Chickens Versus Quail. Why I Chose Quail For My Homestead.

I would like to start by laying out my resources. Because I feel that every persons situation is uniquely different, so the process of deciding what type of livestock to get is unique.

My husband and I rent a small 400 square foot house with a yard, it is a mother in law unit. We have four neighbors on the property with us. We were able to claim a, large by urban standard, size piece of land to homestead. I think we fit nicely in between urban and small homestead. A few things were important to us, quite, small foot print and egg production. With that in mind let me lay out what my research found.

The first thing that jumped right out at me was the how long chickens take to start producing eggs. Five to seven months! That is a long wait. By the time your chicken has laid it's first egg, your quail has laid about ninety eggs. Quail start laying in six to ten WEEKS after hatching on average, some start earlier. Quail also lay three hundred eggs annually, chickens vary by breed but two hundred and sixty seems to be average. Quail are also table ready in six weeks, and take five minuets to process from slaughter to grill. that is quick!

Although it takes four to five quail eggs to equal one chicken egg, you can raise more eggs in a smaller space with quail.

Chickens need four square foot of inside space for laying and ten square feet of outside space for moving around at a minimum. This was the average I read from people whos blogs I liked, and their chickens looked happy and healthy.

Quail need very little space to be happy. I have read anything from half a foot to one square foot per bird. And they don't need a nesting box, just a cozy spot to lay inside the cage. I can keep twelve quail inside a rabbit hutch, but not two chickens. I can keep quail on a tiny back porch, living in an apartment building in the city. I could keep them in a hutch in the house. Cities that don't allow chickens will allow quail. The are considered pets. This opens up people in urban situations to being able to grow some food in their windows and raise some quail for eggs and meat. You can raise them in a tiered stacked set up and have four to five dozen quail same footprint as one chicken. Game changer.

Quail eggs are so nutrient dense that they deserve their own article, which I will write for them.

Chickens make noises that some neighbors don't like. I love the sounds chickens make, well maybe not roosters. My neighbor has a rooster, its just far away enough that I enjoy hearing him crow. Lately I have been talking to a lot of people who are having trouble with neighbors complaining about their roosters and having to get rid of them. Quail are quiet, most of the time they sound like crickets. The males do make noise, but its cute and the sound doesn't carry far. That can be a plus if you have a difficult neighbor (I hope you don't)

These where the reasons my family decided on quail when looking at chickens and quail.

Some other things to consider are quail can not free range, them being a more nervous bird. Chickens are wonderful to free range if you can, watching them a great part of your time in the garden.

Quail do not hatch their own eggs, you have to hatch and raise them your self. If you are willing to do the work it can be rewarding and worth it. Watching a mother hen raise her own babies is another sweet thing chickens have to offer.

Quail need a higher protein feed. ( If you haven't read my post titled "What In The World Do You Feed Quail??? What I Learned." ) Chicken love scrap food from your kitchen.

Thanks for reading my post on my process. I would love to hear back from you. If you like my post, lets be friends and follow me. Have a wonderful end of your week.