When people want to know why we raise quail, I have so many answers. The little goobers and their eggs are delicious, they mature and reproduce quickly, they have been bred to fit into small spaces, and their stupidity is delightfully charming.
But there’s another answer: chickens suck.
Sure, when you first bring them home, chickens are adorable little balls of fluff.
But chickens get bigger – and so does their poop. It builds up quickly and not only stinks but requires more frequent and thorough cleaning. Many breeds are flighty or feisty, in contrast to the docile and domesticated coturnix quail. They also take much longer to reach an age of maturity for egg laying or for cooking – 6 months or more as compared to the 6 weeks required for a quail.
There’s another problem! We tried raising chickens alongside our quail because we didn’t have or wish to build separate enclosures. Unfortunately, these avian predators soon discovered how delicious quail eggs can be. That’s right: they ate the quail eggs. Those jerks.
We solved that problem quickly: I threw some of my favorite Pork King Good dill seasoning on them and roasted them to perfection.
Never again, my friends: all hail the small but mighty quail!
Quail and Cotton 