Living in the city or on a smaller property means that keeping a breeding flock of chickens is difficult. Often urban homesteaders don’t have the space or the legal ability to become more self-sufficient with traditional poultry. You may want to consider raising Coturnix Quail. Quail produce both meat and eggs quickly and efficiently. They can even be kept in a garage or indoors if you are severely limited on space for livestock.
Coturnix quail need less living space
Instead of a coop and run or pasture, quail can live in a discrete hutch. It’s easy to tuck a hutch into a private corner of the property, and the neighbors don’t even have to know you are raising them. Here are some detailed picture on building a quail hutch from Suburban Sustainability. You can adapt rabbit hutches or even old chicken brooders in housing for your quail. Mature birds only need one square feet of space, and they can even be raised indoors or in a shed or garage! Attainable Sustainable has an interview that discusses raising them indoors. If keeping them indoors or in cages isn’t your thing, then you can absolutely raise them on the ground. 104 Homestead has pictures of several different styles of on the ground pens that they have used.
They are quieter than chickens or ducks
They aren’t completely silent, but given that they are so small, and game birds, the noises that they do make shouldn’t bother your neighbors any more than the wild songbirds would. Obviously a rooster is super duper loud. Chickens can also be rather noisy when they lay their eggs. Ducks just go off quacking whenever they get startled day or night. The only animal I can think of that are quieter than quail are rabbits. (Rabbits are pretty awesome for urban homesteaders as well; read more about them in Are Rabbits Right For You.). If you’re not sure if the noise level of quail will work for your situation, Imperfectly Happy has a sound clip of what their crow sounds like.
They mature quickly
You can hatch your eggs in just 18 days, and they will reach maturity by about six weeks. In less than three months you can go from fertile eggs to full grown adults LAYING eggs! With such quick maturity times you can select your breeding stock for each successive generation. With enough genetic variety you can breed your own for quite some time before bringing in new genetic lines. This article from Mother Earth News includes information on sexing the birds.
The hens lay an egg a day depending on the amount of light, just as chickens do. You will need one male per group of 2-5 females depending on your breeding plans. The excess males provide a gourmet source of meat, just like chickens do. You could quickly scale your production up or down. Maybe you want to provide food for your own table. Or perhaps you’d also like to bring in extra income for your homestead from the sales of meat, hatching eggs, adult stock, or eggs.
You can butcher them in your kitchen
When you live in the city, butchering day can be rather awkward, if not totally impossible. Because quail are so easy to dispatch and process you can do it all in your kitchen, with a pair of shears. There’s no need for an extensive set up, pricey tools, or a private outdoor area. If you want to see the process, there are several videos on YouTube. Don’t watch if you don’t want to see it, but here’s a good one where you can see how it works in the kitchen.
Some people may think they should just raise quail for eggs, but even if you purchase new hens, there are going to be excess males somewhere along the line. Part of homesteading is becoming more aware of the impact our choices have on the entire life cycle of the species we make a part of our lives. Urban homesteaders often have to outsource parts of the nitty gritty details, but quail are one of the few that we can be full participants in the circle of life for our livestock.
They are easy to care for
Quail can be an ideal livestock for people who may have physical difficulties caring for a larger species. They don’t have large coops to be mucked or huge feeders to be filled. There are no ponds to manage or electric fencing moved around on pasture. A mason jar chick waterer filled with pebbles is their water source, and their feeders are equally dainty. Here’s how you could make your own feeder from a soda bottle from Linn Acres Farm. Their bedding or trays can be dumped into the compost bin. If they are outdoors, you could compost directly underneath the hutches. They do need daily care, but it isn’t physically demanding or overly taxing. This is also a plus if you needed to hire a house sitter so you can go on vacation!
If you want to be more self-sufficient, you absolutely need to think about adding quail to your backyard homestead.
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If you’re interested in raising quail, homesteading, and permaculture, then check out tspc.co. The guy’s been doing a successful podcast with +150,000 listeners (I’m one), is a serial entrepreneur, and is currently homesteading 3 acres outside Ft. Worth. Here is an old video when he had his first quail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jqhEoG_UIw
Thanks! I can’t wait to check it out!
I had not thought of quail before. I never knew how noisy chickens could be, so it’s interesting that quail are quieter. Thanks for sharing on the Waste Less Wednesday Hop!
Yes, I think quail are a great option for people who need a very small, low-key flock.
My relatives in a nearby city were just approved to raise quail in the city limits. It will be interesting to see how it goes for them. They’re excited.
Very cool. 🙂
Somehow I found a Quail in my son’s room under his dresser. Neither he or I know how it git their. I put him in a cage and been giving him water and Parakeet food now for two weeks. He’s been eating very good and drinking his water. I have lots if other birds but a Quail, I never heard of till I did some research and. I really don’t want to keep him and think he would find a better place to live with someone who specializes in taking care of Quails. Can someone come pick him up please? I’m in the Hollywood, FL. Area. Ty
If it’s wild, you should be able to put it back outside.
I have been raising quail for over 20 years . So much easier than any other poultry .
Good to know!
Do you plan on 1 quail per person per meal?
Or does it take more? Like 3 for 2 people…
One would be more like an appetizer. Two per person for a hearty meal.
Is one quail egg equivalent to one chicken egg in recipes? I’m guessing their eggs are much smaller. Thanks!
Four to five quail eggs will replace one large chicken egg in recipes.
Thanks!