Proper Quail Guide for Beginners

Proper Quail Guide for Beginners. 1x1 Guide to Keeping and Breeding Japanese Quail.

By Thorsten Hawk

contents

1. Overview of quail breeds

2. Origin

3. Natural Habitat

4. Behavior

5. Why Quail? Livestock or ornamental bird?

6. Group size and composition

7. Obligation to report a quail husbandry?

8. Accommodation and Size

quail house

gate

aviary

9. Basic equipment:

feeding place

substrate

Hideouts and quail houses

sand bath

10. Accommodation maintenance, routine expenses

11. Fresh feed

12. Dry food

13. What foods not to feed?

14. Keeping quail in winter

temperature

humidity

draft

15. Care on vacation

16. Quail eggs all year round?

17. Breeding of quail, natural breeding, artificial breeding

18. Chick care and feeding

19. Diseases and first aid, lice, mites, worms, colds, prolapsed intestines, bacteria

20. Battles

1. Overview of quail breeds

Before you can start with the right keeping and care, some general things about the quail should first be clarified. The scientific name of the quail is Coturnix coturnix, it belongs to the pheasant family and the Galliformes order. In general, it can be said about size and weight that adult animals weigh about 100 grams and are about 20 centimeters tall.

However, this is only a guideline: Since there are over 100 different species of quail, quail keepers should be prepared for the sometimes serious differences between the individual species. For example, it can happen that a quail weighs a proud 300 or even 500 grams instead of the stated 100 grams.

A sensible first classification of the quail species can be made into the groups ornamental quail, laying quail, dwarf quail and wild quail. The ornamental quails are originally wild quails that were domesticated over long periods of time and eventually kept as ornamental birds. Ornamental quail form the largest group among the four mentioned above.

The most popular and common ornamental quail is the California Crested Quail, which belongs to the Crested Quail species and the toothed quail family. She is the state animal of California. In addition to the California quail, there are four other subspecies of the quail, which are distinguished by the color of their upper body. The crested quail was named after its distinctive feature of the crest ('Schopf'), which is made up of six black feathers. The Californian quail can grow up to 27 cm and weigh up to 200 g. On average, the females are slightly smaller and lighter than the males and their coloring is less intense. The hen's crest will also be slightly shorter than that of the rooster.

Another very popular ornamental quail is the blue-scaled quail, which is one of four subspecies of the scaled quail. It can reach a size of 29 centimeters and a weight of 220 grams. It also belongs to the toothquail family. In this species, the female is also slightly smaller and lighter than the male, but the differences here are not as clear as in the Crested Quail. True to its name, the blue-scaled quail has a bluish-grey coloration and scale pattern. Her bonnet is white.

The Virginia quail is also an ornamental quail from the toothed quail family. The males of this species grow up to 28 cm tall, the females are usually a little smaller. Virginia quail weigh up to 250 g, although it is also the case here that the female animals tend to be slightly lighter than the males, but the differences are not serious. The species of Virginia quail has a total of 21 subspecies, the plumage basically has different brownish-reddish nuances. The intensity and pattern of the hen is somewhat weaker than that of the rooster.

The Gambel quail should also be presented here, as it is one of the most popular ornamental quails: The Gambel quail is the most common subspecies of the Helm quail, which has a total of seven subspecies. The birds grow up to 27 tall and weigh up to 210 g. The female animals can remain smaller and lighter than the males, but this does not necessarily have to be the case. A characteristic feature of these quails is a black crest on the head, which is formed by a few feathers arranged in an arc. The plumage shows predominantly gray and brown tones, that of the males is slightly more conspicuous than that of the females.

Other more or less common ornamental quails are:

 Montezuma Quail

 rain quail

 ostrich quail

 jungle quail

 Madagascar Pearl Quail

The list could undoubtedly be extended, but an overview of the most well-known species should suffice here. Last but not least, in addition to the ornamental quail, there are also the dwarf quail, or more precisely: the Chinese dwarf quail: Although this species is also kept as an ornamental quail, it does not belong to the toothed quail family, as the ornamental quail usually do, but to the pheasant-like family.

In terms of size and weight, it differs significantly from all other quail species, as it only grows to about 14 centimeters and weighs 45 to 70 grams. Thus, the dwarf quail is the smallest and lightest representative of the Galliformes! Different color varieties are bred, the plumage of Chinese Pygmy Quail can include various combinations of brown, red, gray and silver.

It used to be not uncommon in China to carry the dwarf quail in the pocket of a coat or coat to warm one's hands in the cold season.

With regard to the group of wild quail, it should be noted that all species and subspecies already listed - including the pygmy quail - exist or existed as wild forms. With some quail species, it seems that their nature or their frequency do not make them particularly suitable as breeding or laying quail, so that they do not exist or do not exist frequently as a domesticated form.

These quail species are referred to here as wild quail and a selection is presented below: The European quail, for example, grows to around 17 centimeters in size and weighs up to 130 grams. The female and male animals differ only slightly in size and coloration. In general, European quail are brownish in colour, with the hens being slightly lighter than the roosters. The situation is different with the harlequin quail: Here the females are up to 100 g heavier than the males, which only weigh a maximum of 85 g.