QUAIL AND RAT BREEDING INFO PLEASE!!!!

[Eagle2160]

Does anybody have any sites that give pretty good quail and rat breeding info like health things and thing i should have in the cages?

Also does anybody have any good ideas for homemade cages for breeding? or would it be better to buy some?

Quail and rats should be a good source of food for a rt right? Also if rats and quail are going to be the main source of food what other food should i buy just to mix into the diet? (this excludes hunting catches)

Also what kind of quail should I use? Are button quail ok?

Does anybody have any good tips or anything like that?

Where should I have the quail and rat bredding "facility"

Again any tips and any leasons from experience would be appreciated A LOT!!!

I found this site it looks pretty good a three compartment cage for 70.00 bucks plus 20 S&H

www.ncws.com/mcdonald/Cage.htm

[Avatar of Shibby]

I would not sugest quail unless you have a bit of property. They stink. So unless you like the smell of nastiness, or are willing to spend extra on an amonia break-down chemical. Also another thing is quail are alot more expinsive to get going. A decent incubator will cost $100+. Rats don't need incubators they pop um out kick'in. Also if you're planning on moving soon, quail don't fair well in trips at all. Specialy if you were planning on packing um really tight on a move, there's another story were me and my sponcer did that over half of them were dead when we got back to his place wich was an hour trip.

[Eagle2160]

Okay i wont be moving with them so i dont really have to worry bout that but how much land do you think would be enough?


Oh also im asking everyone this do you think that i should start breeding really early to get the hang of it and maybe sell some rats and stuff to make a little extra cash so that i dont have to worry about begining expenses when i will be worrying about mew expenses and stuff like that?

[Avatar of Shibby]

I would feel as thought that rats would be much easier. Quail during this time of year take alot. Incubators, special feed, heat lamps, incubator. It's not some thing cheap and also the materials to make a quail cage (galvanized welded wire in .5" cost $50 a role) isn't too cheap. Unless like me you find it down rail road tracks

[Eagle2160]

how do you find it down railroad tracks i think i might go pay a visit to some!

[tanaro2]

Eagle 2160.... I have tried raising both. Rats were more of a pain in the a$$ than the quail. Very unreliable when breeding. You have to know when your female is pregnant, then you have to seperate her and yada, yada, yada. Plus, you'll need a dozen or more females to get the amount of feeders you'll need to last you throughout the year. Dustin is right when he says that you will have to spend a little more money when starting on quail but in my experience you will accumulate way more feeders in a shorter amount of time, thus taking less of your time. He is also right about the fact that they stink like a mother. However, there are certian little tricks you can do to keep down the smell down. Also, if you have a shovel and can scoop the waste off the ground every other day and spread some lime, then that will cut down on the smell a great deal. They need very little space to breed and grow which makes it ideal for a small backyard. The type of quail you would want to breed are the Jumbo Brown Coturnix. Here is why you would want to use this breed for your project. 1. They are the easiest breed to raise for a beginner. 2. They are a huge quail that can reach up to 14 ounces in 6 weeks. 3. They mature and lay eggs within 5-6 weeks. 4. Eggs hatch within 16-18 days. Do the math. In 3 months time, you will have enough quail to last the year and just as much to sell or whatever to make your money back on your cost for feed. I have more people locally wanting to buy my quail than I can produce. I wish I would of hatched more. On the other hand, button quail are not a good quail to raise for feeders. They are harder to raise, you can't colony breed them, and they are a very small quail. A good quail site is www.thatquailplace.com That site has every bit of info you need to know about raising quail. Warning... before posting any questions on that site, read all the topics or use the search to find info on something your looking for. They don't like it too much when people post questions that are already covered in the proper topic. And last but not least, don't mention the fact that you are a falconer wanting to use the birds as feeders. Some posters on there (not the majority) might be a little sensative to the issue. No sense drawing attention to yourself. Some where on this site (I think under the topic avian feeders) there are pictures of my quail, pens and brooder. All home built and extremely easy, and for the most part , cheap to build. One more thing. If you do feed your bird rats, then you won't need to raise any other type of food. However, if you feed just quail, it would be a good idea to throw a fur item to her every now and then. Just my opinion. If there is any other questions I could help you with drop me a line. Good luck.

[Eagle2160]

Sweet! thanks for all of the information right now time is not an issue at all i have probably about 2 years so I will probably start breeding them just to get used to it then sell the quail to local falconers and stuff how much do you think would be a good price?

[tanaro2]

Depends on how old the quail are when you sell them. Chicks would bring you the most profit since you won't waste any costs on feed. You would have to sell a poop load since you would only sell them for about 40 cents each. Mature Coturnix would sell between $2 and $3 as breeders. Keep in mind, most people who will buy your quail will not be falconers. Actually, very few falconers will buy your quail, especially at that price. Reason being, they can buy them already frozen for $1.69 at Rodent Pro. However, you can sell them all day long for $1.50 to bird dog trainers, Hunters who want to try and fill the fields up with Quail, Several people will also want to buy them to eat. And of course any falconers in your area. I have never advertised to anyone that I had quail for sale. Word of mouth through friends and also people who have come to my house to do yard work that noticed them in a pen have often asked me if they can buy them. This is the first time that I've tried raising them. I started around May. My intention was only to raise enough food to last me till next spring to feed to my bird. I never really had the idea of selling them but I will for sure raise enough next spring to make a little cash on the side. Oh, and by the way.. Another reason to raise Coturnix is that you can raise as many as you wish since they are not a species of this area. Bobwhites on the other hand are and some states require you to obtain special permits if you have more than 50 birds.

[Eagle2160]

Ok sweet well i will probably breed thme just to get the hang of it and any porifit from it would be nice even if it is small

[Avatar of Shibby]

Yea you'd prolly have really good job selling quail at a flea market, or farmer's market. Live of course.

[Eagle2160]

how much would you suggest I would sell them for?

[Avatar of Shibby]

I've heard people getting much as $3 for um

[Eagle2160]

Okay thanks!

[WildEd]

All you want to know about Japanese and Bobwhite Quail
www.ansci.umn.edu/poultry/resources/gamebirds.htm#japanese

[Eagle2160]

thanks!