I have raised quail, rabbit, duck, goat, pig, beef and chickens for meat. Personally I think part of the decision depends on the size of the family you have. I like something that is minimal regular work with big pay off/1x butchering. Goats are ideal in that regard. Pigs are ok but eat a lot. I like quail better than rabbits. Rabbits generally need their own cage, grow out cages, and buck cages. Both rabbits and quail need ongoing management production wise. They also age out but aren't good to eat at that point. Also I find quail less daily maintenance/trouble. Rabbits aren't bad, but the cage management when you are in production can get to be a pain. And if you have a low production doe it can put you really behind. Where quail are easy to turn over/refresh. I like that quail can be co-housed. My ideal small scale production pair is quail for meat/eggs and miniature dairy goats for milk/meat. Just my preference.
Hey Chris, I also use quail wings for art projects and if I'm plucking I blend the feathers up and use the feather meal as a soil conditioner in the garden. The internals and back bone are used for dog food, as is the carcass if I'm boning out. Regards John.
In the last couple months, you inspired me to get my homestead back in order...I had quail and rabbits about 10+ years ago, but had to get rid of it all when I moved. Just finished the quail hutch 2 weeks ago, and the rabbit hutch last week. Feels good to be homesteading again, tho I’m in the city I do what I can. I also have 23 chickens that I sell the eggs...
me too. I just got my muscovy, rabbits, quail and geese running. Just butchered 24 rabbits and unsure what to do with all the meat!! maybe i need a processor
Greetings from F&M Homestead. We are currently housing 65 doe rabbits and 10 bucks. We raise show rabbits, pet rabbits and meat rabbits. We also house our quail in rabbit cages in our rabbitry. This has been working great for the last 7 yrs. Great video.
I’m thinking about adding quail to our farm. Thanks for your insight. I’ve watched most of if not all of your rabbit videos and have 6 does and one buck . We ducks , chickens and have a goat and 2 steer . But always looking on how to be more self sustainable .
Thanks for sharing. I love quails. Hens started to lay at 42 days old. And they give good fertilizer, just need to compose with fall leaves. And it's easy to take a vocation just with enough water and feed set. I'm thinking about New Zealand rabbits, but am still not sure how to get away for a 1 week vocation without worrying about them.
great video! I have two New Zealand Fleming Giant Cross does that I am going to be getting them bred at one of my friends house and I'm going to hopefully post some videos on that process. I have watched lots of your other videos and I enjoy them very much
Thank you so much. I am glad you liked the video. One of my does is supposed to be a New Zealand Flemish cross but I am not sure. Her babies grow out so slow that if she wasn't a great mother I would have eaten her already. They take almost 12 weeks to get to weight.....but eat as much per day as the other rabbits that only take 8 weeks to get there....Hope you have a better experience.
It is a difficult spot to be in for me. I want the faster (or more like cheaper) grow out....but at the same time they are so easy to handle and such good mothers....what to do? :)
Slightly Rednecked Yes and mine tend to have big litters too, generally 10 to 14 kits. They are very laid back and are very attentive mothers. They seem to take well to fostering if needed too. So I tend not to mind the grow out time so much. Regards John.
Flemish Giants aren't actually the best for meat. For meat you want a heavy muscled, compact, rabbit with fine bone. New Zealand crosses are nice. I liked cross bred rabbits for hybrid vigor. But the Flemish Giants are too heavy bodied, with heavy bone, so a lot of food and time goes into bone development instead of muscle. I raised a NZ, California X. Sometimes I added a satin buck. But felt the NZ/CA cross to be the best.
I raise both rabbits and jumbo coturnix tho I have enough rabbits to start eating them but haven't yet. But but iam still building up my quail flock. Thanks for the great videos.
I agree with pretty much everything you said. One thing I would wonder if you agree with me: If for some reason you become unable to purchase feed from a mill, rabbits have a huge advantage over quail. It's difficult to meet all the quails needs where rabbits are pretty much throw some grass at them..
Good point. I hadn't considered that but you are correct. Quail could be fed naturally too but lots of bugs and rabbits are much easier that way. Thanks
Thanks for the video Chris. They do seem to match up quite evenly. Maybe another plus for the rabbits is they raise their own babies instead of incubating eggs and having a separate brooder. Thanks again
Wire cage doesn't invite broodyness. Cage with bedding and plenty of hiding places can help with that, along with selecting for this trait in your birds. People who keep them more for hobby/pets do have broody quail, even from generations of incubated birds. The instinct is still there, just not readily visible. But if you want maximum eggs and meatbirds, you'll need an incubator to keep up with demand or feed 4+ times the number of birds to hatch and rear them.
I bury rabbit pelts in rock salt until they're completely dehydrated, then I cut them up into mouse sized pieces and spray them with catnip oil for cat toys.
ok thank you. my friend's have a set of mini holand lops and about 25 female Flemish cross and purebred also a set of New Zealand red my two does are about 10 months old and probably at about 7-8 months they were at 15 pounds! I hope that I'm the future to get into quail but I don't know how long it's going to be til then
Slightly Rednecked yea they are having a bit of trouble with the doe but the buck is a beautiful rabbit. I have my rabbits in big hutches and I have little boxes for them would you recommend putting nest boxes in there as well or just straw? I live in Alberta and it is pretty cold here were do you live and how cold does it get there?
I am in Southwest Missouri. It gets cold here but not as cold as you and it doesn't stay as cold for as long. You probably don't need to put anything in there as long as they are out of the wind. I would definitely add nest boxes when its time for kindling. You might try to just add them and see if the rabbits use them. Mine didn't so i don't bother anymore. Hope that helps.
You can try picking up 2-3 hens and just grow them out for one season to get some eggs then eat the mature birds in the fall. It will be minimal expense and you only need a very small cage 1 meter by 1 meter would be good for 6 birds.
Awww... man. I thought this was going to be Quail fighting a rabbit! I think you'd have to match them up by weight... How much does an adult rabbit weigh? My button quail are about an ounce each...
the last five years i have been using Fly Predators from Spalding Labs instead of spraying insecticide ,a natural alternative to sprays .I was reluctant at first to spend 23 dollars a month for 5000 tiny bugs , but my god what a difference , we can sit outside again without the annoyance of flies, i have 30 chickens 40 pigeons 15 rabbits and two dogs and am pushing the minimum amount of 5000 predators ,10,000 at 33 dollars a month would probably have been better this year with the heat we have had ,but all in all,with 65 years of raising critters this is the best fix i have found
Again you hit it on the head. Thanks again. It seems like every time I have a question you give me the answer. I do have one question. For a first time quail raiser is it better to start with eggs and incubate, or start with birds?
Awesome. So glad I am able to help. I would suggest starting with live birds if you can find them. It really doesn't matter but having live birds will get you to eggs much quicker and if you are new to incubating eggs it gives you a way to gain experience much cheaper (instead of buy eggs and having a failed hatch).
I have had great success with quail, but rabbits I keep having issues with sickness. Seems to me quail are a bit easier for me. And I now have moved my family over to just eating quail eggs, which we need about 20 to 30 eggs a day for our family of 5. I still have a couple does and a buck, but it has not been very easy for me. Seems like the family loves quail meat while I struggle to get everyone to eat rabbit, they get a bit more attached to the rabbits. It is a real struggle not to give up on the rabbits.
Love your videos by the way. My family and I live in Morocco, we are from the United States, but have lived here for over 6 years. I am really concerned about my family eating healthy meat so we have found growing our own the best way. You videos have been a huge help!
Thank you so much for the kind comments. I am so sorry to hear that you are having so many problems with rabbits. it sounds like you may have some kind of disease moving through the rabbits. I hope you get it figured out.
Lost all my rabbits at once in a heat wave that passed Southern California last week. I’m planning on switching to quail. Are they a bit more hardy than rabbits? The rabbits were also a ton of work with cleaning all the waste. My rabbits were very noisy banging around the pens. Quail sound like regular city birds to me. The incubator is another issue as I’m understanding they require continuous rolling of the eggs. A rollers costs just as much as he incubator from what I understand.
