Quail
A ground bird that starts laying at around six weeks, sooner than any chicken. Kept for eggs in a space a chicken could not use.
Photo by patrickkavanagh, CC BY 2.0
Overview
Coturnix quail are the smallest poultry commonly kept, 100 to 300 g depending on the species, and they are the fastest route from setting up to collecting eggs: a hen starts laying at around six weeks and lays close to daily.
They are ground birds, and everything about housing one follows from that. Quail do not perch, do not roost high, and do not want a chicken coop scaled down.
Temperament
Flighty rather than tame. Quail are prey animals with a hard wired escape response, and it is worth understanding precisely: when startled they flush straight up, fast, with real force.
In a pen with a high hard roof that kills them. A low roof they cannot build speed against, or a soft netted one, is the standard answer. They are otherwise placid and quiet, with males calling more than females, and they live perfectly happily in a group with enough space and enough cover.
Care and grooming
A game bird feed, which is higher in protein than chicken feed, plus grit and a calcium source for laying hens. They forage well given ground to work over.
They dust bathe rather than water bathe, and a tray of dry sand or fine soil is a requirement rather than a luxury: it is how they keep mites and lice off. A quail pen without a dust bath develops a parasite problem sooner or later.
Living and exercise
A ground pen allowing about a square foot each, with cover to hide under, and a roof that is either low or soft. Wire floors are hard on their feet and solid or deep litter floors are better.
Two to five years is the usual span, shorter than most birds on this shelf. One male to four or five females keeps the peace, because two males in a small pen fight and a single male with a single female wears her out.
Something here wrong or out of date?