I started raising quail 13 months ago. I currently house over 100 and plan to double by March. I’ve learned a lot about raising quail and costs associated with them. I will try to use the same methods for chicken vs quail.
Shelter: chickens use 8x4 shed that is approximately 8 high. I can comfortably fit 20 birds in this enclosure.
- Quail in the same 8x4 I can fit over 3 bird and possibly more if I made a custom cage.
Cost to feed: chickens cost roughly 1.5 cents a day. I feed them the same feed as my quail with an additional scratch gain given daily.
- Quail it costs roughly 2 cents a day
Cost: chickens usually cost anywhere between 2-10$ per chick
- Quail cost anywhere between 2-5$ per chick
Egg production: chicken usually averages 50-60% through out the year.
- Quail average 52-65% through out the year.
Profitability: chicken eggs are .25-30 cents and around 4$ lb
- Quail eggs are .3-.35 cents and around 5-7$ per dress bird roughly 8-10oz
Manure: I use a deep litter methodology for the chickens so I change it every 3-6 months and get about 2 wheel barrows every time I change it. Which isn’t really that much.
- Quail I get about a wheel barrow every 5-7 days. I use sawdust as an absorbing material and I apply one tray to each plant. I find that if I top dress, it doesn’t seem to cause any harm to any bushes or trees. It will kill grass but the grass that isn’t killed becomes super dark green and lush. I have seen remarkable growth and success with just top applying quail manure on bushes and trees. I do put in the garden just allow 3-6 month to decompose before planting.
I believe space is king and chicken take up 680% more space and if you add the run space it is really crazy on how my quail you can fit in the same space. But unless you have a business I think chickens and quail are pretty much all the same. And chickens are a very useful animal and probably easier to sell than quail because people are familiar with them.