Oh no, so sorry to hear that. In some ways quail are hardier than rabbits but just the simple fact that you can have so many means if you lose a few it is not a total loss. As far as mess though, they are messier than rabbits are and produce a lot more waste. There isn't any urin to deal with though. The incubator and egg turner are an expense but it is a one time expense and you might be able to find a used on on craigslist or something if you look hard enough. Hope that helps.
Deep litter is key. If you make a Ruck house, you can keep rabbits suspended above ducks in a deep litter run. The ducks clean up the rabbit spilled feed and eat the flies from the rabbit poo, and the urine is composted into the wood shavings. No smell, just an earthy composty smell. I have muscovy, and it works really well. No poop cleanup! I just rake through the shavings daily. takes 2 minutes.
One thing rabbits have over quail is that they are so easy and cheap to feed. Even on a small property, like a large suburban yard, you could grow the bulk of their food. All they really need is grass hay and veggies. I used to give mine a handful of sunflower seeds or peanuts a few times a week, too. And things like berries from hawthorn trees. You forgot to mention that quail give you eggs! Unless you're raising Easter bunnies, I'm pretty sure rabbits don't lay eggs. And quail are cuter.
Pigeons are a good economical alternative red meat choice, no problems of quail, with a lot more meat. I still like quail, but they are a lot more work and hassle than just keeping homing pigeons. homers can be free flown to go scrounge their own food, as my white homers used to go across big river feeding at spilled grain silo, then return at dark and back and forth feeding babies, collecting own grasses berries insects seeds nuts ect to feed their young.. best homestead meat birds ever! My Dutch bunnies did same, but they had a foster mother dog who murdered anything that looked at them (mostly other dogs foxes oppossoms cats,as first dozen coyote she killed sent message that Rabbits were off the menu so the yotes would just walk right by or past rabbits, though they still ate wild type rabbits). Muscovy ducks are another great self sufficient animal, able to free range living on grass and bugs in yard with layer when breeding, corn in winter, and bread when fattening for slaughter, but they'll fly off looking for food like rodents snakes scraps birdseed anything really, then return to roost, best beef type meat and richest Baking eggs.
Well I started with chickens this year but lost well most of them due to a dog that I finally got rid of. but, l like the idea of rasing quail and rabbits and chicken in a small space. looking to build a shed that I can put the chickens in the bottom in a brooder above them the rabbits and above them the quail. Am thinking a 8x12 could produce the meat for a family of 4 or 5 fairly easy I would think. I like the idea of making most of it automated. with auto waters and auto feeders then work out a fast way to clean out the cages. I thing this would make a great system with very good use of space.
Interesting idea. You may have problems with disease though. Especially with quail and chickens living so close together. Then again you may not. Just something to keep an eye on.
Slightly Rednecked chicken in the floor are the end of the line for most pathogens or disease. are quail very finicky birds do they die easy? I have not messed with quail but am hoping later this summer to build some cages.
Thanks for making this video! I'm looking for feed-efficient meat animals that I can raise in ground pens and are simple to butcher. I'm leaning towards keeping quail and maybe rabbits this year. Have you ever made rabbit jerky?
Im gonna raise rabbits and quails (and also muscovies) but instead of keeping them in cages I want to raise them more humane and lazy way. My quails will live in 20sq metres aviary divided on two 10sq metres "paddocks" where I want also to grow veggies. Every week I'll put quails to other paddock and let the ground in previous paddock to clean. Im gonna use quails for meat/eggs, fertilizer and pest control. Also want to have one worm bin, and bin with black soldier larvae to produce good compost and food for birds. My rabbits on the other hand will be raised in rabbit tractors and I will use them for meat and as a lawn mower. That's my plan
I am so sorry to hear that. If it is getting moldy in the feeder that means you are feeding too much at one time and the food is setting there too long. Feed only as much as they will eat in 24 hours. if you are having problems with it molding in the storage container, you should look for a more air tight container that doesn't allow moisture in. I use a big plastic tub for mine and it works pretty well.
The roosters start crowing at 8 weeks. If you keep them at a 1 rooster to 5 hens ratio they don't crow much, usually just to warn the hens if the rooster senses a predator nearby.
Having raised both, I agree 100% with all of this information. To add to your one comment, people are a little squeamish when I say I raise rabbits since the only outcome is butchering. The quail people tend to assume I am only raising them for the eggs.
I think the attitude on butchering may depend on your location. In central Oklahoma I have not ran into anyone that has a problem with butchering livestock. However, I live away from town and all my friends that would visit are hunters and this is not a problem to them.
I keep about 1 rooster to every 4 or 5 hens. You can go with more roosters if you want to but any more than 1 to every 2 hens and you might have problems with the hens getting overbred. I am not sure what you are asking about the interval. Generally, hens will lay fertile eggs about a week or two after the rooster is introduced. And they stay fertile for up to 10 days after being bred. I hope that answers it.
They should lay about an egg a day. Sometimes they skip a day between laying. But yes, it should be a fertile egg every time after being bred for about 10 days. I hope that helps.
No problem glad to help. keep in mind 10 days is the max. If you want the best chance for fertile eggs I would go with at least once every 5 or 6 days.
Which survive cold winter's and Hot summers. Qual or Rabbit's I live in Ft Worth Texas we have both. I raise Rex Rabbit's but think of getting into Qual.
For hatching eggs I always recommend Kansas City Quail Farms for eggs (tell them I sent you). For live birds you are going to have to look locally. Birds don't ship well. I hope that helps.
Ronald Bequeath it depends where you live Try a Google search for live quail plus your location I tried local farms and pet stores and none of them had any idea how to get them I did find a quail up for adoption on kijiji however
Hey Chris, I watch your vids frequently and like them. I raise quail, chickens, and pheasants, and was wondering how much time do rabbits take and could I get started (cages and rabbits) for less than a $100. I was contemplating the idea of getting 3 does and a buck to breed. I recently went to a livestock auction and was noticing rabbits were going for 10 bucks a piece and thought there would be a good market for babies.
Thanks so much for watching. My rabbits don't take much time at all. Just a few minutes a day to feed and water. Depending on what kind of deal you can find the cages may cost a little more than $100 to build. I find that mine are about $20 a cage but that is just the wire. I hope that helps a little.
You can get 2 cages for about $50. A decent meat rabbit will run about $20. Feeders and waters about $20. You will need grow out cages - split boys/girls. 4 per cage, could probably have 2 cages, another $50. I would start with 1 doe and 1 buck. You can interbreed 1 generation, add more genetics once you are ready to expand or only go 1 generation down and don't worry about it. You can breed daughter to dad. But don't interbreed beyond that.
You can go with a general rule of 1 square foot of space per bird. I have a 6 by 3 cage so 18 square foot. I can easily keep about 20 birds in there (a little over 1 per square foot). I hope that helps.
Yes I have a question about coil I'm a retired veteran I have come up on a storage building that I would like to make into a quill building how do I get started by getting eggs are small Quail to start with
Good question. I would suggest starting with live birds if you can find some locally. This will give you the experience with dealing and caring for them without a big investment in eggs and an incubator. you can get an incubator later and get some experience incubating eggs before investing in a shipment of eggs from a high quality breeder. I hope that helps. And thank you for your service.
I see that doggie door, I put one in to a metal door that was insulated, the insulation mad it a pain! I love the rabbit and quail videos. Do you do bees too?
What about pigeons? Seems I've seen old movies that had people with cage/roosts on flat roofs of city apartment buildings. The birds come and go but home in to roost. Don't know if they fed and kept in cage......just a thought. No real information but would like to find out.
Chris, I've heard from a number of places that alfalfa hay is a good staple for rabbits given that they need thr fiber and chewing, and more closely matches their natural diet. Any experience or input on that over just pellets? Looking at sustainability given thr possibility of irratic supplies.
