Backyard Poultry Forum

What breed of Quail would be the best for meat.

I can remember going to a Quail farm when i was a kid and they had thousands of them in cages similar to what battery hens are kept in. They were bigger that the normal brown Quail you find in the wild or at pet shops.

Japanese Quail.

They're the ones commercially bred for both meat & eggs in Australia (and many other countries).

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WINGLET
"Grasshopper always wrong in argument with chicken." - Book of Chan compiled by O.P.U sect.
"Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she has laid an asteroid." - Mark Twain

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NellyG ............[ img ]............

I, agree with Winglet, Japanese quails already being commercially bred by the thousands in whole of Australia and their meat is already establish among super markets and most meat markets, I think they are usually sold frozen in packs of six or ten along with squabs.
I remember them being sold for the meat purpose for decades., they taste nice on the barbeque with a bit of butter.
You can get bigger breeds, but they want be as prolific, best to stick with the Japanese quail, if given the proper husbandry they grow very quick and lay heaps…Be aware they have other names used in the trade, anything up to six more names and they all mean the same breed.

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How many females should 1 male be able to handle. I will get a handful of Jap Quails to start with and if they breed ok i will expand.

Have a look at these links hope it helps.
I run one male to about five females

http://pets.otai.info/2010/11/06/what-i ... nd-laying/

Also this one this is the quail Australia web site
http://www.quailsaustralia.com.au/Articles.aspx