I've become interested in coturnix quail. I've been doing a lot of research to find statistics and measurements for them. I thought I'd put it all in one place.
Coturnix quail
Height: 8"
Can they be sexed by color: yes for certain colors like the wild type brown and Itallian (pictures of different varieties)
movie of chicks and adults: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UL18IIUTCHg
Eggs
Laying: once a day, April- September
How many quail eggs per chicken egg? About 6
Average size egg: .3 oz, size of chicken egg: 2.4 oz
How much light do they need to lay? 14 hrs
age they begin laying? 8 weeks
What is the variety called that lays blue eggs? Celadon
Meat
Best age for harvesting: 8 weeks - 8 months (younger is better)
Housing
How much room do quail need? 1 sq ft of space per bird
Cage height: 12" or over 4 feet. (So they don't hit their heads hard when startled.)
What do they eat? Insects, seeds, plants
What should I feed them? Turkey or Game bird starter. 25% protein
Nesting box size: 8"x8"
Dust bath size: shoe box or large dog bowl or cake pan size
Waters
Age for open bowl: any
Age for vertical nipples: 3 days
Age for horizontal nipples: 4 weeks
Hatching
Age of eggs to set: less than 7 days
Age of hen the egg came from: 10 weeks - 8 months
Age of cock: less than a year
Time to hatch: 17-18 days
Temperature in incubator: 99.5 degrees
a good guide to hatching:
Brooding
1 day - 2 weeks: in the house
2 weeks - in shed
3 weeks outside, still in brooder
4 weeks in adult cage
Heat: heat plate (watch this closely because they grow really fast and their height changes quickly. If they are huddled in the middle the plate is too high or too cool (if using a rheostat)