If you want the most sustainable rabbit method, you want pocket gardens for them. In a relatively small, securely enclosed space (say perhaps 4x8 feet) you grow a _ton_ of different vegetables and edible flowers and such. You sow it wall to wall, forget about rows or lines or paths. Each doe gets her pocket garden to raise her litter in once she's been bred (you want her to have a portable cage that can be moved without frightening her. Or maybe her cage is always connected to the pocket garden, but she only gets access to it after birth.) Maybe they take 20-30% more time to reach harvest weight, but it cost you nothing in feed (assuming you have your own personal garden from which you're saving seeds) and you aren't reliant on outside inputs. Also the rabbits are directly giving back to the garden with their manure and the root pruning caused by their feeding. The reason the doe isn't allowed perpetual access to the garden is she will overgraze it. It requires time to recover. But if the cage is right there connected to the garden, you can totally go in, take a harvest/pruning and toss all the goods to her.
hey chris, just found your channel and subscribed. Im getting ready to do rabbits and quail this summer. I may have some questions from time to time and may ask you for advise if you dont mind.
I assume you are talking about quail as rabbits don't really have much flavor. I have never noticed a "gamey" taste in them but they are a much more flavorful meat so that may be what you are referring too. If that is something you don't like you can try removing the meat from the bone and cooking it in things. I have made quesadillas with them before like you would with chicken and it turned out very well. Also, wrapping in bacon can add some other flavor that will help. I hope that helps a little.
From what ive heard there can be a subtle odd taste depending on feed that can be considered gamey. Apparently soaking the bird after you butcher in cold water helps with it.
Not sure if you will see this but I have been looking into quail for a while now. I don't need a ton of them (although I have the space) I want to grow them on the ground because I want to feed them crickets/greens instead of feed to be completely independent. The main reason I see people raise them off the ground is for health but is that really an issue if you have deep bedding that you rotate?
There is nothing wrong with that plan. As long as you are rotating them and give them plenty of space it should work just fine. They do produce a lot of waste so you just have to stay on top of it.
What do you need to do for winter survival? With both rabbits and quail, I'm guessing you can't leave them out in cold winter season right? Is wintering them outside possible? Thanks for any input here.
They both do very well in winter time. As long as they can get out of the wind. I put tarps up that I pull down over the rabbit cages in the winter time to block the wind and the quail have a section of the cage that is closed in to block the wind. That is really all they need.
Wow cool. Thanks for messaging me back. Are you in a climate that gets snow and a bit of ice? Do you have to up the feed in winter? I'd heard some people in agriculture do that for some animals. (I don't know, just throwing this out there.) How do people in small time agriculture find ways to sell their product? I'd wondered about this because its not like people doing this kind of stuff can sit out there all day as a salesperson? Is free ranging them no good in a backyard? (Will they run away?) Nice 2 talk 2 u. Thanks again.
I am in southwest Missouri. We get some snow and ice and fairly cold winters (quite often below freezing and down to 0 degrees F). I don't think the quail eat a lot more in the winter but I free feed them so it is hard to keep track of. The rabbits only get as much food as they will eat in 24 hours and I do notice a slight increase in the amount they eat in the winter but it isn't a lot more. As far as selling products, I don't really do that. I do sell some quail from time to time on Craigslist but I don't make a living off of my animals and gardening. I do that to feed myself and my family. I do save money by not having to buy as much from the grocery store. Free ranging in probably a bad idea. They will most definitely run away and more than likely get eaten by something (racoon, hawks, foxes, coyotes, neighbourhood dogs and cats, snakes, etc.).
Unfortunately it is very normal. Funny you ask because I have been researching this for a while and planned on discussing it in this week's quail video. Stay tuned. :)
I have no problem raising/processing quail, chickens or turkey for meat. But for some reason I just can't "dispatch " the rabbit. Had to sell them.... just couldn't do it.
Just dispatched 24 of them. If you slit the jugular veins, they dont even feel it. They just look at you in the same inquisitive way, then fall over sleep.
Well i am not sure I can cover that exactly. I haven't tried every kind of quail out there. I have eaten bobwhite when I was younger and used to hunt them and I have eaten Couturnix because I raise them. They are both pretty similar and I can't say one is significantly better than the other really.
I have not yet been able to get a rabbit to 5 lbs in 8 weeks. I wait till there at least 5 lbs live weight before I butcher them. Yields the most for my family. Can you make a video talking about rabbit starvation? Another nice video never get tired of them.
Your breeding stock has a lot to do with how fast the rabbits get to that weight. It is more of a genetic thing than anything else. Good suggestion on the video topic. I might tackle that one in a future video. Thanks for the suggestion.
sure. Just a word of warning on rabbits. They really like to pee outside of their cage so put up some plastic or something to keep the walls and floors from getting peed on. And you will have to do a lot of maintenance on an indoor system. Empty dropping pans about every 2 days at the bare minimum. It can be done but if you can do it outside it would be better.
If you are having difficulty finding birds locally (check craigslist and local poultry swaps) I have some connections that I can hook you up with where you can order eggs for incubating. They will cost a little more but you get much better birds that way (12 oz each on average). Let me know and I can get you the information.
Quail eggs are delicious! In my situation quail are winners lol. I've tried raising rabbits a few years ago but was never successful at breeding. The young mom rabbit just wouldn't take care of the babies, and would even kill them sometimes. :( was hard to watch.
Rabbits can be kind of hit or miss. Most do just fine but if you get a bad one, it is a bad one for sure. Much easier to just ramp up and ramp down production with quail.
I raised rabbits my entire childhood. If your rabbits are eating babies feed her a hot dog a week before she's due. It's generally because they're lacking in specific nutrients due to the pregnancy. We had over 150 rabbits at one time and never had a doe that would eat them after doing the hot dog trick.
Not really very complex. Just put your roosters in with your hens at a ratio of about 4 hens to 1 rooster....wait about a week....and start incubating the eggs. :) Hope that helps.
Hey Chris, excellent video as usual. I’m interested in acquiring quail LAYERS ONLY. After the 1-2 “laying years” that a hen produces, can they be sold for meat at that point or would they be too old? Thank You!!
Chris : please help me on this questions I hope you see my comments the soon as possible and you can give me an advice: As I has been raising chickens on unincorporated community people still complaining and calling constantly in law enforcement on us, besides I am so tired of certain chickens health issues and we wait so long to consume a few of them which their meat became to hard consume my chickens are 3 years and older and the only time to butcher them for me is on summer because I live in a extreme weather ( or too hot 🥵 or too cold 🥶) which meat taste better Quail vs. Chickens? I love the chickens eggs 🍳 how is the Quail’s eggs taste? I want something that is not rubbery meat, easy and quick to butcher , delicious taste and eggs. What would be you advice?? Please help. I love you videos always watching you and leaving my like 👍🏼
Sounds like quail might be the winner in a lot of categories. Of course there is always the both option. :D One question, I hear a lot about rabbit meat being dietarilly inadequate as a sole protein source (not that I would be eating only rabbit) but I wonder how quail compares in that regard. Can you shed any light on the quality and completeness of their respective meats?
Quail are very nutritious vs. Rabbit. There's way more iron, Quail has a better dosage of heme iron than beef 4.3 or so mg vs. 1.5-2 I believe, for beef per 100g. Quail eggs are higher in nutrition than chicken eggs too in every nutrient but Choline. It is 20% higher in chicken eggs, but Quail eggs beat them on every other nutrient, bar none. And no Salmonella risk either. Quail body temp is too high for it to survive, unlike Chickens. Rabbit is a clear loser in the nutrition dept. so what you are hearing is correct, about it not being the greatest nutrition vs. Quail and not vs. other meats. That said, I do like his points on versatility though, you can't really use Quail in as many dishes as Rabbit. I like his idea of "why not both?". And it's not that Rabbit isn't good, it absolute is a good meat, it's problem is not enough fat/too lean. So if you ate it all the time, you'd end up with "protein poisoning" and it goes by other names like "Rabbit starvation", because a weird thing happens when you eat it constantly and not enough fat. You can eat and eat and never be satiated (kinda like Veganism, lol, but for wholly different reasons). It happened to the Romans, from eating Rabbit and nothing but. Mix some fat in there (like Quail, which have a more balanced ratio) and you're good. Quail protein to fat ratio is like 25% protein and 15% fat I believe. And 33% protein, vs. 5% fat or less with Rabbit=bad ratio.
