FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(Waitlist & Purchasing)
1. How can I purchase birds?​
answer: The first step is to ask via email, facebook messenger, text, or on here and please provide all of the following information when inquiring about being added to the waitlist or when ordering:
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First and Last Name
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Mailing Address
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Email Address
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Phone Number
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2. How to pay for my order?
answer: Paypal or Money Order
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3. What are the shipping options?
answer: Birds are shipped by Express Mail and Eggs will be packed in foam quail egg shippers and can be sent by Priority Or Express Mail. Priority can take anywhere from two to five days to arrive. Express takes one to three days, depending on the distance.
4. How much is the shipping cost?
answer: Shipping costs depend on the size, the weight, and the distance.
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5. When do you start shipping?
answer: I start shipping my young adults in mid-October, as soon as the weather's cooled down. eggs are shipped through the spring and summer. Some species start laying later and stop laying earlier than others.
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6. Do you take deposits?
answer: I take payment in full for the eggs or birds and will charge for the Postage upon the shipping date.
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7. Do you ship chicks?
answer: No. some species are too delicate to take a chance to ship through the mail and others, I usually don’t hatch in large enough quantity to provide enough body warmth in a box.
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8. Is there a waitlist?
answer: I send birds and eggs out in the order in which people have paid. I start at the first and work my way down the ladder.
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9. When is a good time to call and order?
answer: As soon as you decide what you want and want to be early on the list. It’s not a good idea to wait until last minute. Every year I have people who wait until I’m sold out and then miss the boat.
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10. Do you sell egg assortments?
answer: Yes but it’s not always easy to coordinate because of the number of the different species that I’m sending out at the time. I’ll do the best that I can do give exactly what you want but sometimes I have to scrimp on one variety and make up for it with another.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(Caring For Your Birds)
1. What size of pen should I keep them in?
answer: I recommend no less than a 4’ by 4’ pen for a pair of Mearns Quail. The wire is stapled to a 2” by 4” up on edge. Underneath the stud( 3.5”) I have 1” chicken wire stapled up under as a baffle for predators that would grab the birds’ feet and rip their legs through the bottom. This makes the bottom predator proof. Some of the pens have a solid plywood floor with shavings for bedding. Some have a hutch with the same but also an attached wire-bottomed outdoor run. I use half inch hardware cloth and on some, I have the expensive inch by half inch heavy rabbit wire. All of my pens have legs 3’ off the ground. I recommend hardware cloth for the top and sides also. That stops the hawks, owls, weasels, fox, raccoons, and dogs from pulling the birds the wire. (Weasels can squeeze through a 1” hole and kill all of your birds). I don’t recommend putting your quail on the ground unless you live in a region where the soil is dry and sandy. Up here in the northern part of the country the soil is too damp and the birds are prone to quail disease (coccidiosis), a protozoan that causes a deadly intestinal infection.
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2. What do they eat?
answer: As chicks I start them out with a turkey or game bird starter crumble. I grind it up in a blender for the first week to two weeks because most of the crumble is too big and coarse for the small chicks to swallow right away. After that you don’t need to grind it up. Once they’re a bit beyond the brooder stage I put them on a local brand turkey / game bird grower / finisher pellet. If your local brand of pellets are too large for quail, you can still use crumble. During the breeding season I have them on layer feed.
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3. Can I mix different species in a pen?
answer: DON'T. Bad idea.
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4. Can they take cold?
answer: I’m in Maine where it can get well below zero. The ones that are sensitive are the Elegant and Jungle Bush. The Jungle Bush can’t take anything below 25 degrees or they can freeze their feet and legs off. I bring mine indoors for the winter months. Elegant Quail are also prone to frostbite but I do keep mine outdoors all winter. They need to have a solid floor with a good bedding of shavings for insulation. Some will want to perch, so remove any perches or nest boxes because their toes will hang out over the edges. I recommend that all pens should have a hutch with a solid floor and some bedding. I use dry wood shavings mostly. Sometimes I add some hay or straw. Some of my pens are all solid-floored and some are a combination of a wooden floored hutch with an outdoor run that has a wire bottom.
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5. Can I use a wire-bottomed brooder?
answer: Not a good idea for Bobwhites, Mountains, or Mearns. They can be notorious toe-pickers and it’s a good idea to chop up some hay and straw to help to hide their toes. Valley, Gambel’s, Scaled, Harlequin, and Jungle Bush have never been a toe-picker for me but I still don’t brood anything on wire. Don’t overcrowd and be sure to use a red brooder bulb. You can see videos of my brooder system on Maine-ly Quail on Facebook.
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