Quals vs. Chickens?

James P

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Hi all, after watching a few of Mark's latest videos he seems quite happy with his quail, so I got curious about how they compare to the chickens both meat and eggs wise? I understand they are smaller and whatnot but they seem to have a faster turnover, with eggs hatching in 18 days and laying in six weeks. I am mainly talking about coturnix here but if you have another variety, it'd be great to hear about it too!

Cheers, James :thumbsup:
 

Mark

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Great thread topic James!

This is just my opinion but to me you can't get better than a chicken egg for taste.

I don't mind quail eggs pickled or deviled or even as a compliment to certain asian dishes but cracked and fried in a pan I find they have an earthy richer taste that I find a little off putting. So give me a fried chicken egg over quail any day :)

As far as meat goes, it's true quail are one of the fastest growing animals on earth and do mature faster than chickens with less feed required; however, they are a game bird and some people don't like the stronger meat.

Having said that, I generally don't keep chickens for meat (or keep meat chickens) simply because we like eating quail - they're easy to process, grow fast, and taste great!
 

Mark

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Let's keep this thread rolling a bit more because there's lots of info we can discuss concerning quail vs chicken...

Coturnix quail are easier to keep then chickens not because they are smaller (although it is an advantage) but because they are hardier.

Quail get less diseases and don't generally require vaccinations whereas chickens probably should be vaccinated against several potential diseases. And even if vaccinated, chickens are still more vulnerable to illness than quail.

Therefore, if you calculate feed consumption compared to the amount of meat grown and less expenses such as no vaccinations required then to raise quail over chickens for self-sufficiency arguments sake quail is the better economic choice.

Furthermore, quail meat is higher in protein than chicken meat so people tend to eat less quail meat than chicken meat in a sitting pound for pound because they feel fuller quicker. This adds even more weight to the economic argument raising quail is cheaper than chickens.
 

James P

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Well that does put quail at an advantage against chickens, I can think of 1 disadvantage with quail and that is how they don't seem to go broody as often making it hard to breed them without technology (incubators). On the other hand the males don't crow very loud so you could easily keep both sexes wherever you are and breed them, rather than having to buy chicks. I also wondered about feed, given the need for high protein in their diet and whether this is an issue?

James
 

Mark

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I also wondered about feed, given the need for high protein in their diet and whether this is an issue?
It doesn't have to be because if you can't get hold of game bird feed then any crumble will do with a few handfuls of soy meal mixed in to bump up the protein.

Alternatively, if you are enthusiastic about growing your own feed for quail then meal worms can be farmed easily enough and that mixed with sprouted mixed grains plus a little shell grit should give the birds all they need to keep them healthy.

I've never grown meal worms but there's some info on meal worms here http://www.selfsufficientculture.com/threads/meal-worm-breeding.605/#post-4522

I think you're spot on with regards to quail not having the ability to incubate and brood eggs.

This inability to continue the species is a drawback. On rare occasions I have had broody quail hens and even seen successful hatchings in the pen but generally the chicks are under weight and need to be removed or they would die - so even if quail do manage to incubate eggs they are terrible mothers.
 

James P

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I thought something like a legume might bump up the protein, thanks heaps Mark! I will have a look at that mealworm breeding thread now :twothumbsup:

James
 

OskarDoLittle

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This inability to continue the species is a drawback. On rare occasions I have had broody quail hens and even seen successful hatchings in the pen but generally the chicks are under weight and need to be removed or they would die - so even if quail do manage to incubate eggs they are terrible mothers.

Wow, yup agreed...that would seem to be a bizarre drawback for a species!!
Do you think this has occurred over the generations they've been farmed? ie in the wild, non maternal hen lines wouldn't have continued because their genes would have quickly died out...but now we incubate their eggs, these lines have continued? Seems like an impractical trait to have! In the wild, they'd just become extinct if this were normal...surely? Or do they (like brush turkeys) just rely on sheer volume of offspring, so that the odd one or two manage to make it to continue the species?
 

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Do you think this has occurred over the generations they've been farmed?
Yes that is exactly what happened. Coturnix quail is the oldest type of domesticated bird first kept by the ancient Egyptians 6000+ years ago. Although there are wild species of quail still in existence, this particular type is totally reliant on humans (I guess just like chickens are) so not only would they quickly perish out in the wild they won't reproduce. Many chickens and ducks have also lost the instinct to incubate and brood their young but coturnix quail are the worst out of the common poultry breeds.
 

James P

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Yes, it certainly doesn't make quail a very self sufficient species or source of protein. It would be great to breed some of those wild quail with the domestic quail so that there is some vigour and more natural instincts in captive strains!
 

Mark

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it certainly doesn't make quail a very self sufficient species or source of protein.
Well... Quail is a good source of protein. Compared to 100g of beef: quail has 23g protein whereas beef has less at 19g and quail meat contains 13% iron (which is the same as beef) whereas chicken meat only contains 4% iron.

In fact, 100g of quail meat has all the vitamins and minerals the equivalent size of beef has but with 13% less fat and overall 53 less calories - so quail meat is definately worth considering for self-sufficiency reasons. Plus, quail even has vitamin C (5.1 mg) and beef has none so in regards to a "complete food" quail meat is one of the best foods on earth.

You could say quail can't breed on their own so this lacks a true self-sufficient source of food; however, when you really think about it what food doesn't require some intervention from humans to ensure it grows successfully? There isn't much, unless you include hunting and gathering from the wild.
 

James P

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so in regards to a "complete food" quail meat is one of the best foods on earth.

Some really good statistics there! I suppose they will be a very good option for the debate people are having on how we will feed the earth in 2050 considering there will be 9.6 billion of us!
 
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