How to Get Started Raising Quail with Kids
Raising quail with our kids has been one of the most rewarding adventures we’ve embarked on as a family! It’s brought my kids and teens to a whole new level of responsibility and enriched their understanding of the world in a way they hadn’t experienced before.
I’m going to share a bit about how we got started raising quail, but if you want to jump right in to what you need to know to raise your own, click here to jump down to that part of the post.
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How we got started raising quail
I had seen wild quail running around when I was a kid, but other than that didn’t know much about them.
I had been bemoaning the fact that we couldn’t have chickens where we lived. (We had a tiny backyard and were in an HOA.) But a friend told me about quail. It had never even occurred to me that you could raise quail for eggs.
We found out they could be held in a small space, were quiet and unobtrusive, and could provide us a good amount of tiny – but delicious – eggs throughout the course of a year. So we decided to dive in!
We were excited, and more than a little nervous. We ordered a simple coop off Amazon. And the kids ended up putting it together with just a little help from my husband.
The coop! Funny note: Three years (and a lot of rough use) later, and this coop is still going strong. It’s now our in between coop for when our baby chickens are too big for the brooder but aren’t quite ready to go out with the big chickens.
(I remember wishing that we were handy enough to make our own – and what do you know? We did end up making our own chicken coop a few years later.)
We added some hardware cloth to the bottom to prevent animals from being able to get in (we had a lot of stray cats in our neighborhood, and had been warned they would dig under and snatch birds. And we prepped things like feed, the brooder, and tried to plan how we were going to make it all work into our normal chaos.
And once we were all set, we were able to go pick them up! We got them settled in their warm brooder as soon as we got them home.
Our kids had so much fun! They loved holding and petting them, and were very involved in the day-to-day care of them. One of them even made a little cardboard house for them, which was hilarious.
And raising quail was such a great experience for our kids to have. It taught them responsibility. We had to help them walk through tough emotions when one of them died. And we got to celebrate when they reached new milestones.
We ended up having so much fun that we decided to get some hatching eggs, and incubate our own for even more quail!
How to Raise Quail
Ready to get started raising your own quail? Here’s a quick guide for what you need to know!
Just a side note: I’m not an expert in this! We’re still learning, and we’ve made a lot of mistakes along the way.
What do you need to get started with quail?
Brooder
You can buy a brooder set, but we just ended up building our own. We used a large, plastic tub (a lot like this one). We cut out a hole in the top, cut hardware cloth to fit (it’s was from the same roll of hardware cloth that we later attached to the bottom of the coop), and attached it using zip ties.
Heat Source
When we raised our quail, we bought a simple heat lamp. Make sure to check that the one you buy comes with a bulb, or to buy a bulb separately.
You need to be very careful with heat lamps – when used improperly, they can cause a fire.
It’s one of the reasons we’ve since switched to using a heating plate like this one. It can adjust to various heights (so it works for newborn chicks up to big ones), imitates a momma hen, and is much safer.
Feeder & Waterer
You need something to give your chicks food and water. We bought this set that includes a feeder and waterer.
Feed
Quail need a higher protein feed than chickens, especially as chicks! You can get a game-bird starter feed from your local feed store or Tractor Supply, or you can order some online.
We had to get creative for our feed! We have a couple gluten-sensitive people in our home, and so regular starter game feed (which typically has wheat in it) wasn’t going to work. We ended up making our own mix:
And we bought a grinder to grind it up ourselves. If you do go the homemade route, just make sure you keep the protein content high.
Wood Shavings
Finding them at a local feed store or Tractor Supply is your best option. But you can also order them online if you need to.
Coop
Once your quail graduate from their brooder, they’re ready for a coop. This is the coop we bought, and we love it. Like I said before, it’s still going strong years later.
We added hardware cloth to the bottom so predators couldn’t get in (we had a lot of stray cats wandering our neighborhood, and were warned that they would dig under the coop to get to the quail).
If you live in a hot environment like we did, for summer time you may want to consider either installing misters or a solar-powered fan to your coop.
Where do I find quail?
Check locally
You may be surprised to find people near you who are raising quail! Often you can either buy fertilized quail eggs to incubate on your own, or even quail chicks. Ask around in your community, check out Craigslist, or even try an online search for your area and quail.
Order Online
If you can’t find any quail locally, there are places you can order quail chicks online. Just make sure you read up on the source you’re getting them from, read reviews, etc. before you make a purchase.
How to Get New Quail Settled in Your Brooder
Make sure you have your brooder all set up before you bring your quail chicks home. If possible, have the heat lamp going so it’s nice and warm and cozy.
How do I incubate my own quail chicks?
We ordered a cheap-ish incubator off Amazon that had good reviews. It’s worked great for a couple years now, hatching out many quail and chicken eggs with great success!
If you can find a local supply of fertilized quail eggs, I’d recommend going that route. You can order fertilized quail eggs online. Just like with ordering chicks, make sure you check reviews and read up on the supplier.
Quail take about 18 days to hatch. The last three days of incubation, you need to remove the egg turner, open the vent, and increase the humidity (your incubator should have specific instructions on how to do this!).
Once they start hatching, don’t get too excited and start pulling them out right away. Let them stay in the incubator for a while until you have a good amount hatched out (they don’t need to eat and drink right away). Opening the incubator too soon can hinder some of the chicks that are in progress hatching. If you’re patient, you’ll end up with a much higher success rate of hatched chicks.
Move them to the brooder, and set them up just like you would chicks that you purchased and brought home!
That’s a bit about our experience raising quail as a family! Have questions? Feel free to reach out to me at hello@createinthechaos.com
