esta Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Hey there, I went to the pet store today and saw some beautiful fluffy quails and was astonished to know that they were not to grow and bigger. They look very adoreable and I would love possible a male and 3 females or something like that. I own about 20 chickens including a cockeral and obviously I won't put the quails and chickens together as our guinea fowl and some of the hens are too boisterous for the little ones, but we have a large arc of a good size for them that has a nesting box and a grass bit for them to feed on, and if I'm in the garden I will let them roam as it is all closed off and I can keep an eye on them I've never owned quails can you please give me some information on how to look after them and what they eat, temperment, how long they live for, are the males noisy etc. Lots of information will be muchly appreciated :D Thanks Esta x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Most people don't let their quail freerange, as they will be off like a shot. Best to keep them in a pen with enough room for them to run and jump about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xScrunchee Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 I can't help much I'm afraid as I am currently trying to get hold of some myself. I have been told that the females are not as loud as a chicken. Have a look on Youtube and you can hear a male quail crowing. I think it sounds sweet but I have miserable neighbours so I can't risk it I think that they live for about 2 years. Rats eat them, so it might be best to have them on a paved area or wire underneath the run if they are on grass. I have been told that they never get as friendly as chickens but you can get them quite tame. As for food-I was planning on feeding mine layers pellets as the brand I buy are very small. I think they also like mixed corn and bits of veg etc. Sorry-not much help Good luck with them when you get them. Jay xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janty Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 I was originally feeding my quail Allen & Page specialist poultry breeder as it has a higher protein content but I now feed them Garvo quailmixture. They love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyjulian Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 They can be aggressive little horrors. One of ours has noticed it's spring and is mating with everything he can find. Including the other cock quail. Mating is violent (the cock grabs the hen by the head feathers as she tries to get away - explaining that to our neighbours' small children was interesting "they're just, er, playfighting...") Our girls don't make any noise at all, the occasional tribble noise. The boys crow occasionally but TBH they're nowhere near as noisy as the seagulls which fly over every so often. They eat all sorts - I know someone who keeps them and feeds them birdseed - but we've got ours on the layers' pellets same as the chickens eat, and they appear to be happy on that, with the odd scrambled egg treat for extra protein. The squeakers are mealworm junkies. They've gone from shying away and boinking every time a human hand went into the quailarium, to mobbing me if I stick a hand in there 'cos they think I might have mealworms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esta Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 Thanks alot for your info muchly appreciated If anyone else has any info it would be great I want to make sure I'm clued up to these little critters Thanks Esta x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
