Category Archives: Quail – All About

Coturnix coturnix

THE BYF NO-WASTE QUAIL FEEDER

Feed is the single most expensive item when keeping quails. It is therefore essential to prevent birds from contaminating or wasting feed. Back Yard Farmer has developed a simple, effective, and low-cost solution using a standard 3-litre plastic milk bottle.

This DIY feeder is easy to make, costs nothing, and outperforms many commercial feeders.

How to Make the Feeder

  1. Drill a 35 mm hole approximately 70 mm from the bottom of the bottle
  2. Drill a 40 mm hole roughly halfway up the bottle
  3. Cut along the straight lines between the holes as shown in the images
  4. Now do the same onthe other side

You will end up with a durable, efficient feeder that allows easy access for the quails while minimizing waste.

Why This Feeder Works Better

Compared to commercial feeders, the BYF feeder offers several important advantages:

  • Quails cannot defecate in the feed
  • Quails cannot climb into the feeder and scratch feed out
  • The slot design allows quails to insert their heads comfortably and withdraw easily
  • Quails naturally flick feed sideways with their beaks, causing losses—this design prevents feed from being flicked out
  • The handle remains intact, making the feeder easy to carry and reposition
  • The feeder is easy to wash and keep hygienic
  • It can be moved around the cage to reduce trampling and ground damage

Feeding Capacity and Use

  • Fill the feeder to a depth of approximately 60 mm, which is about 10 mm below the bottom of the 35 mm hole
  • This holds roughly 650 g of feed
  • Quails cannot reach the extreme corners, so a small amount of feed remains, but one feeder easily supplies up to 6 birds for a full day

Daily feeding is simple:
Empty any remaining feed into a feed bucket, then refill the feeder using a scoop sized to deliver the correct amount (650 g). This also helps remix older feed with fresh feed, reducing waste even further

Daily feed consumption for mature Coturnix quails is about 30 – 35 grams (depending on many factors) and if you use more than this, there are either something sharing the feed with your quails, or wasteage is happening

Cost

Nothing.
Made from recycled materials, this feeder delivers excellent performance at zero cost

QUAGLIE AL FORNO (Oven Roasted Quails)

Oven-roasted quail is one of our favourite ways to prepare quail. It is simple, quick, and exceptionally delicious.

Use as many deboned quails as required. Season them generously all over with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place a sage leaf, some coarsely chopped rosemary, and a few thin slices of pancetta inside the cavity of each quail. Secure the birds by stitching the sides together with skewers or tying them neatly with kitchen string.

Arrange the quails in a well-oiled roasting pan and place them in a hot oven. Start by browning them on both sides under a high grill setting. Once nicely coloured, reduce the oven temperature to 140 °C and allow the meat to cook gently and evenly.

The entire cooking process should take 5–6 minutes. If in doubt, check the internal temperature: when it reaches 80 °C, the quail is perfectly cooked.

To finish, sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and a little more ground black pepper. Drizzle generously with high-quality extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately on creamy polenta.

Enjoy — and remember to finish it off with a glass of good homemade red wine.

Ragù di Quaglia (Quail Pasta Sauce)

Every so often the freezer fills up with mature, processed quails, and the best solution is to turn them into something truly special : a slow-cooked ragù. On this occasion, I pulled 40 frozen quails from the freezer and spent most of Sunday afternoon transforming them into a rich, deeply flavoured sauce that can be enjoyed for months to come.

This is a labour of love, but one that rewards you generously. This is not just a sauce – it’s a celebration of North Italian tradition, where time, patience, and respect for every ingredient create something unforgettable. Cooked slowly, bottled carefully, and served with fresh pasta, it brings the warmth of our kitchen straight to your table.

Ingredients

  • 40 deboned quails
  • 2 kg finely chopped onions (50% brown, 50% red)
  • 250 g extra virgin olive oil
  • 250 g butter
  • 200 g finely chopped celery
  • 200 g finely chopped carrot
  • 50 g salt (adjust to taste)
  • 50 g freshly ground black pepper (adjust to taste)
  • 250 ml full-cream milk
  • 500 ml white wine
  • 500 ml stock (quail stock preferred)
  • 500 g tomato purée
  • 1 kg tinned tomato passata
  • 100 g finely chopped garlic
  • 50 g finely chopped fresh hot chilli (optional)
  • 5 g freshly grated nutmeg
  • A handful of hand-shredded fresh basil
  • 2 Cups Grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

Method

In a very large, heavy-based pot (large enough to hold all the ingredients), add the olive oil, butter, and chopped onions. Sauté gently over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent, but not browned.

Add the celery and carrot and cook gently for a further 5 minutes.

Add the quail meat, season with salt and pepper, and cook until lightly browned. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a few minutes to deepen the flavour.

Pour in the white wine and cook until it has completely evaporated. Add a portion of the stock and stir frequently.

Reduce the heat to medium, then add the garlic, chilli (if using), milk, and nutmeg. Cook until the milk has fully evaporated, stirring regularly.

