Shipping Adult Coturnix
Adult quail are shipped via USPS Express Priority Mail service. The post office typically will not deliver birds with your regular mail, so please keep a close eye on your tracking information and be ready for a phone call from your local post office with instructions for picking up your birds. This ensures the safest and fastest shipment from our farm to you.
Immediately Upon Arrival:
Your quail will be very thirsty and hungry when they arrive. The first priority is to hydrate them. Do not give food for the first 6-12 hours because giving dried hay or dried grain-based food will dehydrate your quail even more.
- Immediately give quail free access to room temperature water. Add a chick electrolyte mixture or ½ teaspoon table salt (sea salt is best but table salt is fine) and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar to one quart of room-temperature water to give them a boost. DO NOT GIVE COLD WATER for the first 24-48 hours!
- Quail older than 4 weeks old do not need supplemental heat, but they should be protected from cold temperatures (less than ~40 °F) until they have recovered from the stress of shipping (3-5 days after arrival).
- After the quail have been allowed to hydrate for 6-12 hours, food can be introduced.
- Start quail on a game bird/turkey starter crumble with 28%-30% protein and ~1% calcium.
- If you can’t immediately find a game bird/turkey starter crumble, quail can be fed a 24% protein chicken starter crumble with crushed dried mealworms. Add ¼ cup crushed mealworms per pound of chicken starter crumble.
Long-Term Care:
- Your quail should be housed in a large pen with tall ceilings (4 ft or taller) or cages 8-10 inches tall. Cages with ceilings between these two ranges (such as rabbit hutches) can be very dangerous for quail because quail are able to jump/fly with enough momentum to cause serious head injuries if they hit the top of the cage.
- Quail need a high-protein game bird feed. Quail should be fed a game bird/turkey starter feed with 28-30% protein and ~1% calcium until they are 7-8 weeks old.
- At 7-8 weeks, quail should be transitioned to a game bird or turkey layer/breeder/all-purpose feed with 20-22% protein and 2-3% calcium. “Adult” quail we ship are ~6 weeks old, so they can be transitioned to lower protein feed after you’ve had them for 1-2 weeks. This will give them a nice boost while they recover from the potential stress of shipping.
- Offer grit if your quail are exposed to hay or grass.
Lastly, enjoy your quail. Feel free to give them a container full of sand to dust bathe in, as well as mealworms or other treats in moderation.
* If excessive damage has occurred to birds or box during shipment, take pictures of the box and packaging, and contact us regarding a post office claim and bird replacement or a refund.