark months to keep them laying.
To keep them healthy, as well as basic crumb food, they need green stuff for the vitamins and we also gave them millet sprays (like budgies have). They were very healthy and produced good offspring. The good diet resulted in quality birds and good eggs.
To conclude, we saw a low demand for the eggs in our area (for eating) and some pleasantly different meals, but overall the cost effectiveness of keeping a reasonable number of birds was not encouraging. The investment of time and effort in the stock did not return enough for us to continue with Quail.
If you want to eat Quail then get some eggs, hatch them, grow them on. Kill them and pop them in the freezer. That way you can enjoy them in winter without the housing costs.
If we keep Quail in the future, that’s how we will do it.