Quail
Did you pick up coturnix quail at a flock swap and don’t know where to begin? Back in the fall of 2021, I brought home 6 birds and began my own journey with only a couple facts and stories in my back pocket. Start here for a few basics I found to be helpful or wish I’d known starting out.
Housing
Many people keep quail in wire cages, but I use an outdoor hutch with plywood flooring, so I will only speak to that. The rule of thumb is that the head space needs to be short enough that they can’t flush up (less than 18 inches) or high enough that they run out of speed if they do flush (over 6 feet), otherwise they will break their necks. I’ve seen various recommendations for these height ranges. Coturnix quail can do well with 2 -3 birds per square foot of space. I have been keeping 8 adults per 9 square feet with overturned pots for hiding spots. When it gets more crowded to 12 birds, I’ve noticed a more aggressive behavior and poorer feather condition. For breeding and consistently fertile eggs, three to four hens per roo is the general advice. I’ve managed to keep two males with 6 females depending on how competitive the males are. I’ve definitely had males that would not share their covey. My hutch is under a very lush fig tree and on the eastern side of the house, so it gets midday and afternoon shade. In the winter, I add windows to cut the wind. I will tarp the hutch for winter storms, which we do not get a lot of.
Bedding
I’ve read of all different bedding working but personally like a mixture of sand and fine chopped straw bedding from TSC. I started with large flake pine shavings, but the quail didn’t turn it over much, and it very quickly was matted down with poop and resulted in tons of poop-food balls on the quail’s feet. Your choice should take your maintenance preferences into consideration. They do enjoy dust bathes, so mixing the sand and fine straw seems to keep them happy.
Feed & Treats
Quail less than 6 weeks old need a high protein diet. I currently use Purina game bird starter feed (30% protein) but do NOT pay this Amazon price, which I’m linking to just to show you the product. Go to Tractor Supply and find a 50lb bag for around $21-$24. 
For birds over 6 weeks, you can switch them to a layer feed or game bird maintenance feed, but I have noticed that the game bird “maintenance” commercial formulas are short of the recommended 18% protein, so sometimes I’ll mix in a chick starter or game bird starter with an all flock mix. Some people keep their quail on the starter feed until 8 weeks to continue to fatten them up for processing. My adult quail have had no issues eating the pelleted feed and spill less of it than crumbles. None of the commercial options available to me have high enough calcium content, and I have had issues with weak shells and need to supplement with oyster shell. Quail are omnivores and have loved most things I’ve offered them – scratch grains, chickweed, cucumbers, squash, black soldier fly larva and greens from the garden.
The following table is adapted from Mississippi State Extension (table has linked document).
requirements for Coturnix Quail
Water
Quail are incredibly thirsty birds. I’ve tried several watering systems and have landed on a DIY system involving a pvc pipe with chicken cups fed by a 5 gallon bucket installed high enough that they have to stand up really tall or on a brick to access the cups. Any water at a low level gets filled with bedding, poop and food. This has to be drained in freezing weather, during which I use heated rabbit waterers.
Egg Laying
You can expect quail to lay as many as 300 eggs their first beginning around 8 weeks of age, but like many chicken breeds, coturnix quail will stop laying as the day shortens, so you likely won’t see this many unless you are providing supplemental light. Egg laying slows down beyond two years of age.
Aggression
Coturnix quail are such sweet looking birds, and I was taken aback when my first female was scalped by another bird. Sometimes the males are over-enthusiastic with the hens in their mating activities and pull out too many feathers or rip the skin on the head and neck of the hen, and sometimes the females are completely done with the males and will peck the roosters’ eyes (by peck, I mean completely gouge out). If you end up with an injured bird, move them to a separate pen to allow the wound time to close up. Then look to see which bird has blood on their beak and chest and watch to see if they are picking on other birds as well. You will want to determine if there is an is issue with overcrowding, territorialism, male competition, or bullying. Adding more hiding spots and habitat enhancements can help with all these issues, but ultimately, bullies need to go.
Check out my Newbie Quail Cost Analysis if you are considering getting an incubator or growing your flock.