# Quail



## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

How much room would be needed for say 8 to 10 quail hens? Do they need a rooster to lay? 

Would a pen about 14' x 8' with say a 4' x 6' house attached and a screened top be acceptable? 
How are their nesting boxes made?


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## Jasmar (Mar 28, 2015)

We have several families here. Sadly, I can't answer any of your questions, because they're all wild. Sure are cute, though


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## PippasCubby (May 13, 2015)

What kind of quail? 

I am interested in button quail or coturnix quail and have done some research on them. We don't have the ability to get any right now, so, I am a little rusty on what I have read!

I do think quail (or any bird?) is like a chicken, they don't need a rooster to lay, just to have fertile eggs.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

I think it largely depends one what type of quail you are getting. Coturnix from my understanding are similar to chickens, and can be kept in a colony type situation like your describing. They should also do fine in the size of pen you are describing. They are actually great little layers. I'm not positive but i'm pretty sure they don't need a male. 

Other breeds though, like bobwhite for example, are ferocious little things and are very hard to keep in that type of setting. They are better kept in pairs as not only do the males fight over the females, the females fight over the males, and also just fight each other if they feel at all crowded.


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## Greybird (May 14, 2014)

If you're getting coturnix quail for their eggs I don't think they are usually given so much space. (Not that they will object - they would love it, I'm sure.)
They are like fat little chickens once they get started laying and they mainly like to sit around, eat, and poop. A lot. I honestly don't know if having a male around makes any difference with them or not, but a lot of people keep them in pairs or trios so they will be happy. They don't remember how to sit on their eggs any more, and as far as I know they just drop them wherever they happen to land, so nest boxes are optional.

One thing I found out the hard way, which seems to apply to all quail, is that they should be kept under low ceilings. Otherwise, every time they get scared (often) they will fly straight up and bonk their heads until they bleed, or worse.
They are perfectly adapted to living in small, stacked, wire-bottomed cages, and they thrive like that, even though it seems like they wouldn't.

If you are planning on having bobwhites or one of the other wild types of quail, they will probably not be as productive. I have seen bobwhites which were kept in huge flight pens with lots of space to roam. They were healthy enough, I guess, but they looked awful because they had plucked each other almost bald. They are very cannibalistic, even as tiny babies.


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