Coturnix Quail are sweet little game birds that are enjoying a surge in popularity among urban and suburban backyard keepers. If you’d like to keep a male to ensure your covey is self-sufficient, here is everything you need to know about how easy backyard Coturnix quail breeding really is:
Breeding Coturnix quail truly is as simple as adding a young, healthy rooster (male) to a group of 3 to 6 hens. The bird’s natural instincts will be to mate to produce fertilized eggs that can be hatched in an incubator. I promise it is straight-forward and easy!
How Many Hens and How Many Roos?
Most Coturnix quail breeders keep 4 to 5 hens to every 1 rooster. Less than this and the hens may be a little over-mated. More than this and some hens may be able to avoid him and their eggs will not be fertilized so they won’t hatch.
Are Coturnix Quail Roosters Loud when Breeding?
Coturnix quail roosters do not crow obnoxiously like a chicken but instead they emit a wild bird call. It is similar in volume to a cat’s meow. It sounds very much like native bird calls and your neighbors are unlikely to notice. You can hear a Coturnix Quail rooster crow in this YouTube video.
Do the Hens Need a Nest to Lay in?
No, quail hens do not need to be provided with a pre-made nest nor nesting material. She will lay an egg wherever she is standing when the urge arises. Some hens like to lay in their dust bathing bowl or in the corner of the pen. It is fine if you want to provide some straw but the hens won’t use it for laying eggs.
How Do I Know if the Rooster is Doing His Job?
You will see the rooster use his beak to grab the feathers on the back of a hen’s head and then slide his tail end under hers to mate her. Quail males do not have a penis. Instead, they rub cloacas (the anal opening) together, which deposits some of the male’s sperm just inside the hen’s body where it travels to her ovaries. You may see hens who have a tiny pinch of ruffled or missing feathers on the back of her head. This is evidence that she is being regularly mated.
How Do I Know When the Eggs are Fertilized?
When you cut open your quail eggs for kitchen use, look at the surface of the egg yolk closely. You should see a faint whitish-yellow colored bullseye mark on the yolk. This is the germinal disc which indicates the egg is fertilized and has the ability to develop if incubated.
How to I Incubate Quail Eggs?
My favorite incubator is the Nurture Right 360. When I’m incubating standard size quail eggs, I use a special quail egg turner (purchased separately). The quail egg turner holds up to 48 quail eggs and accommodates both standard and Jumbo sizes.
Can I Breed for Larger Birds?
If you’d like to selectively breed for larger birds or heaver weight Jumbo quail, you absolutely can! You’ll opt to keep the heaviest weight male at 10 weeks old and house him with the heaviest weight females. Continue to select for body size as you hatch and grow out the chicks to adulthood, mating only the largest male to the largest females.
Can I Breed for Blue Quail Eggs?
Celadon Coturnix Quail lay stunning blue eggs that are fun to gather and use in the kitchen! This always-popular blue layer can help pay for the entire covey’s feed if you want to breed Celadon chicks and/or sell Celadon hatching eggs. You’ll need to purchase Celadon hatching eggs or chicks from a local breeder. Once they have reached maturity (8-12 weeks old) you can breed the hatchmates together to continue to produce blue egg laying Celadon quail.
Can I Breed for Jumbo Celadon Quail?
Yes you can! Breeding Jumbo Celadon Coturnix Quail is a specialty breeding project that takes about two years. The process is a little complex but I sell a “secret recipe” for Breeding Jumbo Celadon Coturnix Quail in my shop that walks a beginner through every single step, even if you have not kept Coturnix quail before!
Can I Breed for Colored Egg Laying Quail?
If you want an easy Coturnix quail breeding project, you can breed for Speckled Celadon laying birds. The project can produce a mix of mint chocolate chip tones, brown speckled blue eggs and even some solid or speckled green quail eggs. Easter Egger chickens are a popular hybrid and breeding for “Easter Egger” Coturnix quail who lay blue and green tones is a fun way to add some color to your quail egg carton!
Is There Anything Else I Need to Know?
Coturnix quail males do not remain fertile for their entire lives. They are fertile for the first year of their life and then it begins to wane. You will need to select a fresh, young male each year to use as a breeding rooster. Coturnix quail hens generally live 18 to 36 months. They lay eggs daily, only pausing in the winter. As they reach old age, their laying sometimes slows to an egg every other day. It is fine to mate a young male to older hens and to keep the hens until they pass away of natural causes.
Backyard Coturnix Quail Breeding Really is Easy!
If you are wanting to have a self-sufficient covey and would enjoy hatching quail chicks yourself, Coturnix quail breeding is a fun and rewarding hobby! Children love watching the tiny chicks emerge from their shells. Selling Celadon or Jumbo chicks and hatching eggs can generally bring in enough profit that the covey pays to feed itself. Keep reading to learn more about breeding these delightfully sweet birds!
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