When we get to talking about roosters the gap widens further. Even my chicken hens are louder than my crowing male quail (oh yeah, quail do crow). Here the quail still comes out ahead despite the slightly more expensive feed.
These higher protein feeds are generally more expensive and so it is worth checking what is available in your area and doing the math. Something worth noting in the discussion about efficiency is that quail need a higher protein feed than chickens (I use a game bird maintenance feed). Quail meat also sells for a premium if allowed in your area. If you are talking about any chicken breed suitable to the homestead then it is another clear win for the quail both in terms of time and feed efficiency. These are the large, fat and relatively immobile birds that are raised in sheds, they are not a bird you would use on the homestead. Studies show chickens as being on par with quail but these studies are talking about the Cornish Cross. When it comes to the efficiency of meat production the line is a little less clear. This is a clear win for the quail in the chickens vs quail comparison. Quail eggs also sell for a premium over chicken eggs if you have too many. The quail has already laid over 100 eggs by the time the chicken gets going. Note that quail need a lot less food per egg than chickens and this is after they are both producing. The chart below compares feed to egg conversion across a number of poultry. That entire time the hen was eating food, taking up space and wasn’t producing any eggs. For comparison quail are laying by week 8. That’s not to mention the 24 weeks it took that hen to lay her first egg. While they may lay an egg a day, a hen needs to eat a lot of food to do it. EfficiencyĬhickens are less efficient than quail in almost every way. There is just less stress, less time, easier processing and less waste when rearing quail for the table over chickens. When talking chickens vs quail for meat production it is a no contest for me. Taste too is very similar, don’t believe the ‘game bird’ hype attributed to quail. For most homestead birds this is a moot point. Nutritionally both are very similar but it depends a lot on the breed of chicken and how it was raised. This gives quail the distinct advantage of remaining harvestable at the end of their productive egg laying life. Quail can also be harvested at any any age and remain very edible (as a fryer) while chickens have to be harvested young lest the become a tough, boil only bird. Chickens Vs Quail For Meat Productionīoth birds produce a good quality carcass but quail will do it much more quickly and are much easier to process. There are keepers (in particular those with long winters and short summers) who use lights to lengthen days and stimulate egg laying, but here where the winter is short I feel the birds benefit from the rest. Elsewhere in the world though you are likely to have a longer egg gap. In the subtropics egg production of both birds does slow down in the winter but really only in July. Special tools are also required for opening quail eggs if you are to avoid going crazy trying to open them! Nutritionally both types of eggs are very similar and to me they also taste identical. Quail eggs are tiny and for every chicken egg you will need 4 or 5 quail eggs for the same recipe so there is a trade off there. At those times of the year when you would expect 5 eggs a week from your chickens, you can expect 7 from your quail. Like chickens, their egg laying is tied to day length rather than actual temperature. Quail are no slouch in the egg department and in my experience actually do lay an egg a day in the summer. In reality expect about 5 delicious eggs a week from a good laying hen. You will read this all over the internet but it is very rare to find a chicken that will actually do this. You will notice though that I said chickens will lay ‘up to’ an egg a day. Eggs produced on the homestead are often of a higher quality than those that money can buy, at least in the supermarket. They are very hardy and lay large delicious chicken eggs, up to one a day in the summer. Chickens Vs Quail, which is better for your homestead? Chickens Vs Quail For EggsĬhickens are the long standing homestead staple.
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