2LearnCoturnix japonica
Japanese quail
The Japanese quail is a small game bird from East Asia, domesticated in Japan first as a songbird and later for its eggs. It matures and starts laying within about two months, so it is popular where space is short. Its small speckled eggs and tender meat are…
Keeping
How it is kept
Kept for
- Eggs
- Meat
- Temperament
- Small, quick and easily startled
- Mature weight
- 0.1–0.25 kg
- Incubation
- 17 days
- Forage
- Need a high-protein game-bird feed throughout life, plus grit and clean water.
- Housing
- Secure cages or aviaries with a low or padded roof, because startled birds fly straight up. Keep them dry and out of draughts, with sand for dust bathing.
- Good to know
- Quail can start laying at six to eight weeks old. Females rarely go broody, so eggs are usually hatched in an incubator. Keep one male to several females to limit fighting and over-mating.
Breeds
Japanese quail breeds
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