One Day-Old Coturnix Quail Chicks

Italian Coturnix

Four week old Italian Coturnix quail

The Italian Coturnix is a Pharaoh quail with the yellow gene switched on. They are popular for their looks and for egg laying.

I have two hens and four roos. Today I moved them out of the plastic tub into two growout cages and weighed them each. Hens: 209g, 182g. Roos: 153g, 150g, 135g, 123g. I put the two hens in with the largest rooster for now. And the other roos are in their own cage.

There are more Italian eggs in the incubator, so stay tuned.

White Coturnix Chicks Growing Fast

English White Coturnix chicks at 2 weeks

These white coturnix chicks are growing so fast and there are so many, I had to separate them into two brooders. They are especially sweet-natured.

Let There Be Quail Eggs

First eggs from the Pharaoh quail

My quail are laying! This morning when feeding, I found the first egg lying in the pine shavings. A few hours later, I found an egg in each of the two cardboard hiding "houses". What good birds!

I was not expecting this quite yet. They are a few days short of 6 weeks, when laying usually begins. Surprising, too, that all three started laying on the same day.

We don't have a quail rooster, so these eggs are infertile and will be eaten.

The Pharaoh Quail

Peep(L), Luke Groundwalker (R), Princess Leia (in house)

Hard to believe the Pharaoh Quail are already 5 weeks old! It looks like we've got three hens, which is okay because we want the eggs. They don't need a rooster to lay non-fertile eggs for eating. So that's their next milestone.

Our little chicks have grown into really sweet birds. Peep enjoys being petted and likes to sit on top of their little box house. Princess Leia thinks the house is her personal space, but sometimes shares with Groundwalker. These two have been very close since they both hatched at the same time.

Twenty White Coturnix Chicks Hatch Two Days Early

I was expecting these eggs to hatch Saturday, but the little pranksters began hatching Thursday evening, almost simultaneously. Sixteen hatched before midnight and three more just after. The last one hatched about 5:00 am.

Two days early and the mischief did not stop there:

"Psst! When you hear the lady coming, play dead!"

"Ah-ha-ha! Good one, Fluffy!"

"Okay, now when she walks away, start peeping really loud -- then stop before she gets back!"

In The Brooder

L to R: Luke Groundwalker, Peep, Princess Leia

Fourteen hours after the first egg hatched, two more little quail hatched at the same time. Peep was ecstatic when they joined her in the brooder.

Their brooder is a cardboard box with rubber shelf liner in the bottom. I added a little hay so the chicks could have something to pick at besides each other. The box is covered with a cookie cooling rack and a towel over the cool end. A 60 watt bulb sits on the wire rack for heat (93F). The food and water are at the cool end.

They are eating Purina Gamebird Starter crumble that is ground to small bits in the blender. Their water bowl is a peanut butter jar lid with marbles to keep them from getting drenched.

First Quail

This is my first-hatched coturnix quail, Peep. She is about 12 hours old in this video.

Just before she arrived on the scene, I made peeping noises to the eggs and then went to bed. Very soon there was a ruckus in the incubator as baby Peep hammered her way out of the egg in about four strokes!