The fact that you have meat AND eggs with quail is big, IMO. I want that FAT in the eggs. Testosterone and other important things don't happen as well without some healthy fat.
@@mrjon75 Very big in fact, yeah. You've got everything you need, right there. If you had to, you could survive on nothing but Quail meat and eggs, so highly nutritious. No plant can match that. Indeed and I tell people the same all the time "we NEED fat, low fat diets are proven highly problematic. There's no such thing as an "essential" carb. you won't die without them, you will without fats and proteins. They are essential to survival and or brains are over 60% fat". And it's more than telling how Vegans are constantly slamming fat and downing carbs. like no tomorrow and how little they know about "actual" human Physiology, chemistry of those toxic, rancid refined seed oil trash they eat and sugar. And how their mental illness is 2-3 times worse than Omnis. In studies, low fat diets proved that they made animals AND humans more aggressive etc. and on those oils, in other studies had poor memory and recall etc. issues. They are now linked to age related brain degeneration like Alzheimer's and dementia, especially in mice. And they found that when they fed humans large amounts of those vegetable oils/seed oils, they performed poorly vs. the control group.
@@mrjon75 Thank you, your initial comment was great too, that's why I responded. Lard tallow and butter, for the win, right?! There's another fun fact too, Pork fat is one of the top 10 most nutrient dense foods on earth. Nutrients we can actually use (unlike plants, lol). I cook a lot with them, so good=flavourtown. It's like food "used" to be, when fast food was actually nutritious. Like, what Chef doesn't LOVE eggs, butter etc.? Chefs will be the first to tell you that animal products are magic in the kitchen. I know it and practice it and it's taken my cooking to another level. The only oils I ever use (cause you can't put butter or lard in/on everything, hehehe), are the better ones like Olive and Coconut. And lo and behold, those two, share a lot of similarities to animal fats. Funny how the only two decent plant fats, are similar to animal fats, but hey, "derp cholesterol and saturated fat" is the nonsense "myth" we keep still being fed. A lot of people think Avocado oil is decent (even Dr. Ken Berry, here on YT thinks Avocado oil is o.k. and he's all about the keto and carnivore diets). And I do agree, but the problem is, 94% of it is rancid before you ever bring it home. Pretty shocking study revealed that. So, no different than the other garbage oils, that's all their problem, chemically. They are double bonded and oxidize, unlike single bonded animal fats, filled with hydrogen. They don't oxidize as easily. Like how are people supposed to be able to buy non-rancid Avocado oil? Seems next to impossible, according to that. So that's out of the question. And even Olive you have to be so careful with, that it's not adulterated/mixed with other inferior trash oils like Canola and vegetable, as that's a big problem with Olive oil. But, there's lists of the good and bad ones, so it's certainly possible to find good Olive oil. So far, I've had zero issues subbing Olive oil in recipes which call for other oils.
I started quail about 8 months ago. 2 incubators so I can rotor and have a new batch every 7 to 10 days but I'm disappointed of how much meat they produce to the amount of feed they need. Hell they eat a huge amount. I've decided to stop but looking for something more economical and thought about rabbits but I'm not sure how reliable the information is about rabbits. I went down the quail route because of all the positive blogs out there but I'm not sure why people rave about them so much. They are a waste of time and money in my honest opinion. I have chickens already. Maybe guinea fowl (I have 4) or fish as I have a few breading ponds to play with.
I have raised quail, rabbit, duck, goat, pig, beef and chickens for meat. Personally I think part of the decision depends on the size of the family you have. I like something that is minimal regular work with big pay off/1x butchering. Goats are ideal in that regard. Pigs are ok but eat a lot. I like quail better than rabbits. Rabbits generally need their own cage, grow out cages, and buck cages. Both rabbits and quail need ongoing management production wise. They also age out but aren't good to eat at that point. Also I find quail less daily maintenance/trouble. Rabbits aren't bad, but the cage management when you are in production can get to be a pain. And if you have a low production doe it can put you really behind. Where quail are easy to turn over/refresh. I like that quail can be co-housed. My ideal small scale production pair is quail for meat/eggs and miniature dairy goats for milk/meat. Just my preference.
Those are all good points. Thank you for sharing.
Hey Chris, I also use quail wings for art projects and if I'm plucking I blend the feathers up and use the feather meal as a soil conditioner in the garden. The internals and back bone are used for dog food, as is the carcass if I'm boning out. Regards John.
Good suggestions. I never was good at art myself but never thought of grinding them up and using for the soil.
Thank you for talking fast! Thanks for not having music in the background! Great Video
lol. I am glad you enjoyed it. I think most people would rather I slow down and put music in the background though.
In the last couple months, you inspired me to get my homestead back in order...I had quail and rabbits about 10+ years ago, but had to get rid of it all when I moved. Just finished the quail hutch 2 weeks ago, and the rabbit hutch last week. Feels good to be homesteading again, tho I’m in the city I do what I can. I also have 23 chickens that I sell the eggs...
Sounds like you have a nice set up. Thank you for watching my videos.
me too. I just got my muscovy, rabbits, quail and geese running. Just butchered 24 rabbits and unsure what to do with all the meat!! maybe i need a processor
A very well-founded video! Short and crisp to the point. Thank you for sharing your valuable experiences with us!
Thanks so much for watching. I am glad you liked it.
Greetings from F&M Homestead. We are currently housing 65 doe rabbits and 10 bucks. We raise show rabbits, pet rabbits and meat rabbits. We also house our quail in rabbit cages in our rabbitry. This has been working great for the last 7 yrs. Great video.
That is a lot of rabbits. I bet you are very busy. :)
This was a very good video. Very straight to the point, fair to both sides, and honest. Glad this popped up in my Recommended Videos.
Thank you so much for the kind comments. and thanks for watching the video.
Thanks for the comparison
I’m thinking about adding quail to our farm. Thanks for your insight. I’ve watched most of if not all of your rabbit videos and have 6 does and one buck . We ducks , chickens and have a goat and 2 steer . But always looking on how to be more self sustainable .
Most descriptive in amount of time ever heard
Thanks. i am glad you liked it.
Thanks for sharing. I love quails. Hens started to lay at 42 days old. And they give good fertilizer, just need to compose with fall leaves. And it's easy to take a vocation just with enough water and feed set. I'm thinking about New Zealand rabbits, but am still not sure how to get away for a 1 week vocation without worrying about them.
great video! I have two New Zealand Fleming Giant Cross does that I am going to be getting them bred at one of my friends house and I'm going to hopefully post some videos on that process. I have watched lots of your other videos and I enjoy them very much
Thank you so much. I am glad you liked the video.
One of my does is supposed to be a New Zealand Flemish cross but I am not sure. Her babies grow out so slow that if she wasn't a great mother I would have eaten her already. They take almost 12 weeks to get to weight.....but eat as much per day as the other rabbits that only take 8 weeks to get there....Hope you have a better experience.
Slightly Rednecked I have 2 Flemish X NZ white does they are good mums but kits do grow out slow 12 to 13 weeks before butcher.
It is a difficult spot to be in for me. I want the faster (or more like cheaper) grow out....but at the same time they are so easy to handle and such good mothers....what to do? :)
Slightly Rednecked Yes and mine tend to have big litters too, generally 10 to 14 kits. They are very laid back and are very attentive mothers. They seem to take well to fostering if needed too. So I tend not to mind the grow out time so much. Regards John.
Flemish Giants aren't actually the best for meat. For meat you want a heavy muscled, compact, rabbit with fine bone. New Zealand crosses are nice. I liked cross bred rabbits for hybrid vigor. But the Flemish Giants are too heavy bodied, with heavy bone, so a lot of food and time goes into bone development instead of muscle. I raised a NZ, California X. Sometimes I added a satin buck. But felt the NZ/CA cross to be the best.
The best possible way to comprehend the pros and cons. Much appreciated. As always god bless.
