Game for Anything Keeping and Breeding

Japanese quail are the most popular and easy to keep. They are fast growing, maturing at 6 weeks when they will begin to mate and lay eggs. They will live happily in an aviary or if space is limited you can keep ½doz in a rabbit hutch. They are ground dwellers so unless they are living underneath other birds it is not advisable to put perches in their living quarters.

They come in several different sizes and colours. The normal colour is brown with the hen having a speckled breast resembling a thrush and the cock bird has a rusty breast and a darker brown face.

They are a good sized bird suitable for the table and although not as prolific as the laying trains they do produce a good egg which makes them an ideal dual purpose bird

The Italian and Spanish are the egg producing strains.

Don't get confused with the names. They are all Japanese quail. The fertile eggs originated from the continent and as they are different in size and colour it made sense to give them different names as a means of identification when someone wants to place an order.

Next in popularity is the Chinese Painted quail. The smallest gamebird in the world it also, nowadays, comes in a variety of colours. It also matures at 6 weeks

They are happy living in a colony on the floor of an

aviary but can also be kept in a large canary type

breeding cage.

If you opt for the latter then it is advisable to stick or

staple a foam lining to the ceiling as they have

Harrier jump jet vertical take off and can easily suffer

fatal injury.

It is better to have 1 cock bird to 2or3 hens if you

want to breed from them. If you just want something

to add interest on the aviary floor why not keep

several cock birds together. They will be happy if

they are all put in at the same time and there are no hens

amongst them.

Californian, Blue Scaled,Gambels and Bob white

are different in behaviour. They prefer to roost

and will use a perch or ledge if available.

Blue Scaled are best kept in pairs as multiple hens

will often fight and although you may not see any

sign of physical damage you may lose a hen

through stress.

Californian and Bob White can be kept in small colonies provided that they are all put

into their separate aviaries at the same time.

It is not advisable to mix any of the fancy breed species in the same aviary.

Chinese Painted quail

This year we have Chukar partridge. Although similar to the French red legged,

they are a bit bigger with bold markings and a distinctive black V at the neck.

Sexes are similar but in general the cock bird has a bump on the leg whilst

the hen is almost smooth legged and has a slightly smaller head.

Some of our normal coloured Chukar produced beautiful creamy white birds which will form part of our breeding program for 2010.

Fertile eggs from our Chukar partridges should be available from April to September

Spanish tuxedo quail

Pair of Japanese(Coturnix) quail

All quail and partridge day old chicks should be fed on crushed chick starter crumbs and kept on a fine feed until they are big enough to cope with the full size crumb. From April to the end of August you may be able to buy a fine game starter crumb.This will give your birds a good start but only feed for the first 5 to 6 days as it is very high protein and as quail grow quickly their legs may be unable to support their body.

When Japanese birds reach 4½ -5 weeks old they can be put on a layers feed in readiness for egg laying. We feed a quail layers crumb which is made specially for us. Poultry layers mash is a good alternative. Layers pellets are also suitable but may need to be crushed.

Fancy breeds take a lot longer to mature and are best kept on chick crumbs until they have their adult plumage.

It is not wise to give young quail chicks meal worms. Their toes look very much like mini mealworms and this can encourage toe picking.

Brood your fancy breeds of quail separately. Blue Scaled , Californian and Gambels can be put in the same brooder but Bob Whites are best kept on their own as they are prone to beak and toe picking.

Japanese are very fast growing so rear them on their own as none of the other species can compete with them.

Chukar partridge cock bird

Blue Scaled quail pair

Japanese quail are notorious for not sitting on their own eggs. I have had people in the past tell me that they have had some success with a broody Japanese quail hen but this is the exception rather than the rule. Chinese painted will sometimes sit if given the right conditions and cover.

If you wish to hatch the eggs in an incubator you can collect them for up to 10 days before setting,

however, the longer you keep them the less fertile they become.Make sure you set enough eggs at one time as the chicks do better if they have company. Japanese and Chinese painted take 16-18 days to hatch at a temperature of 37.5deg. turn them for the first 13 days then leave them still to hatch. When dry, we usually leave them for about 18 hours, put them in a brooder at the same temperature as the incubator, with a rough floor covering so that they can get a grip and keep their legs straight. We use corrugated paper or, if it is a small number, a tea towel. Do not put them on newspaper or woodshavings at this stage. They need to be about 1 week old for this.

They are completely independent from the outset.

Make sure they have plenty of crushed chick crumbs and a shallow dish of water with pebbles or marbles to stop them getting wet. Using a shallow reservoir will save you time topping up.

Gradually reduce the heat as they grow, remember in 6 to 7 weeks they will be breeding themselves.

Treat fancy breeds the same way leaving the eggs unturned for the last 3 days.

Gambels, Californian, Bob White and Blue Scaled all take 23 days.

Mountain quail take 25 days

Chukar partridge take 22 to 24 days.

All these are much slower growing and take several months to mature.