Guess who's raising quail

[2fastnaz]

A guy I know had a place here called White Tanks Game Bird Farm or something like that. He decided a few months ago to pack it all up and move to Florida for a new job. He gave me what he didn't have room to move.

I got 30 laying cages, an open air brooder, and about 75 birds. 5 buttons, 15 Pharohs (tux and traditional) and around 50 bobwhites (1/3 roosters).

I hope to have egg production back up to atleast 10 a day in the next few weeks so I can start incubation. That would enable me to incubate about 100 every 10 days.

The Pharohs look to be pretty easy to get to lay. The Bobs are giving me fits.

Any way just thought you guys might like to know, with in 6 months I hope to have birds to sell for training. If I ever find my digi camera I'll post some pics.

 

[2fastnaz]

Damn I guess I'm on more ignore lists than I thought!

 

[Calif. Hunter]

The pharoah or Coturnix quail I used to raise did not fly worth a darn, and were not too usable for dog training. Maybe if you have a flight pen, it will help.

 

[2fastnaz]

Flight pen is already built and I'm up to 10 eggs a day so I can start incubation as soon as I get enough to fill it.

I didn't think the damn things could fly either. I sent my daughte out to clean the hospital cage the other day and damn if one of them didn't fly over and land on the nieghbors house. SO i go to get the damn thing, catch it and damn if it didn't slip out of my hand and fly clear down to the end of the street. Pert near 2 blocks.

Now mind you this is one of the 6 birds I've had caged out in the back yard for 2 years now and they've never flown more than 6 feet max and then at a downward angle. Sure surprised the hell out of me.

The Bob Whites though that's another story. I had to move their cages inside my fully enclosed chicken coop. Everytime I'd open their cage I'd have to spend and hour chasing one or 2 down. They fly real good. I wish I could raise Gambles too.

 

[Delw]

J.D
Ken Levy is interested in some quail for his quail for his dogs, I talked to him on monday and forgot all about it till today.
Go post to the pecker head on azbasszone.

 

[Moosie]

I missed this post. But thats Cool. I'm Verry interested in that !! Take pictures and Post them. I've thought about raiseing some birds for Fun nd Going through the Incubation proccess and what-not's. MAybe I can Learn from what you find.

I wouldn't want to have a Big bird Population but have a Few to Raise, sell, or whatever. I know soome farms that raise them and sell them to game farms around here (Pheasants mostly) and some people raise chukars, quail, Etc.

Anyways, You're for sure not on my ignor list !!! Keep the info coming and I'd love to see the pictures. I'd like to hear how you get them to mate, get the eggs, about the Incubation proccess, what they eat... the works !!

Kudos man !!

 

[2fastnaz]

J.D
Ken Levy is interested in some quail for his quail for his dogs, I talked to him on monday and forgot all about it till today.
Go post to the pecker head on azbasszone.

Del I'm not ready to sell birds yet, I have less than 100 on hand my brrod stock if you will. I ordered my first incubator Fri day so I should be able to start my first eggs end of this week. so I'm about 3 or 4 months out from having birds to sell. I will post up on your site when I have birds. I'll PM you over there and work out the particulars when I'm ready.

The rain the last few weekends have helped egg production tremendously. I was averaging 5 eggs aday before the rain and now like 12 aday. The incubator I ordered is already too small, but it's a start. I'm almost $1000.00 in this venture already just building the fly pens and getting the equipment I needed.

Moosie,
so far it's just feeding them (laying mash) and cleaning up after them. My garden and yard love me. DID you know 30 quail eat more than 10 chickens?? I have them all in laying cages now. The feeders and waters are rain gutters hanging on the ends of the cages I only have to water every 3 days and feed every other day. The hen to rooster ratio in the cages are 2 or 3 hens to one rooster and I keep about 18 in each cage. The guy I got them from said 30 to a cage but I don't have that many birds yet and it seemed a little crowded (sp) to me. To keep them laying out of season I have to keep them under light 18 hours aday. So I have a 100 watt bulb on a timer that comes on at dark and goes ofF at midnight.

I'm warehousing eggs for 7 days and then putting them in the incubator. I have 2, (or will have Thursday) one with a egg rocker and one with no movement. 18 days in the rocker at 99.5 degrees and 80% humididty. Then 3 days in the still machine at 101 degrees for hatching. I still have to get a brooder. From what I've read the 30 days after hatching are the most important. You have to keep them at 100 degrees the first week and then decrease temp 10 degrees aweek till they are old enough to regulate their own body temp at about 4 weeks of age.

I figure they will have to be atleast 16 weeks old to have enough wing power to get up and fly so that's when I figure to start selling them.

I've raised chickens most of my life, for a while for my living, granted they were Game chickens (read Fighting Cocks) but it can't be a whole lot different. When I find my Digi I'll get some pics up.

 

[2fastnaz]

Well my incubators arrived today. I won't be able to start any eggs till this weekend, I'm on 12 hour shifts at work. But I have 100 eggs just waiting to get hot. Next friday I'm getting one more incubator and a couple of brooder cages and I'm set. Now if my hatch rate is as good as my lay rate is.............

 

[2fastnaz]

Well if any one cares I can hatch eggs. I had 15 more birds this morning than I had when I went to bed. I've wasted about 500 eggs from not having a way to set them (to small of an incubator) and as such broke down and got a cabinet incubator that will hold about 1500 quail eggs. So Far I've hatched 15 Cortinux but have 120 Bobs schedualed for Saturday hatching.

This is by far the fastest way I've found to go broke short of dirt track racing. In about 3 months I might have some for sale.