Buying Quail

[molliedogspabottom]

Hi, and a happy easter to you all,

I have 12 female quail and two males in a shed ( my husband calls it quail hotel because of its quality) and I would like to increase my flock by another 15 females.

Several questions really,where can I buy good quality point of lay ( if that is the correct term) birds, without the males?. My last lot came from a quail keeper who bred his own for eggs and meat, three died from a respiritory infection and I wondered if I bought from a breeder of quail would the birds have been treated for such problems?, as I dont want to infect the girls and their two chaps.

I would like to divide a small area of the shed off to put the new residents in so that they can see each other and get use to them before letting them mix, hopefully there would not be a massacre of birds this way.

The quail live on the floor all together and not in seperate cages.

Would birds from a breeder lay more eggs?.

Thanks for your help, I am sure you can give me the advice I need.

Kind regards Heather

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Heather,

Buying female quail shouldn't be a problem.I've noticed a lot of quail breeder's offering a free male with every 5 hens purchased,sometimes 6 or 10 hens.You just wont need any males .
I understand the Japanese are the most aggresive,but doubt all breeder's of Japanese have aggresive birds. As long as the area is large enough to not cause fighting,they should be fine to mix together once quarantine is over,assuming you are buying a coturnix variety,some of the other varieties might not be.