Quail Full Circle!

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!

The first big clutch of quail eggs collected over a week -
adorably speckled with large orange yolks!

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.

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!

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!

Some interesting colour variations! Excited to see how they'll fledge out!

Eyebrows or no eyebrows? Cute or cute?

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!