5 More Reasons to Raise Coturnix Quail (especially if you live in the city limits)

If you haven't read my post Top 5 Reasons to Raise Coturnix Quail check it out here. But this is part two of 5 more reasons to raise coturnix quail. Hope this helps you guys take the leap you need to start being more self-sufficient in the city limits. You can also see the full video version of this on my YouTube channel here.

Reason #6- You can keep coturnix quail roosters within city limits! If you live in an area where chickens are allowed but you do not have agricultural rights you likely cannot have chicken roosters which means whenever you need to replenish your flock, hatch more chicks etc. you have to order chicks from someone else aka it's not sustainable long term without the daddy bird is it?

However, with coturnix quail you can easily have roosters in your flock and even the rooster crow is quieter than the egg song chickens sing every time they lay an egg or one of their flock mates lays an egg. This is nice because whenever you want to replenish your flock, grow your flock or hatch more meat birds it can be easily done with the help of an incubator and a govee thermometer/hygrometer.

Reason #7- It is a much easier animal to process for meat. If you are local to Utah county, Utah we often teach several classes a year and even the occasional one-on-one class on how to process quail for meat. Essentially you can do it with only a pair of poultry shears in your backyard or over a sink in your house. I can't tell you how much easier the simplicity of this process has made my life because if I need more meat for dinner on the fly, I can just go grab the freshest meat on the block from my backyard. Also, if you know anything about me you know I wasn't raised on a farm and had never processed anything for meat or hunted in my life so learning the process of raising my own meat on an animal that's easy to care for and easy to process has given me so much courage to try new things and provide for my family in new ways. Learning this skill really has changed my family's lives for the better and I love sharing this skill with others.

Reason #8- Coturnix Quail as a whole are generally pretty healthy animals. Because we raise our quail in cages up off of the ground and apart from other livestock, like our chickens and ducks, our quail are pretty healthy, and we rarely lose any to reasons other than "it was time to go to freezer camp". With chickens, in my own personal experience, I have lost some as adults for no obvious reason when the rest of the flock is completely fine and they aren't egg bound or got attacked by a predator. I also think coturnix quail as a whole are a lot more hardy to harsh weather conditions where some breeds of chickens just cannot handle them well. I know in our utah spring a few years back we had a freezing temp followed by a temp over 100 degrees a few days later and we lost a few bantams/silkie chickens just from the shock of it. That can happen with quail, however, during that crazy temp fluctuation we didn't lose any quail. Also, poultry diseases like Merricks can live in the soil for a very long time (we're talking YEARS and YEARS) and so keeping quail off the ground anywhere can help with conditions you may or may not know are in your soil so it's just an extra benefit to raising our quail off ground. That being said I tell all my customers "there is no wrong way to raise quail as long as the birds are happy and healthy and the system you have in place works for you". I have many many friends who raise quail on the ground and they do amazing but for us being in the city with barely any space it's just been easier for us to raise our quail off the ground and spoil them with dust baths inside their cages.

Reason #9- Another great thing about quail being healthier is that I've not heard of the birds ever contracting salmonella. So often, in sushi, egg nog, raw cookie dough etc people will eat the eggs raw with no trouble. Because of this you can also eat the meat medium and honestly overcooked quail isn't as tasty anyways. One of my customers drinks 4-5 raw quail eggs each night and says it helps her insomnia.

Reason #10- Coturnix Quail can be kept in whatever way works best for YOU. Like I said above I tell all my customers "there is no wrong way to raise quail as long as the birds are happy and healthy and the system you have in place works for you". I have many friends who raise quail on the ground in aviaries in more natural settings or people who convert old rabbit hutches or chicken coops to work as well while some do cages in a shed just like we do. Whatever works for you is what's going to work. The point in raising quail (or at least the reason I teach about quail) is so people can see one easy way to be more self-sufficient wherever you live. If it's too complicated and takes too much time, it's not going to be enjoyable for you and you won't stick with it long enough to reap the benefits. So why not come up with a system for keeping quail that works for you and your situation? These birds are just so easy and versatile that there's many ways to have them live comfortably wherever you are.

I sincerely hope this helped you guys consider looking more into being more city limit self-sufficient wherever you are! If I can be of any help feel free to reach out! I also educate in person and online through my social media. And if you want to link up with a bunch of us quail enthusiasts in person consider coming to the quail and homesteading event of the year: Homesteading and Quail Con. It's held every year on Labor Day weekend at Myshire Farm in Miamisburg, Ohio. I emcee the event and so I'm there every year and even design the quail con t-shirts which you can find HERE along with my gazillion other quail and homesteading designs. Hope to see you all there or cross paths with you soon!