If you want fresh eggs but your town is strict about noise, quail are worth a look. They are not silent, but they are much quieter than a flock with a rooster, there is no dawn crowing, and they often start laying by six to eight weeks old.
We keep about 20 quail of our own, so here is what we have learned about them and how their housing differs from a chicken coop.
Why quail work in so many yards
Many New Jersey towns ban roosters, and many more limit or require permits for hens. Quail tend to slip under the noise rules that get roosters banned. That makes them an easier sell to a town and to neighbors.
They also need a fraction of the room. As a rule of thumb, plan on about one square foot of floor space per bird, more if you can give it. A whole covey can fit in a corner of a yard that would never hold a coop and run.
Local rules still vary, so check your town the same way you would for chickens. Our chicken rules by town page is a good place to start.
They lay fast
Coturnix quail, the most common backyard type, can start laying around six to eight weeks old. That is far quicker than chickens. A small aviary can be producing eggs within a couple of months, which is a big part of why quail have taken off with people who do not have the room or town approval for hens.
Quail are not small chickens
Their housing has to be right, because their margin for error is smaller than a chicken's. A gap a hen would never fit through is an open door to a quail, and to the rat or snake hunting it. Three things change:
Quarter-inch mesh. On chicken coops we use ½-inch hardware cloth. Quail are small enough to slip through that, and so are the snakes and rats that hunt them. So on quail aviaries we drop to ¼-inch hardware cloth.
A low or soft ceiling. Quail flush straight up when startled. A hard, high roof can injure them. We keep the ceiling low or build it with a soft top so they do not hurt their heads.
Floor first. Quail live on the ground rather than roosting. The floor plan and bedding matter more than perches, and waste builds up fast close to the ground, so we build in easy-clean access.
What stays the same
Quail get the same layered predator defense as our coops. Every aviary has a 2-foot dig-proof predator skirt around the perimeter, and shade, ventilation, and weather protection built in. We size each one to your covey and your yard, from a starter aviary on up.
Is a rooster worth it anyway?
For most backyard keepers, no. Hens lay without one, and many New Jersey towns ban roosters. If what you want is a steady supply of eggs without the crowing, quail or a flock of hens without a rooster is the practical choice. See is it worth getting a rooster.
See our quail aviaries, or tell us about your covey for a free quote.