If you have decided to keep your own poultry, the question quickly arises whether it should be chickens or quails. Both animals have different advantages and disadvantages, which we will look at in this article.
Quails are smaller than chickens and require less space and feed. They are also more resistant to diseases and quieter. Chickens, on the other hand, need more space, but lay larger eggs.
Contents
Differences between chickens and Quails:
| Chickens | Quails | |
| Space requirement | Minimum 4m² per chicken | Maximum 5 quails per 1m² |
| Noise level | quiet to medium-loud, roosters sometimes very loud | very quiet |
| Cost per animal | 3 to 30 Dollar | 1 to 5 Dollar |
| Eggs per year | 200 to 250 eggs per year | 300 eggs per year |
| Food requirement | 120 g per day/ chicken | 20 g per day/ quail |
| Weight | 2 to 5 kg | 50 to 90 g, laying quails up to 200g |
| Difficulty level | medium | easy to care for |
Where do chickens and Quails come from?
Our domesticated chickens are originally descended from the Bankiva Fowl. The Bankiva chicken is a wild chicken from South Asia.
Quails, on the other hand, are the small birds and their wild relatives live in Europe as well as parts of Africa and Asia.
Space requirements: Chickens vs. Quails
Since chickens are significantly larger than quails, weighing 2 to 5 kg, they also require more space. As a rule of thumb, you can say that you should plan for a minimum of 4 m² for a chicken. In contrast, you can keep a maximum of 5 quails per 1 m².
So in a larger rabbit hutch you can comfortably fit a few quails, for chickens you would have to build your own chicken coop first.
How noisy are chickens and Quails?
Even though chickens without roosters are already not very noisy, quails are even quieter.
Roosters are the biggest factor in noisiness with chickens, because repeated crowing in the early morning hours can quickly get on the nerves of even the nicest neighbors.
Hens, on the other hand, are quieter, but they too cackle, coo and communicate a lot with sounds among themselves.
Quail hens, on the other hand, are mostly silent and hardly make any sounds. Quail roosters also do not crow, but have a “trilling” call that is much quieter compared to roosters.
Chicken eggs vs. Quail eggs
Most people want to keep chickens and quails for their eggs and there are some differences between the two species. This quickly raises the question of how many eggs chicken and quail lay in a year?
| Chickens | Quails | |
| Egg weight | average 50 to 70 g | average 9 to 14 g |
| Laying begin | after 24 weeks | after 6 to 8 weeks |
| Laying duration | 3 to 4 years | 2 years |
| Eggs per year | 200 to 250 eggs per year | 300 eggs per year |
Besides the size of the animals, their eggs are also different. Quails lay much smaller eggs than chickens. As a rule of thumb, one can say that 5 to 6 quail eggs correspond to a medium-sized chicken egg.
On the other hand, quails grow much faster than chickens and start laying their first eggs at 6 to 8 weeks of age. Quails usually only lay eggs for an average of 2 years, which is only half as long a period compared to chickens.
Quail and chickens also differ in their total production per year. Quails lay more eggs than chickens with 300 eggs in a year. However, you also have to keep in mind that quail eggs are smaller.
So if you want a poultry that grows up quickly and starts laying eggs early, quails are the way to go.
If, on the other hand, you are more concerned about having a large quantity of eggs and want animals that will continue to lay eggs for as long as possible, then chickens are the right choice for you.
What do Quails and Chickens eat?
Both chickens and quails are omnivores. They eat both meat and plants.
Quails eat more insects than grains in the wild, which means they need a higher amount of protein in their diet than chickens.
A chicken needs about 120 grams of feed per day, while a quail only needs 20 grams. Thus, the feed cost of quails is lower than that of chicken.
Is Chicken or Quail meat better?
In terms of taste, quail meat usually tastes like a mix of duck and chicken.
However, quail meat has a lower fat content than chicken and duck. It also differs in the content of minerals and vitamins. Thus, quail meat has more iron, vitamin C and vitamin A.
It is best to test the taste of quail meat yourself to make sure you like it.
Because quails are much smaller, the meat of a gutted and plucked quail also weighs, at 100 to 120 g (for a bigger quail breed), much less than a chicken.
Are Chickens or Quails easier to keep?
Due to their small space requirements, quails are easier to keep for most people. In addition, quails grow up faster than chickens and are significantly more resistant to diseases and parasites than most chicken breeds.
Quails are also more family-friendly: even quail roosters can’t seriously injure anyone, which is a different story for chicken roosters.
Can you keep Chickens and Quails together?
Even though chickens and quails are very similar at first glance, they should not be kept together in the same enclosure or flock. Chickens and quails can be kept in the same garden without any problems, provided they do not have direct contact with each other. The main reasons for this are:
- Chickens have a fixed pecking order.
Even though quails also have a pecking order, they will always get the short end when living directly with chickens and so will be at the bottom of the pecking order. This can quickly lead to increased attacks for the quails and they barely get any food.
- Chickens like to eat quail eggs
If you have a problem with some of your chickens eating their own eggs, they will definitely eat the quail eggs. Chickens actually seem to like quail eggs more than their own.
- they can infect each other with diseases
Many diseases that chickens can contract are also transmitted to quails. Thus, in the worst case, both your chickens and quails are sick.
Also, there are some diseases that often cause little symptoms in infected chickens, but are usually fatal for quails, one of the most common is coryza.
Some of the main symptoms are:
– swollen eyes
– refusal of food and water
– no longer laying eggs
– pale comb
- Quails can fly well
Quails can fly much better compared to most chicken breeds and need an aviary or a particularly high fence, which is not necessary for chickens. They can actually fly 50 to 90 meters without any problems.
Conclusion
You have limited space and the poultry should be as quiet as possible? Then quails are the right choice.
You have more space, don’t like quail eggs or you want the classic fresh chicken eggs for Sunday breakfast? Then you’ll be happier with chicken.
Whether your choice ends up being quail or chicken, fresh eggs are always something special.
