Just over a year ago I blogged about my dream to own quail alongside my chickens at the Suburban Mirco-farm. Last fall the dream came true! I picked up 7 adult quail and right away I had an abundance of eggs and cute little sounds were heard coming from the coop. I soon discovered I had 2 males and 5 females. I quickly found quail very easy to keep, extremely productive and of course adorable! Each quail hen was laying an egg each for weeks straight!
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The first big clutch of quail eggs collected over a week -
adorably speckled with large orange yolks! |
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The "First egg" alongside my chicken eggs for size and
colour comparison! |
Quail are maybe, not "as" glamorous as I had originally imagined, but that's like anything you're trying for the first time in the garden or with livestock. They are about as easy as rabbits or guinea pigs - litter changes, fresh water and food daily, small leafy greens and egg collection. It's also important to gently handle your quail to check body condition, nails and beaks. I found that the males were rather aggressively breeding and creating some small balding spots.
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| One of the female Coturnix quail - this colour is called "Golden Italian" or "Gold Tibetan" |
The winter in Ontario was very cold and harsh this year, and I lost 3 quail to what I believe to be weather related stress, and personal failure on my part. Especially sad because I lost a beautiful white male, with a small brown bow tie on his chest. Lesson's learned - seal the quail from drafts - insulate better. Despite my drop to only three females, the eggs kept pouring in! It's important to note that quail lay all over the coop, not in nests - so accessibility is important, as well as a cleaner bedding.
As some of the younger quail started laying and the speckled egg colour really started to vary - from large dark speckles to lighter with more delicate speckles. Also- for those who noticed my pink porcelain egg tray - it was from Target store-closing clearance sale! I also have two white more traditional trays for chicken eggs! Easy to wash and perfect for counter-top display, reusable and sustainable!
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| Baskets are also picture-esk! Note; the olive toned egg, bloom and variation. |
Note the title of this blog post - Full Circle. Well, I have my quail, I have a male and three females, what does a girl with 5 incubators do? She collects 23 eggs and bakes them for 16 days at 99.5F, and voila! New baby quail! Some of my eggs were infertile - but I still got quite a few chicks! They are about the third the size of a chicken chick! Now, enjoy some quail-chick-pics!
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| Some interesting colour variations! Excited to see how they'll fledge out! |
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| Eyebrows or no eyebrows? Cute or cute? |
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| Don't I look fantastic in the Scotch Heather? A very alternative spring picture! |
I'm excited for the next generation of backyard Suburban quail - and so far a very pleasant experience! Next steps are an outdoor quail tractor and bringing in some fresh bloodlines for more breeding! Coturnix quail come in so many colours!
