Are Pharaoh Quail & Coturnix the Same?

Pharaoh quails and coturnix quails are the same species of bird, known by many other names besides these. They include Japanese quail, Bible quail, Nile quail and stubble quail. Various mutations of the bird are known by still more monikers, including the Italian speckled, Manchurian speckled, golden speckled and golden. All these names for one species: Coturnix coturnix.

  1. History

    • The natural habitat of the coturnix quails ranges from northern Mongolia to southern Japan -- basically throughout the Far East and eastern Asia. Wild coturnix do little flying, feeding primarily on the ground. Domesticated in Japan since the 1100s, these docile birds were raised for meat and egg production and also kept as pets. These little birds possess a sweet singing voice. Cortunix quails were introduced to the United States after the Civil War.

    Appearance

    • Grown males weigh between 4 and 5 ounces, while females are slightly larger. By the age of 3 weeks, it's easy to sex these birds. While both genders are grayish-brown with black bars, males sport rusty or reddish brown plumage on the throat and breast, while females have lighter coloring in these regions. Special colored varieties, such as the golden, appear in different shades. It's the other end of the bird that definitely identifies the gender. Males develop a large gland above the cloaca.

    Husbandry

    • Quails mature quickly. By the age of 6 weeks, they boast full adult plumage. Feed game bird chow to your quail, as chicken feed doesn't contain sufficient amounts of protein. Quails require feed with up to a 25 percent protein content, while the maximum content for laying chickens is about 22 percent. Each bird consumes about a half-ounce of feed daily. Fresh, clean water should always be available. Figure on 16 to 25 square inches of cage space per bird. Line cages with straw, shavings or sawdust, cleaning them regularly.

    Eggs

    • If you've ever eaten quail eggs, odds are they came from the coturnix quails. Each white or off-white egg weighs about a quarter-ounce. A coturnix hen might lay between 200 and 300 eggs annually, with peak fertility during her first year. Quail start breeding very early -- even a 2-month-old hen will start laying. Broodiness, or the desire to set on eggs for hatching, has been virtually bred out of the domestic quail, so if you wish to hatch eggs you must use an incubator. Coturnix eggs hatch between the 14th and 19th day of incubation, with an average of 17 days.