How Many Quail Does My Family Need?

Looking to add Coturnix Quail laying hens to your backyard for fresh egg production at home? We’ll walk you through how to calculate the number of quail females your family needs based on your family’s current CHICKEN egg consumption. Our easy, at-a-glance charts make the process effortless! And since Coturnix quail hens lay an egg every day, you’ll be pleased with how few your family actually needs.

How Many Coturnix Quail Does My Family Need?

There are two “types” of Coturnix quail: Standard and Jumbo. Jumbo quail are larger bodied and lay a MUCH larger egg – almost the size of a bantam chicken egg. We are going to show you the flock numbers for both types of quail. If you have the option to purchase Jumbo Coturnix Quail from a local breeder, it is very wise to do so. They consume about the same amount of feed as standard quail but lay larger eggs, which saves you money in the long run. Jumbo quail eggs are also easier to crack open and use in the kitchen.

First, Calculate the Number of CHICKEN Eggs Your Family Uses

To use our charts, you must know the number of grocery store chicken eggs your family uses per week. Here is the basic math we are using:

For every 1 chicken egg you use per day, plan on keeping 3 standard quail hens or 2 jumbo quail hens.

Calculate Coturnix Quail Hens Needed:

Note that the graphic below is based on how many chicken eggs are used PER WEEK!

How Many Quail Does My Family Need calculate quail needed by chicken egg used per week

But How Many Quail Hens Should I Actually Keep?

Quail poops do have a smell to them and hutches can only hold so many birds. Quail need a minimum of ½ square foot per bird with 1 square foot being common. 2 square foot per bird will reduce poop smells. If you have a large family or need to provide eggs to more than one household, you may need to keep as many hens as your coop can comfortably house.

a cute white coturnix quail coop — Our coop can hold up to 12 Coturnix quail. Click the image to purchase the building plans from our shop!

Do I need to keep a Male?

A male quail, called a rooster, is NOT necessary for quail hens to lay eggs. The hen’s bodies will begin to ovulate and produce eggs whether a male is present or not. If you would like to breed your own quail, you will need at least one male. Keeping a male (rooster) for every 4 to 6 hens is suggested if you need to maintain a self-sufficient flock so be sure to include him in your space calculations! Quail roosters are not loud and their “crow” is simply a wild bird call. Click HERE to listen to how a Coturnix male crow sounds on YouTube.

coturnix quail pharaph rooster — A Pharaoh (brown) male.

coturnix quail additional info for new keepers

You Will Need Quail Egg Scissors

You absolutely will need quail scissors to break open and cook with your quail eggs. Quail eggs do not crack like chicken eggs. Instead, standard size quail eggs tend to completely collapse in your hand when cracked on the side of a bowl and sprinkle the yolks with teensy, sharp egg shell pieces that are difficult to remove. I suggest purchasing multiple pairs of the scissors because anyone you share quail eggs with will also need a pair. They need to be hand washed/rinsed after using since quail egg whites tend to glue the scissors shut! (Affiliate link.)

Quail Do NOT Lay Eggs Year-Round

Quail hens take a break from laying in the late autumn and winter months, usually ceasing around November. Their bodies rest for up to five months over the winter and they resume laying eggs in February or March. You may not get any eggs November through February or reduced output if only a couple hens continue to lay. Celadon quail, who lay blue eggs, tend to take the longest breaks. They also take longer to come into lay. Their blue eggs are beautiful but if you are concerned with feeding your family, you’ll find jumbo quail to be much more productive.

coturnix quail eggs in a bowl with pink flowers

How to Get Eggs Almost Year Round

You can “force” quail to continue laying through the winter by having a solar garden light inside their coop or hutch which comes on at dusk, giving them a few extra hours of light exposure. I have found that quail hens tend to naturally pass away around 2 years old, whether they get a laying break or not each winter, so if your family needs eggs do not hesitate to use a solar light. The quail may slow down during a string of dark, stormy winter days but will pick up again fairly quickly.

Quail Only Live for About 2 Years

Sweet, gentle quail are sadly short lived. They tend to pass overnight at 18 to 30 months after hatch. A 1.5 to 3 year lifespan for each hen is normal. Males may live for 3+ years since their bodies are not taxed by egg laying.

how much standard and jumbo coturnix quail eat game bird feed crumbles

How Much Do Quail Eat?

Adult Coturnix Quail hens eat about 2 Tablespoons of commercial feed crumbles per day and Jumbos eat slightly more at roughly 2.4 Tablespoons per day. Their feed comes from Tractor Supply, local feed stores or Amazon. (Affiliate link.) A 40 pound bag (640 ounces) of game bird crumbles will feed 12 quail who each eat 2 Tbsp (1 ounce) of food per day for about 53 days.

a circle of differing blue shades of coturnix quail eggs laid by celadon quail and most have speckles on the shells — Click the image to learn about Celadon quail who lay blue eggs!

In Closing

I hope this article has helped you feel confident when it comes to answering the question of “How Many Quail Does My Family Need?” and that you’ve discovered just how easy backyard Coturnix quail are to keep to provide your family with fresh eggs!