This happened today. Three. Blue. I’ve never been so excited about quail as I am right now! But I’ve only known about quail, personally, for a few weeks.
Did I mention we have 20 quail in our garage? Is it quail, or quails? It’s hard to sex quail (or quails) so I don’t know how many are what. But three of them laid pretty blue eggs today!
I wasn’t necessarily planning on quail. I got a text from a dear friend: “Rose, do you want some quail? I know someone who wants to sell some chicks.” So the quail adventure unfolded from there. And we had a recently-vacated brooder box sitting conveniently in our garage. As usual, I set about researching quail after bringing them home.
These are Celadon, a variety of Coturnix quail. They carry a gene that colors the eggs, usually a mottled brown, a light robin-egg blue with the prettiest brown freckles. The birds come in a variety of colors and are fully mature in eight weeks. Ours hatched around April 17. So look at that, six weeks old tomorrow!
Quail should be housed in an enclosure less than two feet tall, or else in a pen that could accommodate our six-foot-six son Jacob standing straight up. Why? They flush when they’re startled, and if they get a good start and run into a low ceiling, they will break their necks. So they either have to be deterred close to ground level or be given the space to get over their fright and down to earth safely.
In general, though, I’ve found them to be much less skittish than the chickens were. If they flush while the pen is open (if I’m changing their water, bedding, or looking for eggs) they just sit calmly amongst the random bicycles, recycling containers, and left over paining supplies in the garage and wait for me to pick them up. They’re such fat little bundles when you hold them in your hands. Less than half a pound of life, wrapped up in feathers.
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Rose, I don’t know if these guys are quail or quails (not sure I’ve ever heard about quails), but they sure are cute! I love how you keep finding things you weren’t planning on! One adventure after another:)
[…] I’ve had quail (or quails) for not quite two months now. They give me six to eight delicate blue eggs a day. I just love these little birds. They are pretty quiet and calm as far as poultry go, but the roosters do crow–they stand up really tall and make a little trill. It’s so cute. And they don’t come after me and try to cut up my legs with their spurs like the rooster does at the farm! These birds aren’t at the farm, they’re in our garage. […]