Nicely done! Great points on both sides.
Love every single video from this guy. Thanks Chis !
Thank you so much.
Have both. Excellent explanation.
I raise both rabbits and jumbo coturnix tho I have enough rabbits to start eating them but haven't yet. But but iam still building up my quail flock. Thanks for the great videos.
Thanks so much for watching them. I am glad you like them.
Thanks for the video, this was exactly what I was asking for in your last video :)
Awesome. Thanks again for the suggestion and glad you like the video.
I agree with pretty much everything you said. One thing I would wonder if you agree with me: If for some reason you become unable to purchase feed from a mill, rabbits have a huge advantage over quail. It's difficult to meet all the quails needs where rabbits are pretty much throw some grass at them..
Good point. I hadn't considered that but you are correct. Quail could be fed naturally too but lots of bugs and rabbits are much easier that way. Thanks
Dbone the legs on quail and cut the spine out. Split the breast as well. The meat is far more available that way. Caribbean secret
That is a good tip. Thanks for sharing.
Great info. Just getting started with quail then moving on to rabbits.
hey thanks for the heads up on kansas city quail farm plan on ordering alot from them
Awesome. You can't go wrong with their eggs. They have fantastic bloodlines.
Thank you for this comparison. It helped me make an informed decision. God bless you.
thanks will do
Thanks for the video Chris. They do seem to match up quite evenly. Maybe another plus for the rabbits is they raise their own babies instead of incubating eggs and having a separate brooder. Thanks again
THat is a big plus for sure.
Wire cage doesn't invite broodyness. Cage with bedding and plenty of hiding places can help with that, along with selecting for this trait in your birds. People who keep them more for hobby/pets do have broody quail, even from generations of incubated birds. The instinct is still there, just not readily visible. But if you want maximum eggs and meatbirds, you'll need an incubator to keep up with demand or feed 4+ times the number of birds to hatch and rear them.
I bury rabbit pelts in rock salt until they're completely dehydrated, then I cut them up into mouse sized pieces and spray them with catnip oil for cat toys.
Interesting. I bet that the cats love them.
ok thank you. my friend's have a set of mini holand lops and about 25 female Flemish cross and purebred also a set of New Zealand red my two does are about 10 months old and probably at about 7-8 months they were at 15 pounds! I hope that I'm the future to get into quail but I don't know how long it's going to be til then
I bet those New Zealand Reds will do awesome.
Slightly Rednecked yea they are having a bit of trouble with the doe but the buck is a beautiful rabbit. I have my rabbits in big hutches and I have little boxes for them would you recommend putting nest boxes in there as well or just straw? I live in Alberta and it is pretty cold here were do you live and how cold does it get there?
I am in Southwest Missouri. It gets cold here but not as cold as you and it doesn't stay as cold for as long. You probably don't need to put anything in there as long as they are out of the wind. I would definitely add nest boxes when its time for kindling. You might try to just add them and see if the rabbits use them. Mine didn't so i don't bother anymore. Hope that helps.
You can try picking up 2-3 hens and just grow them out for one season to get some eggs then eat the mature birds in the fall. It will be minimal expense and you only need a very small cage 1 meter by 1 meter would be good for 6 birds.
Awww... man. I thought this was going to be Quail fighting a rabbit! I think you'd have to match them up by weight... How much does an adult rabbit weigh? My button quail are about an ounce each...
lol. That would be something wouldn't it? rabbit weight varies by breed but most meat rabbits come in around 10 pounds.
Hi, Chris
How do you deal with flies under the birds cage? Do they poop directly to the ground? Here in Miami is a nightmare ...
Thanks
Jose Encinosa my quail eat the larva and love them. Lots of protein can calm your quail. 😊 read that in many places 👋
the last five years i have been using Fly Predators from Spalding Labs instead of spraying insecticide ,a natural alternative to sprays .I was reluctant at first to spend 23 dollars a month for 5000 tiny bugs , but my god what a difference , we can sit outside again without the annoyance of flies, i have 30 chickens 40 pigeons 15 rabbits and two dogs and am pushing the minimum amount of 5000 predators ,10,000 at 33 dollars a month would probably have been better this year with the heat we have had ,but all in all,with 65 years of raising critters this is the best fix i have found
Again you hit it on the head. Thanks again. It seems like every time I have a question you give me the answer. I do have one question. For a first time quail raiser is it better to start with eggs and incubate, or start with birds?
Awesome. So glad I am able to help.
I would suggest starting with live birds if you can find them. It really doesn't matter but having live birds will get you to eggs much quicker and if you are new to incubating eggs it gives you a way to gain experience much cheaper (instead of buy eggs and having a failed hatch).
THANKS
thank you for this, Sir
I have had great success with quail, but rabbits I keep having issues with sickness. Seems to me quail are a bit easier for me. And I now have moved my family over to just eating quail eggs, which we need about 20 to 30 eggs a day for our family of 5. I still have a couple does and a buck, but it has not been very easy for me. Seems like the family loves quail meat while I struggle to get everyone to eat rabbit, they get a bit more attached to the rabbits. It is a real struggle not to give up on the rabbits.
Love your videos by the way. My family and I live in Morocco, we are from the United States, but have lived here for over 6 years. I am really concerned about my family eating healthy meat so we have found growing our own the best way. You videos have been a huge help!
Thank you so much for the kind comments. I am so sorry to hear that you are having so many problems with rabbits. it sounds like you may have some kind of disease moving through the rabbits. I hope you get it figured out.
Thanks for the video. I'm adding rabbits to my quail raising this spring.
Awesome. Good luck.
Lost all my rabbits at once in a heat wave that passed Southern California last week. I’m planning on switching to quail. Are they a bit more hardy than rabbits? The rabbits were also a ton of work with cleaning all the waste. My rabbits were very noisy banging around the pens. Quail sound like regular city birds to me. The incubator is another issue as I’m understanding they require continuous rolling of the eggs. A rollers costs just as much as he incubator from what I understand.
Oh no, so sorry to hear that. In some ways quail are hardier than rabbits but just the simple fact that you can have so many means if you lose a few it is not a total loss. As far as mess though, they are messier than rabbits are and produce a lot more waste. There isn't any urin to deal with though. The incubator and egg turner are an expense but it is a one time expense and you might be able to find a used on on craigslist or something if you look hard enough. Hope that helps.
Quail are easier on cages and easier to house.
Deep litter is key. If you make a Ruck house, you can keep rabbits suspended above ducks in a deep litter run. The ducks clean up the rabbit spilled feed and eat the flies from the rabbit poo, and the urine is composted into the wood shavings. No smell, just an earthy composty smell. I have muscovy, and it works really well. No poop cleanup! I just rake through the shavings daily. takes 2 minutes.
One thing rabbits have over quail is that they are so easy and cheap to feed. Even on a small property, like a large suburban yard, you could grow the bulk of their food. All they really need is grass hay and veggies. I used to give mine a handful of sunflower seeds or peanuts a few times a week, too. And things like berries from hawthorn trees.
You forgot to mention that quail give you eggs! Unless you're raising Easter bunnies, I'm pretty sure rabbits don't lay eggs. And quail are cuter.
Those are all good points.
Great vid. Thanks so much. Plenty of issues I hadn't thought of!
Thank you for the kind comments. I am glad you liked the video.
How does one keep rabbits and not be pissed on? Only time I had a rabbit hed spray me whenever I got close to cage ! Once right in my face😫😫😫
Oh no. Luckily I don't have any problems with that. I think I would look at getting a new buck if he did that to me.
Pigeons are a good economical alternative red meat choice, no problems of quail, with a lot more meat. I still like quail, but they are a lot more work and hassle than just keeping homing pigeons. homers can be free flown to go scrounge their own food, as my white homers used to go across big river feeding at spilled grain silo, then return at dark and back and forth feeding babies, collecting own grasses berries insects seeds nuts ect to feed their young.. best homestead meat birds ever! My Dutch bunnies did same, but they had a foster mother dog who murdered anything that looked at them (mostly other dogs foxes oppossoms cats,as first dozen coyote she killed sent message that Rabbits were off the menu so the yotes would just walk right by or past rabbits, though they still ate wild type rabbits). Muscovy ducks are another great self sufficient animal, able to free range living on grass and bugs in yard with layer when breeding, corn in winter, and bread when fattening for slaughter, but they'll fly off looking for food like rodents snakes scraps birdseed anything really, then return to roost, best beef type meat and richest Baking eggs.
good suggestions for sure. I am in the city though so limited with what i can do.
