Raising quail in your backyard can be both fun and profitable. I mainly do it because it is the highest form of farming my city allows on my small lot. It provides meat and eggs for my family and gives me a hobby. I keep anywhere from 20 – 50 birds at a time with 18 dedicated to eggs and the others in various stages of grow out for meat or replacement breeders. Each female will lay a single egg a day or every other day given the time of year and lighting conditions. I have raised mostly coturnix quail, this year I plan to try some Texas A&M. It should be interesting since you cannot sex them by color.
First, you will need a cage. A good rule of thumb is about two square feet per bird. I have cages I found on Craig’s list specifically made for raising quail, they are slanted so the eggs roll to the front. There are plenty of plans online, so I won’t labor the point. I also have an old two part rabbit hutch that I use as a grow out cage. Make sure the birds are secure against predators. I lost several birds early on until I used a small size wire to cover the cages. Give the birds a place of shade to get out of the hot sun, some sort of roof system will also protect them from rain. Also, make sure it easy to clean up below the cages. I spread straw below mine and rake it once a week onto the compost pile before adding new straw. Keeps the smell down.
Eggs
If you are looking for fertile eggs it is recommended to have 3:1 female to male ratio. I have found 2:1 works better in my smaller cages to keep the fighting down.
Feed
Feed is very important; if you want consistent egg laying it should be 24% or higher protein. Personally, I use the Purina Layena. Occasionally they also receive extras from the garden, fruits, vegetables, and greens. In addition, for sustained egg production, a calcium supplement like crushed oyster shells is recommended.
As far as “profitable” I will occasionally list either eggs or chicks for sale online and can make about enough to cover the next 40lb bag of food.
