Quail eggs

Quails are very friendly birds – it is this characteristic that makes them such excellent poultry to keep, even on small holdings.

History

Quails have been bred domestically for more than four thousand years. It is widely believed that many of the quails we breed with today evolved from the Chinese quail. Records of quails dating back to 770 BC have been found in the Far East.

Egyptians so highly valued the quail as a source of protein that they established dedicated quail farms, to breed and grow quail. Quails were in fact so common in Egypt that they had their very own hieroglyph in the Egyptian language!

Why quails?

Quails are grown for both their eggs and meat. The eggs are best described as small speckled pearls and typically weigh about ten grams each. When compared to a chickens’ egg which usually weighs seventy-five grams, they are very small. However, the eggs are highly sort after and are considered a delicacy in many countries.
They contain three times the amount of vitamin B1, as chicken eggs, and twice as much vitamin A and B2. And to top it off, quail eggs contain five times as much iron and potassium, and are richer in phosphorous and calcium, than chicken eggs. They are widely considered one of the best dietary foods, and not just because of all the vitamins and minerals, but also because they contain no ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL), only ‘good’ cholesterol (HDL).
They also have one of the highest feed conversion ratios of 2:1, which rivals that of almost all other land animals. Their meat is considered a delicacy in some countries. It is high in proteins, and provides an abundant source of vitamins and minerals. Plus the meat is incredibly flavorsome and very tender – especially if you grow it yourself.

Health Benefits

Quail eggs have many benefits, which is why they are so often considered a health food. One of the most notable benefits is that they have anticancer properties. They also:

• Remedy digestive tract disorders, such as, gastritis and ulcers
• Help cure anaemia and rid the body of heavy metals and toxins
• Help treat tuberculosis, asthma and diabetes
• Have strong anti-cancer properties and may help inhibit cancerous growth
• Alleviate and remove stones from the kidney, liver and gall bladder
• Strengthen heart muscles and blood cells
• Highly stimulate promiscuity. As well as nourishing the prostate gland, by restoring valuable nutrients.
• Promote good memory and enhance brain function
• Strengthen the immune system and slow down aging
• Improve skin colour and hair strength

Overall quail eggs strengthen the body and organs, prolong life and restore valuable nutrients and vitamins. They are one of the worlds’ wonder foods.

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COMMENTS:

1) I have mine in a low level chicken house with a large run attached. I know of others that keep them in rabbit hutches which have a large mesh run attached (similar thing really).

I keep Japanese and Italian Quail, they are fantastic egg producers. Once they start in the spring they lay every day until around end of August and then start to lay as and when. Some people give them artificial light in the winter to try and prolong the laying season but I am a believer in letting nature take its course and let them have a rest until spring.

When they are young you start them off on chick crumbs and then move onto the small sized chicken growers and then layers. I also give mine cuttle fish and vegetables. I grow my own sunflowers so they get the sunflower seeds once they have dried out too. You can get specially formulated quail mix but I have never found it any better than the chicken feed.   
2)  I've been wanting to get some quail too - are the Japanese ones the slightly hardier ones? I seem to recall it's the Chinese Painted ones that don't like the winter cold so much.. or is it the other way around?
Also, do they make much noise? Not that they can make any more noise than the kids next door, but still . . . .

3)Yes mine are very hardy, live outdoors in a house and run all year round.

The males do a call noise if alarmed or mating but not much louder than a garden bird noise really, just a trill noise, nothing at all like our cockerels can produce!

4) You must have quiet males. My males are louder than my cockerel and they dont seem to know day from night (they have no artificial lighting and can see out), the pnly good thing is that its less frequent than the cockerel.

I keep mine in an insulated shed, with windows and plenty of ventalition. They are kept in cages with a so the eggs roll to the front).
Each cage is  2ft sq. and I keep 4-5 quail in each cage.

I got my first lot at 4 weeks old and kept them under a heat lamp for 2 weeks indoors due to it being October time last year and chilly. Then they were put outside in a rabbit/chicken run (house 2x3ft, run 3x3ft) but this had a opening upwards lid which I had to put mesh on as they would fly upwards when frightened e.g. everytime i opened the lid.

They also lay anywhere and do not go to roost.  They are quick flighty things so you have shoo them in each night.

When they got to 8 weeks old, we had made them their indoor accomadtion and grouped them -- 1 male and 3 females. They were japense quail, very good layers, though mine were noisy. You dont need males if you dont want to breed. The females lay better when they aren't stressed by a randy male jumping them every 5 minutes.


5) ON FEEDING AND HOUSING: mine get chick crumb until 6 weeks then onto 40% chick cromb 40% layers mash 10% grain

I keep jumbo Italian quail and get 2 eggs a day most days and 1 on some days from march to late October with no extra lighting
They are all in some form of rabbit hutch


6) Amazing how everyone's experiences are different with quail!

I am amazed Pel, that yours are more noisy than your cockerels, mine certainly aren't. Is that because you keep them indoors and the noise is echoey do you think? Mine are always a bit flighty too when they are young but I handle them a lot and even though you can never tame them like a chicken they do get used to you at feeding times and my cleaning out routine etc.

Why are you getting rid of them over winter? They will still lay next year if they are only a year old....?

If you bring them up in groups they should accept more than one male in a pen, I have two males with 10 females and they all get on just fine.

They are a bit stupid when it comes to rain, but I have a house which they go in and out as they please, and a run which is partly mesh and partly covered and even though they may sit outside when its raining they are usually undercover. I don't shut mine in the house at night, they just go in when they are ready as the house and run are all secure so nothing can get to them overnight. They seem to like it that way as then they can come out really early in the morning which is what they seem to prefer to do.