- Why quail instead of chickens?
- What are Coturnix quail?
- What it actually cost me
- What surprised me most
- How many birds to start with
- Common beginner mistakes
- What daily care looks like
- Recommended next steps
Thinking about raising Coturnix quail?
This page covers what I wish I had known before I started — what they cost, what surprised me, and what I’d tell anyone starting their first flock.
Why quail instead of chickens?
I thought about chickens and ducks, but it came down to predators.
I live about a mile from where bald eagles have nested, and I’ve seen them in my yard. Legally, you can’t do anything that would harm a bald eagle — and even things meant to just keep eagles away from your birds can be a problem. On top of the eagles, I have hawks, bobcats, foxes, and mountain lions that come through the yard. People near me who keep outdoor birds end up replacing them multiple times a year.
So I needed something I could keep indoors. Coturnix quail are small, quiet enough for a workshop, and productive — that made the decision for me.
If you have outdoor predators you can’t control, quail in an indoor cage may be the most realistic way for you to keep birds at all.
What are Coturnix quail?
Coturnix (Japanese) quail are small, fast-maturing birds raised for eggs and meat. The numbers that matter to a beginner:
- They start laying eggs at around 8 weeks old
- Their eggs are small — mine run 11 to 15 grams (a chicken egg is 50–60g)
- They don’t need a rooster to lay eggs
- They’re quiet enough to keep in a shed, garage, or workshop
- A cage the size of a dresser can house six of them comfortably
What it actually cost me to start
Here’s what I spent to get going in April 2022:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Hatching Time 2-layer cage + extra dividers (includes feeders and waterers) | $380.97 |
| 6 live quail, shipped (3+ weeks old) | $136.94 |
| First bag of feed (local feed store) | ~$45 |
| Total to get started | ~$563 |
A few notes on that:
- I went with a pre-built cage instead of building my own. I didn’t want to spend days following plans and hoping I got the dimensions right. The pre-built cage had the egg roll-out, feeders, and waterers already figured out.
- I bought birds that were at least 3 weeks old so they could go straight into the cage — no brooder, no heat lamps, no extra equipment for the first batch. If you’re starting out, this removes a whole category of things that can go wrong.
- I later switched to a soy-free, corn-free feed that runs about $75 a bag — nearly twice the cost of standard feed. That’s a choice, not a requirement. Standard game bird feed works fine.
What surprised me most
They make an unbelievable amount of manure. Six little birds fill a manure tray in 24 hours. I clean the tray every single day. My first day, I didn’t put anything down on the tray — cleaning it taught me why everyone who keeps quail talks about pressure washers. Paper towels on the tray turned a miserable scrubbing job into a 10-minute morning routine. Do this from day one.
Everything new terrifies them — for about 30 minutes. The first time I gave them a pan of sand for dust bathing, all six pressed themselves against the far wall like I’d put a predator in the cage. Half an hour later, three of them were in the pan throwing sand everywhere, and by morning they had emptied the entire pan onto the floor. Now the sandbox is the highlight of their week.
Eggs came fast once they started. First egg at about 8 weeks old. Three weeks later, I got six eggs in one day — every bird laying. The ramp-up was:
- first egg May 10,
- two-egg day May 13,
- three-egg day May 23,
- five-egg day May 24,
- six-egg day May 31.
If your birds are healthy and getting 14+ hours of light, production comes quickly.
The eggs aren’t uniform. Sizes ranged from 11g to 15g from the same six birds, with different speckle patterns and coloring. One day I got a pure white egg laid at noon — a “stress egg” laid early before the coloring was applied. The egg was fine. The bird was fine. But it sent me researching for an evening.
The cage took longer to build than the videos suggest. I expected under an hour; it took me closer to an hour and 45 minutes. The assembly videos were essential — I kept being too gentle with the pieces when they needed real force to snap together. Wear gloves.
How many birds should you start with?
I started with six females. For a first flock, I’d recommend the same:
- Six birds fit comfortably in one section of a standard quail cage
- You’ll get roughly a half-dozen eggs a day at peak — enough to actually use, not so many you’re drowning
- No males needed for eggs, and males are the noisy ones
- It’s a small enough number that daily care stays under 15 minutes
Common beginner mistakes (I made most of these)
- Nothing on the manure tray day one. Line it with paper towels before the birds ever arrive.
- Putting mealworms on top of the feed. They eat every worm in minutes and pick at the rest. Mix the worms into the feed so they have to dig — they eat their actual food along the way.
- Expecting the cage to assemble itself in an hour. Budget an afternoon and watch the manufacturer’s videos first.
- Panicking at odd eggs. White eggs, odd sizes, double-days and zero-days — most of it is normal. Watch the birds, not just the eggs. If the birds look healthy, they almost always are.
- Turning the lights on after dark. Once their lights go out, the birds sleep. Flip the lights on at 9pm and you’ll have a cage of confused, squawking quail. I learned to work by the light from the next room.
What daily care actually looks like
My routine settled into about 10–15 minutes a day:
- Swap the manure tray (paper towel lined) and dump the old one in the compost
- Check feed — I top up roughly every other day
- Check water — I add a gallon when the tank drops below half
- Collect eggs from the roll-out tray
- A handful of mealworms, mixed into the feed
- Sand bath about once a week (expect sand everywhere)
Recommended next steps
- Watch the journey from day one — the Quail Log documents everything in order, starting from the first video where I explain the plan, through the first egg, to full production.
- See the equipment I actually use — the Resources page lists the cage, feed, and supplies I use, including what I’d buy again and what I’d skip.
- Get updates as I publish — new guides and log entries go out to the email list. Sign up on the homepage.
I’m not an expert — I’m an experienced hobbyist documenting what actually happened, including the mistakes. If you’re deciding whether quail are right for you, I hope seeing the real process helps.