Well I started with chickens this year but lost well most of them due to a dog that I finally got rid of. but, l like the idea of rasing quail and rabbits and chicken in a small space. looking to build a shed that I can put the chickens in the bottom in a brooder above them the rabbits and above them the quail. Am thinking a 8x12 could produce the meat for a family of 4 or 5 fairly easy I would think. I like the idea of making most of it automated. with auto waters and auto feeders then work out a fast way to clean out the cages. I thing this would make a great system with very good use of space.
Interesting idea. You may have problems with disease though. Especially with quail and chickens living so close together. Then again you may not. Just something to keep an eye on.
Slightly Rednecked chicken in the floor are the end of the line for most pathogens or disease. are quail very finicky birds do they die easy? I have not messed with quail but am hoping later this summer to build some cages.
They aren't incredibly finicky but they are a little more susceptible to disease than chickens and rabbits.
Slightly Rednecked ok thank you for the reply sir
No problem.
ANOTHER great video! Thanks for the content.
Thank you for watching. I am glad you liked it.
Thanks for making this video! I'm looking for feed-efficient meat animals that I can raise in ground pens and are simple to butcher. I'm leaning towards keeping quail and maybe rabbits this year. Have you ever made rabbit jerky?
Im gonna raise rabbits and quails (and also muscovies) but instead of keeping them in cages I want to raise them more humane and lazy way.
My quails will live in 20sq metres aviary divided on two 10sq metres "paddocks" where I want also to grow veggies. Every week I'll put quails to other paddock and let the ground in previous paddock to clean. Im gonna use quails for meat/eggs, fertilizer and pest control. Also want to have one worm bin, and bin with black soldier larvae to produce good compost and food for birds.
My rabbits on the other hand will be raised in rabbit tractors and I will use them for meat and as a lawn mower.
That's my plan
Sounds like a fine plan. I hope it all works out well for you.
How do they compare as far as smell and how far do you recommend keeping each from neighbor's house to be a good neighbor?
I was NOT prepared for rabbit urine odor….ugh. I have 3. I’d leave plenty of room, like 10-15 from the ppty line - Just In Case!🐇🐇🐇
I'm just starting to raise quail. I'll be watching your videos.
thank you so much. I appreciate that.
have you ever had californian quail? from what I've experience they get sick a lot easier than the corturnix quail
How many males and females should I keep to insure I always have enough to harvest, but not having more then I can maintain?
That is very subjective. I would think that about a dozen hens and 3 or 4 roosters should do it though.
Ive had so much trouble with my rabbits food getting moldy and they kept catching somthing theyd sneeze all day next morning dead
I am so sorry to hear that. If it is getting moldy in the feeder that means you are feeding too much at one time and the food is setting there too long. Feed only as much as they will eat in 24 hours. if you are having problems with it molding in the storage container, you should look for a more air tight container that doesn't allow moisture in. I use a big plastic tub for mine and it works pretty well.
@@Slightlyrednecked i had just decided to go full boar with chickens i was looking into quail though
At what age do male quail start “crowing”?
The roosters start crowing at 8 weeks. If you keep them at a 1 rooster to 5 hens ratio they don't crow much, usually just to warn the hens if the rooster senses a predator nearby.
Having raised both, I agree 100% with all of this information. To add to your one comment, people are a little squeamish when I say I raise rabbits since the only outcome is butchering. The quail people tend to assume I am only raising them for the eggs.
Thanks for watching. Glad you liked the video.
I think the attitude on butchering may depend on your location. In central Oklahoma I have not ran into anyone that has a problem with butchering livestock. However, I live away from town and all my friends that would visit are hunters and this is not a problem to them.
It is pretty similar around here too. But you do run into the occasional city person that just doesn't understand.
How do you know baby rabbits male or female
How many rooster can you keep optimaly with hens? And whats interval of laying fertilized eggs? Thank you.
I keep about 1 rooster to every 4 or 5 hens. You can go with more roosters if you want to but any more than 1 to every 2 hens and you might have problems with the hens getting overbred. I am not sure what you are asking about the interval. Generally, hens will lay fertile eggs about a week or two after the rooster is introduced. And they stay fertile for up to 10 days after being bred. I hope that answers it.
@@Slightlyrednecked I mean will they lay fertilized eggs every time after the rooster is introduced? And how frequent do they lay eggs?
They should lay about an egg a day. Sometimes they skip a day between laying. But yes, it should be a fertile egg every time after being bred for about 10 days. I hope that helps.
@@Slightlyrednecked So they have to be bred only once each ten days? It helps thanks a lot!
No problem glad to help. keep in mind 10 days is the max. If you want the best chance for fertile eggs I would go with at least once every 5 or 6 days.
Great video, subscribed.
Thank you so much.
Would you ever get chickens or turkeys
maybe. more than likely I will add some ducks but you never know.
Which survive cold winter's and Hot summers. Qual or Rabbit's I live in Ft Worth Texas we have both. I raise Rex Rabbit's but think of getting into Qual.
Great video. Super informative! Thanks
Thank you so much. I am glad you liked it.
Male Rabbits also spray and that smells worse then a normal pee
I guess that is a valid point. It isn't quite like what male cats do and it really has never been a big issue for me but it is something that happens.
Chris where can i get hatching eggs or adults. Thanks.
For hatching eggs I always recommend Kansas City Quail Farms for eggs (tell them I sent you). For live birds you are going to have to look locally. Birds don't ship well. I hope that helps.
Ronald Bequeath it depends where you live
Try a Google search for live quail plus your location
I tried local farms and pet stores and none of them had any idea how to get them
I did find a quail up for adoption on kijiji however
Great video ! Very informative !
Thank you.
Hey Chris, I watch your vids frequently and like them. I raise quail, chickens, and pheasants, and was wondering how much time do rabbits take and could I get started (cages and rabbits) for less than a $100. I was contemplating the idea of getting 3 does and a buck to breed. I recently went to a livestock auction and was noticing rabbits were going for 10 bucks a piece and thought there would be a good market for babies.
Thanks so much for watching. My rabbits don't take much time at all. Just a few minutes a day to feed and water. Depending on what kind of deal you can find the cages may cost a little more than $100 to build. I find that mine are about $20 a cage but that is just the wire. I hope that helps a little.
You can get 2 cages for about $50. A decent meat rabbit will run about $20. Feeders and waters about $20. You will need grow out cages - split boys/girls. 4 per cage, could probably have 2 cages, another $50. I would start with 1 doe and 1 buck. You can interbreed 1 generation, add more genetics once you are ready to expand or only go 1 generation down and don't worry about it. You can breed daughter to dad. But don't interbreed beyond that.
To get started $150 - $200 is probably more reasonable, but you can sell rabbits to return on investment.
God bless you too. I intend to raise quails in addition to my rabbits. What's the maximum number to keep,for eggs, in a cage like yours?
You can go with a general rule of 1 square foot of space per bird. I have a 6 by 3 cage so 18 square foot. I can easily keep about 20 birds in there (a little over 1 per square foot). I hope that helps.
Yes I have a question about coil I'm a retired veteran I have come up on a storage building that I would like to make into a quill building how do I get started by getting eggs are small Quail to start with
Good question. I would suggest starting with live birds if you can find some locally. This will give you the experience with dealing and caring for them without a big investment in eggs and an incubator. you can get an incubator later and get some experience incubating eggs before investing in a shipment of eggs from a high quality breeder. I hope that helps. And thank you for your service.
I see that doggie door, I put one in to a metal door that was insulated, the insulation mad it a pain! I love the rabbit and quail videos. Do you do bees too?
