Grown up in six weeks
A quail chick is fully grown and laying eggs at six to eight weeks old.
Garden and aviary · Time every day
Japanese quail
Small game bird · from East Asia
A small, round, brown bird streaked with cream, with a tiny tail and a pale stripe over each eye.
- Size
- About 15 to 18cm long
- Lives for
- 2 to 4 years
- Suits
- Small gardens: quiet and compact
Scurries after you, close to the ground. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the quail
Speckled eggs
The eggs are small, cream and blotched with brown. Each hen lays her own pattern.
Quail in space
Quail eggs were hatched aboard a space station in 1990, the first birds born in space.
It jumps when startled
A frightened quail shoots straight up, so its house needs a low or a padded roof.
Quieter than hens
They make soft chirps and crows, and suit a small garden with neighbours.
A ground bird
It does not perch. It lives, feeds and nests on the ground.
The real thing
Photos of the quail
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
Looking after one
Keep a small group in a secure, covered run with places to hide. Feed game bird crumb with grit, and collect the eggs daily.
Before you get one
Quail are shy and not for cuddling, but they are easy, quiet and productive.
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