Coturnix quail have been domesticated in Asia for over a thousand years so it should not surprise you that some Americans kept Coturnix quail (and other game birds) through the difficult years of the 1930’s as a source of food. But how did they do it with less of the modern conveniences we enjoy? Here’s a peek into Great Depression Coturnix quail keeping, breeding & raising:
Great Depression Coturnix Quail Keeping
Quail are fragile birds, so how did breeders produce them (and keep them alive for long enough) to sell them? Thanks to a few historical books, images, and writings, we can get a glimpse of how Great Depression era quail keeping was not only accomplished but thrived!
Housing a Great Depression Era Quail Covey
Just like today, housing quail meant constructing a coop, hutch, or tractor yourself or paying a carpenter to do it for you. Building plans were often included in printed books or brochures on quail keeping that could be purchased by mail order.
Production of wire cloth on weaving machines began in 1798. By the 1930’s hardware cloth was readily available in dry good stores. 1/3 inch mesh was used for quails if available and 1/2 inch, like we have today, was plentiful early in the depression.
Feeding Quail During the Great Depression
Commercial poultry feed was being advertised for sale in the 1930’s but it was considered expensive at 90¢ for 25 pounds and $3 for 100 pounds. (The pay for many working men was around $1 per hour/$8 per day in 1930-31.) A bushel of corn (56 pounds) was 28-30¢ around this time and many keepers found it cheaper to mix their own quail chick & grower feed.
Quail Food Recipes: Homemade Grain Mixes & Feed
Here is what keepers would source locally and mix up to feed their coveys:
Hatching Quail Chicks
Coturnix quail hens can go broody and reproduce naturally on their own, but generally not at levels that will increase the size of the covey. With higher demand, quail keepers and breeders employed multiple methods to produce quail chicks for market.
Brooding & Raising Quail Chicks
Electricity made it possible for breeders to hatch and raise chicks in ways similar to today. Homemade incubators, brooder boxes, and chick warmers were common. Ingenuity was valued during the Great Depression and a keeper was considered clever if they could inexpensively craft things that worked well.
Hatching Quail Chicks Using Bantam Hens
Antique books indicate that by the 1930’s the use of broody bantam hens as a way to hatch quail was considered “old fashioned”. But it worked so well, it was continuously used on many farms through the 1960’s.
The breed of the bantam hen was important. Silkie, Cochin, and Brahma bantam hens were considered the best for hatching quail chicks. Seabright x Cochin bantam crosses were considered the absolute best for this task if they could be found but many breeders preferred the Cochins. The leg feathers of these bantam hens were clipped off so they didn’t trap moisture against the quail chicks and chill them. Each bantam hen could cover 15 to 18 eggs and she handled the just-hatched quail chicks gently.
Bantam hens were frequently used to raise quail for the first two months of life until the quail could go into their own ground pen or tractor. The chicken hen would generally be confined to a small tractor with a slatted door which allowed the quail chicks the ability to escape. Once outside, they would scratch and peck through the nearby grass without risk of the mother kicking and killing them if she was scratching along with them.
Letting the bantam hen free range all day with young quail chicks usually resulted in high losses, since she would range too far with them and attract an enormous amount of attention from hawks. The small bantam tractor method was discovered to work incredibly well. A circle of wire fencing could create a little yard, allowing the broody to be out with slightly older chicks who were no longer at risk of being killed by her kicks. The hen would call the quail chicks back into the tractor coop at dusk and would be closed in for the night with a solid door that slid into place over the slatted door.
Mail Order Quail
Just like today, you could purchase quail juveniles that would be shipped to you. It was often expensive but was the only way to begin if there were no local breeders. Handmade shipping crates would be kept and used to transport quail to nearby buyers who then ordered from you once you were in business selling juveniles yourself.
Bob White Quail
All of these breeding techniques, pens, and apparatus were used to breed Bob White quail as well. Over-hunting for sport during the 1920’s and by those desperate to feed their families in the early 1930’s had drastically reduced some wild Bob White populations. Conservation efforts sprang up during the late 1930’s and many of the images here were taken as part of those efforts.
There’s So Much More to Learn from the Great Depression!
If You Enjoyed this glimpse into Great Depression era quail keeping, take a peek at our Great Depression Archive where you’ll find more historical photos and information on chicken keeping, home gardening and farming during the difficult times families faced during the 1930’s.
You Might Also Enjoy Reading:
Free Quail Coop Building Plans + No Waste Quail Feeders
Coturnix Quail Breeding for Profit
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