I don't do bees but have thought about adding them at some point so I might.
some of my three week old quails loosing feathers on back and wings what is the cause
Sorry for the slow response. I did respond to your comment on the other video though. Hope it helps.
good information thanks
What about pigeons? Seems I've seen old movies that had people with cage/roosts on flat roofs of city apartment buildings. The birds come and go but home in to roost. Don't know if they fed and kept in cage......just a thought.
No real information but would like to find out.
There are people that raise pigeons for meat. They aren't as productive as quail and don't lay eggs as regularly but it is something that can be done.
I have pigeons and quails and sure pigeons r better and faster to eat lots of babies no incubator rabbits I had them too but they smell
Chris, I've heard from a number of places that alfalfa hay is a good staple for rabbits given that they need thr fiber and chewing, and more closely matches their natural diet. Any experience or input on that over just pellets? Looking at sustainability given thr possibility of irratic supplies.
If you want the most sustainable rabbit method, you want pocket gardens for them.
In a relatively small, securely enclosed space (say perhaps 4x8 feet) you grow a _ton_ of different vegetables and edible flowers and such. You sow it wall to wall, forget about rows or lines or paths.
Each doe gets her pocket garden to raise her litter in once she's been bred (you want her to have a portable cage that can be moved without frightening her. Or maybe her cage is always connected to the pocket garden, but she only gets access to it after birth.) Maybe they take 20-30% more time to reach harvest weight, but it cost you nothing in feed (assuming you have your own personal garden from which you're saving seeds) and you aren't reliant on outside inputs.
Also the rabbits are directly giving back to the garden with their manure and the root pruning caused by their feeding.
The reason the doe isn't allowed perpetual access to the garden is she will overgraze it. It requires time to recover. But if the cage is right there connected to the garden, you can totally go in, take a harvest/pruning and toss all the goods to her.
What other animals do you grow? Also, how much land do you own?
I responded to your comment on the other video.
newly subscription to your site great video I've raised rabbits and chickens both but not quail is it an easy start without complications
Awesome. Thanks so much.
Quail are pretty simple really. I have lots of videos on them but let me know if you have specific questions.
hey chris, just found your channel and subscribed. Im getting ready to do rabbits and quail this summer. I may have some questions from time to time and may ask you for advise if you dont mind.
Ask away, I always do my best to answer questions.
how do you get rid of that gamey taste.
I assume you are talking about quail as rabbits don't really have much flavor. I have never noticed a "gamey" taste in them but they are a much more flavorful meat so that may be what you are referring too. If that is something you don't like you can try removing the meat from the bone and cooking it in things. I have made quesadillas with them before like you would with chicken and it turned out very well. Also, wrapping in bacon can add some other flavor that will help. I hope that helps a little.
add ginger when cooking
I don't consider quail to be gamey. They have more flavor than chicken. But compared to duck or lamb they are pretty mild.
From what ive heard there can be a subtle odd taste depending on feed that can be considered gamey. Apparently soaking the bird after you butcher in cold water helps with it.
Not sure if you will see this but I have been looking into quail for a while now. I don't need a ton of them (although I have the space) I want to grow them on the ground because I want to feed them crickets/greens instead of feed to be completely independent. The main reason I see people raise them off the ground is for health but is that really an issue if you have deep bedding that you rotate?
There is nothing wrong with that plan. As long as you are rotating them and give them plenty of space it should work just fine. They do produce a lot of waste so you just have to stay on top of it.
@@Slightlyrednecked Thanks for the reply!
Wouldn’t be a better solution for your rabbits urine issues to just have them outdoors? Also what kind of food you feed your animals?
I do keep the rabbits outside and I agree that I think that is best. I feed all my animals commercial feed. I get it from a local feed store.
What do you need to do for winter survival? With both rabbits and quail, I'm guessing you can't leave them out in cold winter season right? Is wintering them outside possible?
Thanks for any input here.
They both do very well in winter time. As long as they can get out of the wind. I put tarps up that I pull down over the rabbit cages in the winter time to block the wind and the quail have a section of the cage that is closed in to block the wind. That is really all they need.
Wow cool. Thanks for messaging me back.
Are you in a climate that gets snow and a bit of ice?
Do you have to up the feed in winter? I'd heard some people in agriculture do that for some animals. (I don't know, just throwing this out there.)
How do people in small time agriculture find ways to sell their product? I'd wondered about this because its not like people doing this kind of stuff can sit out there all day as a salesperson?
Is free ranging them no good in a backyard? (Will they run away?)
Nice 2 talk 2 u. Thanks again.
I am in southwest Missouri. We get some snow and ice and fairly cold winters (quite often below freezing and down to 0 degrees F). I don't think the quail eat a lot more in the winter but I free feed them so it is hard to keep track of. The rabbits only get as much food as they will eat in 24 hours and I do notice a slight increase in the amount they eat in the winter but it isn't a lot more.
As far as selling products, I don't really do that. I do sell some quail from time to time on Craigslist but I don't make a living off of my animals and gardening. I do that to feed myself and my family. I do save money by not having to buy as much from the grocery store.
Free ranging in probably a bad idea. They will most definitely run away and more than likely get eaten by something (racoon, hawks, foxes, coyotes, neighbourhood dogs and cats, snakes, etc.).
My grandfather has been breeding rabbit since 1952 and has breed a rabbit that get to buther weight at 5 weeks
That sounds awesome. I would love to get some of those rabbits as breeding stock.
Chris is it just the buck that sprays out of the gage or does the doe do it too?
bucks spray but all rabbits will urinate over out of the cage.
i notlce i keep geting more rosters in my quail hatch is it normal ? how do i get more hens in my hatch is there a way ?
Unfortunately it is very normal. Funny you ask because I have been researching this for a while and planned on discussing it in this week's quail video. Stay tuned. :)
I know I like eggs and love quail meat... Not as sure about rabbit. BUT I can feed rabbits well without depending on anyone else.
I have no problem raising/processing quail, chickens or turkey for meat. But for some reason I just can't "dispatch " the rabbit. Had to sell them.... just couldn't do it.
I understand that. it is definitely harder to butcher a rabbit than a quail. Just from the emotional factor.
Just dispatched 24 of them. If you slit the jugular veins, they dont even feel it. They just look at you in the same inquisitive way, then fall over sleep.
can you do a video on which quail taste better
Well i am not sure I can cover that exactly. I haven't tried every kind of quail out there. I have eaten bobwhite when I was younger and used to hunt them and I have eaten Couturnix because I raise them. They are both pretty similar and I can't say one is significantly better than the other really.
I have not yet been able to get a rabbit to 5 lbs in 8 weeks. I wait till there at least 5 lbs live weight before I butcher them. Yields the most for my family. Can you make a video talking about rabbit starvation? Another nice video never get tired of them.
Your breeding stock has a lot to do with how fast the rabbits get to that weight. It is more of a genetic thing than anything else.
Good suggestion on the video topic. I might tackle that one in a future video. Thanks for the suggestion.
Yea I know and around here not very good genetic pool.LOL
can i raise both in a basement? im just wondering in case i want to raise rabbits too
sure. Just a word of warning on rabbits. They really like to pee outside of their cage so put up some plastic or something to keep the walls and floors from getting peed on. And you will have to do a lot of maintenance on an indoor system. Empty dropping pans about every 2 days at the bare minimum. It can be done but if you can do it outside it would be better.
@@Slightlyrednecked ok so you use the dropping pan out doors to or not
Random Person101 rabbits will smell a lot more, dump the shit outside daily and if at all possible build a run.
I have both
so do I. And that is the best way to go in my opinion. :)
Do you have any chicks for sale ? I live in SW missouri
I don't at the moment but I should have some in early spring.
where can you get quail
If you are having difficulty finding birds locally (check craigslist and local poultry swaps) I have some connections that I can hook you up with where you can order eggs for incubating. They will cost a little more but you get much better birds that way (12 oz each on average). Let me know and I can get you the information.
