The quail are still pretty busy these days.

Even in winter the quail are still laying. The temperate winter is partially responsible for this, but they are still laying an egg a day.

It takes about three of these to equal a hen's egg, but they taste wonderful! In winter, we reduce the flock count to a dozen breeding pairs to reduce the feed costs. In the spring we will hatch out another 40 birds to expand the flock. A prepping bonanza, and they also are good at harvesting ticks. So I will release about a third of them, for tick patrolling on the homestead!

They grow to full size in 6 weeks, and reproduce in 8 weeks. They provide a lot of meat, and it is all dark meat. I hope to start pressure canning some birds this spring to fill the pantry on the homestead. These birds breed faster than rabbits, and mature quicker too.

This is good, because I have chosen to eat Biblically clean foods; and these birds are clean. It is nice to have an option that is clean, and produces in large quantities! It will fill my pantry with flavorful food that stores well.

I may even pickle some eggs....