Japanese quail (Coturnix Coturinx) are arguably the most common breed of quail bred in the United Kingdom.
Housing:
Japanese quail can be housed in a wide variety of housing. Many people keep quail in something as simple as a rabbit hutch where as others prefer to keep their birds in a chicken coop or an aviary. It is important that the quail live within an enclosed area, we must not forget that quail are originally wild birds, and from time to time they will try to escape and fly away(see LALALA for information on wing clipping). It is important that no matter what enclosure they are kept within, they must have some overhead space. The quail's first instinct when frightened is to fly straight up, if their is a low lying roof or barrier above them the quail may hurt or damage itself, it is known that quail have died this way in the past.
Quail will appreciate a bedding of either sawdust or hemcore/aubiose. Remember not to put too much bedding in otherwise it will be difficult to find the eggs.
Feeding:
Quail need to have a constant supply of water at all times. Quail often suffer from dehydration. Water can be provided through a traditional rabbit bottle or a poultry drinker.
Quail like a varied diet, here we feed ours mainly on chick crumb but often with supplements of mealworms, lettuce, peas, finch seed and cuttlefish. Food can be provided to them in a shallow bowl or through a standard poultry feeder.
If quail live in an aviary then they more often than not feed from the floor. They eat the seeds and nuts that the birds above them spill. If you decide to take this option then remember that the quail will still need a water supply on the floor.
Handling and Basic Care:
When handling the birds, make sure you have a firm grip on them because they do like to wriggle about and try to get away, the birds quickly become used to handling and therefore the amount of wrigling reduces. You can normally handle each bird in one hand comfortably, it is always good to make sure that you have hold (and control) of their wings, if you do so then their won't be much chance of the bird trying to fly away.
In an attempt to stop the birds flying away, you can easily clip their wings. This is normally a job that requires 2 people. One person should calmly hold the bird, and outstretch the left wing. The second person should then snip off the back feathers on the quail's wing. This will not hurt the quail, and they will not feel anything, it is very similar to us cutting our nails. The effect of wing clipping is to unbalance the birds. This means that the bird will not be able to gain as much height during flight as it usually would.
A problem that occurs with all caged birds is feather pecking. Feather pecking is usually done when the birds are bored, so a cheap way to provide enrichment for the birds is to add a few branches or logs to the aviary, or even a dangling mirror. Parrot toys are available at most pet shops, the smaller varieties are often suitable for quail. Flowerpots that are lying on their side, filled with straw can provide a great nesting box and hiding place. Alternatively anti-peck solution is available at most pet shops.
The most vigorous feather pecking occurs during reproduction, the male clamps the feathers on the females neck in its beak to sturdy her before he mounts her. This often results in the female having a slightly bold head, but this does not make much difference to anything.
Eggs:
Each female quail should produce an abundance of eggs. A female quail needs 14 hours of day light to produce a single egg. Therefore egg laying is more prominent in late Spring to early Autumn, where the daylight hours are naturally longer. During the winter egg laying rates decrease due to the smaller hours of daylight. Most breeders bring their quail indoors over the winter and provide them with additional light, which can be supplied by a standared 40watt lightbulb.
The colours of the eggs that a quail lays can not be guaranteed. Normally the quail will lay a brown "coffee stained" egg. However it is known that completly light brown and completly dark brown eggs have been laid.
Here at AAGB we have had a completly light brown egg, and recently a completly blue egg!
Sexing:
Japanese quail are easy to sex. It does not involve looking at their reproductive organs, but infact carefully looking at their feather colourings.
This is the male.
This is a female.
Notice that the male has a one coloured chest, whereas the female has a heavily speckled chest.
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