Quail eggs are delicious! In my situation quail are winners lol. I've tried raising rabbits a few years ago but was never successful at breeding. The young mom rabbit just wouldn't take care of the babies, and would even kill them sometimes. :( was hard to watch.
Rabbits can be kind of hit or miss. Most do just fine but if you get a bad one, it is a bad one for sure. Much easier to just ramp up and ramp down production with quail.
Tim F does that fail on their second litter are freezer fare. 1st litter failure isn’t all that uncommon but if she fails it’s off to freezer camp.
I raised rabbits my entire childhood. If your rabbits are eating babies feed her a hot dog a week before she's due. It's generally because they're lacking in specific nutrients due to the pregnancy. We had over 150 rabbits at one time and never had a doe that would eat them after doing the hot dog trick.
Good video!! Thank you!
Thanks, Glad you liked it. :)
anything to know about quail mating
Not really very complex. Just put your roosters in with your hens at a ratio of about 4 hens to 1 rooster....wait about a week....and start incubating the eggs. :) Hope that helps.
thanks got incubator stable yesterday getting eggs today and maybe chicks in a few weeks
found a lady at flea market gives me 2.50 a chick
Wow. That is a good price to get for baby quail. Sounds like you have a plan, good luck with it. :)
Another plus for rabbits is you can raise different sizes. I raise mini rex and one is enough for two people.
Good point.
Nice information ...
It's running me around $10-$15 per rabbit just in feed!
How much are you feeding them? Is this per month?
Hey Chris, excellent video as usual. I’m interested in acquiring quail LAYERS ONLY. After the 1-2 “laying years” that a hen produces, can they be sold for meat at that point or would they be too old? Thank You!!
Thank you for the kind comments. The sure could be sold as meat at that point. Nothing wrong with that plan.
This is very helpful
Thanks so much for watching. I am glad you liked it.
Lol 5:05min mark. Say no more. Just say rabbits piss on your walls and no one will want them 😅
Lol. That is probably true.
Chris : please help me on this questions I hope you see my comments the soon as possible and you can give me an advice: As I has been raising chickens on unincorporated community people still complaining and calling constantly in law enforcement on us, besides I am so tired of certain chickens health issues and we wait so long to consume a few of them which their meat became to hard consume my chickens are 3 years and older and the only time to butcher them for me is on summer because I live in a extreme weather ( or too hot 🥵 or too cold 🥶) which meat taste better Quail vs. Chickens? I love the chickens eggs 🍳 how is the Quail’s eggs taste? I want something that is not rubbery meat, easy and quick to butcher , delicious taste and eggs. What would be you advice?? Please help. I love you videos always watching you and leaving my like 👍🏼
Good video
Thanks
Thank you. I am glad you liked it.
Great video!
thanks so much. I am glad you liked it.
Sounds like quail might be the winner in a lot of categories. Of course there is always the both option. :D
One question, I hear a lot about rabbit meat being dietarilly inadequate as a sole protein source (not that I would be eating only rabbit) but I wonder how quail compares in that regard. Can you shed any light on the quality and completeness of their respective meats?
Quail are very nutritious vs. Rabbit. There's way more iron, Quail has a better dosage of heme iron than beef 4.3 or so mg vs. 1.5-2 I believe, for beef per 100g. Quail eggs are higher in nutrition than chicken eggs too in every nutrient but Choline. It is 20% higher in chicken eggs, but Quail eggs beat them on every other nutrient, bar none. And no Salmonella risk either. Quail body temp is too high for it to survive, unlike Chickens. Rabbit is a clear loser in the nutrition dept. so what you are hearing is correct, about it not being the greatest nutrition vs. Quail and not vs. other meats. That said, I do like his points on versatility though, you can't really use Quail in as many dishes as Rabbit. I like his idea of "why not both?".
And it's not that Rabbit isn't good, it absolute is a good meat, it's problem is not enough fat/too lean. So if you ate it all the time, you'd end up with "protein poisoning" and it goes by other names like "Rabbit starvation", because a weird thing happens when you eat it constantly and not enough fat. You can eat and eat and never be satiated (kinda like Veganism, lol, but for wholly different reasons). It happened to the Romans, from eating Rabbit and nothing but. Mix some fat in there (like Quail, which have a more balanced ratio) and you're good. Quail protein to fat ratio is like 25% protein and 15% fat I believe. And 33% protein, vs. 5% fat or less with Rabbit=bad ratio.
The fact that you have meat AND eggs with quail is big, IMO. I want that FAT in the eggs. Testosterone and other important things don't happen as well without some healthy fat.
@@mrjon75 Very big in fact, yeah. You've got everything you need, right there. If you had to, you could survive on nothing but Quail meat and eggs, so highly nutritious. No plant can match that. Indeed and I tell people the same all the time "we NEED fat, low fat diets are proven highly problematic. There's no such thing as an "essential" carb. you won't die without them, you will without fats and proteins. They are essential to survival and or brains are over 60% fat". And it's more than telling how Vegans are constantly slamming fat and downing carbs. like no tomorrow and how little they know about "actual" human Physiology, chemistry of those toxic, rancid refined seed oil trash they eat and sugar. And how their mental illness is 2-3 times worse than Omnis.
In studies, low fat diets proved that they made animals AND humans more aggressive etc. and on those oils, in other studies had poor memory and recall etc. issues. They are now linked to age related brain degeneration like Alzheimer's and dementia, especially in mice. And they found that when they fed humans large amounts of those vegetable oils/seed oils, they performed poorly vs. the control group.
@@MrBilld75 💯
Well said.
@@mrjon75 Thank you, your initial comment was great too, that's why I responded. Lard tallow and butter, for the win, right?! There's another fun fact too, Pork fat is one of the top 10 most nutrient dense foods on earth. Nutrients we can actually use (unlike plants, lol). I cook a lot with them, so good=flavourtown.
It's like food "used" to be, when fast food was actually nutritious. Like, what Chef doesn't LOVE eggs, butter etc.? Chefs will be the first to tell you that animal products are magic in the kitchen. I know it and practice it and it's taken my cooking to another level. The only oils I ever use (cause you can't put butter or lard in/on everything, hehehe), are the better ones like Olive and Coconut. And lo and behold, those two, share a lot of similarities to animal fats. Funny how the only two decent plant fats, are similar to animal fats, but hey, "derp cholesterol and saturated fat" is the nonsense "myth" we keep still being fed.
A lot of people think Avocado oil is decent (even Dr. Ken Berry, here on YT thinks Avocado oil is o.k. and he's all about the keto and carnivore diets). And I do agree, but the problem is, 94% of it is rancid before you ever bring it home. Pretty shocking study revealed that. So, no different than the other garbage oils, that's all their problem, chemically. They are double bonded and oxidize, unlike single bonded animal fats, filled with hydrogen. They don't oxidize as easily.
Like how are people supposed to be able to buy non-rancid Avocado oil? Seems next to impossible, according to that. So that's out of the question. And even Olive you have to be so careful with, that it's not adulterated/mixed with other inferior trash oils like Canola and vegetable, as that's a big problem with Olive oil. But, there's lists of the good and bad ones, so it's certainly possible to find good Olive oil. So far, I've had zero issues subbing Olive oil in recipes which call for other oils.
good summary
I started quail about 8 months ago. 2 incubators so I can rotor and have a new batch every 7 to 10 days but I'm disappointed of how much meat they produce to the amount of feed they need. Hell they eat a huge amount. I've decided to stop but looking for something more economical and thought about rabbits but I'm not sure how reliable the information is about rabbits. I went down the quail route because of all the positive blogs out there but I'm not sure why people rave about them so much. They are a waste of time and money in my honest opinion. I have chickens already. Maybe guinea fowl (I have 4) or fish as I have a few breading ponds to play with.
I love my quail. I’ve just started. Which quail housing is best?
I raise both and I gave my rabbits for free and kept quail instead.
At the moment im raising quail, chicken and geese.
I like having both but the quail are easier in many ways.
im raising rabbits, muscovy, geese, and i have 2 goats. Im considering adding quail, but muscovy give me eggs, and im not sure what they could add.
Small livestock, large scale...