Should I Raise Quail with Chickens?
Many homesteaders or small backyard farmers start with a handful of chickens or a group of quail for the first venture into the poultry adventure.
How can we raise quail with chickens?
Many believe that the more birds you have, it would be more fun to have them as a pet or sources of meat.
People think that more is better.
But when it comes to the backyard poultry, it is not a good idea to have different types of poultry in the same coops, especially the chicken with quail.
Unless you can ensure their safe space, it is not such a good idea to raise them in the same space.
If you have a huge backyard where you can keep them away from each other.
We highly recommend not raise them together due to the direct contact with each other.
The safest distance from among your flock should be at least 50 feet from one another.
The disease will be passed from chickens to Quail
The main reason for not raising the chicken with quail is spreading disease.
Some of the deadliest diseases were passed between wild birds to domestic birds.
When this happens, we have very little control over the situation to contain it.
Also with any poultry, diseases that are passed from one species to another species are inevitable.
The most common disease pass between chickens and quail is called Coryza disease, and is a very deadly disease to quail.
This disease that chickens carry has little to no effect on the carrier but it can kill the whole flock of quail if they contract it.
It is impossible to tell if your chicken has Coryza Disease.
Sometimes symptoms are not even showing on until it is too late.
But here are some things to watch for, in both chickens and quails, are follows:
- Pale comb and Wattles
- Swollen Eyes
- Swollen Face
- Not Eating or Drinking
- No Longer Laying Egg
- Lethargy
You can treat both species with antibiotics, but the Coryza Disease will remain dormant with them for life.
And it can be passed down to other birds to other birds in the whole process.
The treating quail is more difficult than chickens and the result is often death.
Unless you are willing to take a chance by raising your chicken and quail together in the same coop, we highly recommend not housing them together but keeping them in separate.
This is a great way to raise Quail with chickens together.
Chickens are Bullies toward Quail
I am sure you heard a pecking order.
We understand that you love to watch your chicken and quail in the same backyard.
But you’ve seen them fight over establishing the pecking order among each other, and they can get very rough with each other.
There is no difference between many poultry such as chickens and quail when it comes to the pecking order.
When it comes to the pecking order between chickens and quail, the quail is on the bottom of the pecking order.
If you decide to raise them in the same space, quail may not get access to their food, water, or even killed by the chicken.
Chickens are omnivores, chicken may even like to kill the quail and eat them too.
If you decide to raise them together, we recommend giving them a small space with a large flock of chickens.
So that they can develop their own pecking order within the group.
Chicken Love to Eat Quail Eggs
It sounds gruesome, but chickens love to eat Quail Eggs.
Chickens are omnivores creatures. and love to eat insects, small lizards, and eggs.
If you already have a flock of chickens in your backyard, I am sure you watched in horror as chicken egging its own eggs.
The quail eggs are going to be a much bigger problem you have to deal with later.
When chickens have a taste of quail egg, they would start pushing their egg behavior to the fullest and it is very hard to break the behavior.
But if want to raise Chickens and Quail Together
A free-range backyard scenario is the most plausible option for those who want to raise both quail and chicken in the same space.
The two of the species will form their own flocks and most likely to stay out of each other’s territory.
But feeding your birds separately will be the issue and the concern of spreading the disease will not go away.
Also, chickens are very curious creatures and they will check out uncharted territory around the yard and go into the quail pen for any possible goodies.
Therefore, they will spread its disease and bacteria to sound the quail territory.
So please consider these factors when you decided to raise quail with chickens together.
In a nutshell, it is always better to choose quail over the chicken for your backyard adventure.