Stir in all the tomato passata. Once the ragù begins to bubble, reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered for 4–5 hours. Stir often and do not let it burn. As the ragù thickens, add more stock, as needed to maintain a rich, slow-simmering consistency.

Once cooked, bottle the ragù, seal, and pasteurise.

Storage & Yield

The great advantage of this method is longevity : the bottled ragù can be stored in the pantry for a very long time and provides an exceptional, ready-to-use meal at any time.

This batch yielded approximately 50–60 meal portions. For a family-sized version, simply divide all quantities by ten.

If quail is not available, a combination of beef and pork makes an excellent alternative.

Pasta al Ragù di Quaglia

While the pasta cooks in ample salted water – fresh pappardelle is my preference – open a bottle of ragù and transfer it to a pan large enough to accommodate both the pasta and sauce.

Gently heat the ragù. Drain the pasta while it is just shy of al dente and add it directly to the pan. Toss the pasta and ragù together over low heat until fully cooked, stirring and lifting constantly (Mantecare).

If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little stock, or some of the salted boiling pasta water. Finish with fresh basil, give it one final toss, and serve immediately topped with ample grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese.

Pasta al Ragù di Quaglia should be served piping hot – and enjoyed without haste.

Do not forget the bottle of home made red wine to finish it all !

UPSIDE DOWN BANANA BOXES

INSIDE TE HATCHERY

For many years I used plastic brooders to grow my small quails in and it worked very well. The problem came having to clean these all the time and since I replace about 10 of these in my hatchery every week, it became a very laborious and unpleasant task. A water blaster was the only way to clean them properly which created a lot of effluent as well. Alternatives were investigated and I settled on Banana Boxes. The advantage is that there is no cleaning as I just replace the used box with a new and clean one. The downside was that I had 10 manure and bedding “soiled” banana boxes every week. I solved this by flattening the boxes and turn them upside down in my garden with the manure and bedding underneath and the box on top. This makes a wonderful source of nutrients fertilising the soil and also an excellent weed mat.


The results are excellent from a plant growth point of view and I have also not seen that many earthworms in all my live. I normally leave the boxes, well watered, for a couple of months before drilling a 40 mm hole about 200 mm deep through the box into the ground, fill it with good quality soil and plant the new plants or seeds it the hole. One needs to pack the boxes down in the beginning (I use old bricks) until the plants are stronger, otherwise the boxes move too much and the hole is not over the seed any more, or the small plants get damaged. After about 1 month the boxes have disintegrated and the bricks can be removed. The plants are now strong enough, weed free and well fertilised.

Ready to plant an Artichoke Forrest

One of the many Tomato beds ready for planting
Brassicas are very happy
Garlic is going very well
Boxes are well disintegrated after 6 weeks

QUAIL and other POULTRY feeding update by Back Yard Farmer

NEW FEEDING REGIMES FOR IMPROVED PRODUCTION

for Coturnix coturnix Quail and all other Wild Birds such as Pheasants, Partridge, etc

Combining my experience in animal nutrition and husbandry with extensive reading regarding the latest nutritional developments I am now manufacturing feeds that are very advanced in approach. These feeds benefit high performing quails and other wild birds such as pheasants and partridge. My birds are performing so well on these new feed formulations that I have included these formulae in all the feeds I offer for sale.

My strategy is to maximise digestibility using the simplest and best combination of materials and feed additives. I also utilise proven probiotics / prebiotics to stimulate and enhance the naive gut, creating a favourable environment for good gut flora to proliferate and keep cell junctions tight. The rations also assist gut enterocytes with function and repair, while there are some elements in the feeds that help the modulation of immune responses.

I formulate to specifications for a 28 % Protein BYF Quail Starter Feed, 26 % Protein BYF Quail Grower Feed, 24 % Protein BYF Quail Maintenance Feed and a 22 % Protein BYF Layer Feed as the top of the range diets by introducing new additives in addition to the present Vitamin and Mineral Pre Mix. These additives contain extra Lysine, Methionine, Threonine, Isoleucine and Valine which is intended to fully balance all the digestible amino acid ratios. These additions also lift the protein and energy digestibility beyond their stated levels on paper by using 4 separate and specific feed enzyme activities. The extra additives contain bioactive Vitamin D (Hy-D), Vitamin C, and Calcium Carbonate for bone modelling and antioxidant properties. Kelp meal, minerals, electrolytes and some sources of protected Butyrate, Carvacrol and Thymol steer good flora and discourage overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria and organisms. These new additions also contain a Mannosidase enzyme to aid the digestibility of various materials with proven Phytase, beta Glucanase, Xylanase and Protease enzymes.

My new feed formulations are the ultimate diets for quail and wild birds. All the above inclusions are essential and unique and take care of all amino acid balances using standard materials, supercharging the opportunity across all fronts for the birds to start well, grow well and produce well. There is plenty here to give bumble bee sized chicks, as well as mature birds, every chance to thrive without antibiotics, which is a big plus. These feeds are not only essential for wild birds, but give all poultry that extra boost when under stressful conditions.