A friend has been picking my brain about releasing some coturnix quail on his farm. He just wants to see them around and realizes they may not do that well. It's not something I would personally do, but it's his farm and his right to do so. I respect that freedom. I answered him and thought others would like to glean info on Jumbo Brown quail from my response.
Jumbo Brown are considered adults between 6-10 weeks. Some JB breed and lay eggs earlier than others so it can vary bird to bird. I imagine they could be released at 6 weeks or so.
You'd probably have better luck with the Bobwhites if you can find someone raising them. They are not as domesticated and should do better in the wild. I've had them before and they are more jumpy/wilder than the coturnix. Murray McMurray had BW chicks for sale this year. I've never ordered any from them, but I've ordered chickens, ducks, geese, etc. MM hatchery always compensates with a credit for dead chicks if you let them know within 48 hours. You can also get BW eggs from eBay and Amazon to incubate.******
An incubator can be built with a $6 controller from Amazon. The controllers I use are in Celcius - I just use an online C to F calculator. I have stuck with these controllers because they have done very well for me once I get them at the right temp. I use 50w ceramic heater bulbs which are about $10-15 each.
GoVee's $12 thermometers work well. With those, I can check temps and humidity with my phone so I don't have to open the incubators and mess up my humidity levels.
For humidity, I use a container with slots cut in the lid for sponges. I keep that filled. I also use some sponges on the racks.
Clint uses small fridges people throw away to make our incubators. I also have a large freezer and a large 2-sided fridge made into incubators. Birds are going to hatch in them, so you don't need anything very fancy. You can even make one from a cooler if you don't have too many eggs.
Clint built me racks that I can shift ("rotate") with a wire that sticks out of the top of the incubator, but you could use the cookie cooling racks.
For rotating the eggs, years ago I used to lift one side of the minifridge and push a brick under it and then later do the opposite side 3x a day. 3-5xs a day rotation ("side to side shift") is all you need.
Hatching birds is fairly easy and doesn't have to be as complex and pricey as people make it. I read historical accounts of pioneers hatching chicks in boxes next to woodstoves.
Even if something goes wrong like the power is out for 12 hours, the egg will hold temp inside. Some may still hatch but your hatch rate may be lower. I had that happen this year and still had a 50% hatch rate.
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I do sell quail chicks, adults, and eggs. If interested, 757-eight1four-2eight three5
