How Many Coturnix Quail Should You Start With?
If you’re thinking about adding Coturnix quail to your homestead—or even your backyard—one of the first questions you’ll ask is: How many should I start with? And the truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on your goals, your setup, and how much time you want to invest.
I’ve worked with new keepers who just wanted a few adorable birds to watch and collect the occasional egg, and I’ve helped others build systems to produce hundreds of eggs and dozens of meat birds a month. No matter which camp you’re in—or if you’re somewhere in between—here’s how I recommend thinking it through.
Start with Your Goals, Not a Number
Before you settle on how many birds, figure out what you want from your quail. Are you mostly interested in a small, low-maintenance covey for fresh eggs? Are you hoping to raise enough meat to feed your family? Or are you planning to hatch and grow your covey into a sustainable, self-reliant source of food?
A few birds will lay plenty of eggs for snacking, garnishing dishes, or the occasional treat. But if you’re looking to use quail as a steady food source—or to offset grocery store costs—you’ll need a setup that supports rotation, breeding, and harvesting.
Once you’re clear on your goals, the numbers make more sense.
If You’re Keeping Quail for Eggs
Coturnix hens are incredibly productive. One healthy hen can lay over 250 eggs a year, especially if you manage lighting in the off-season. I use LED rope lights on a timer to give my hens consistent light through fall and winter. That means even 4–6 hens can keep a household supplied with quail eggs for fresh eating. Add a few more if you want enough to pickle or share.
If you’re curious what to expect in terms of egg size and output, this post breaks it down clearly.
If you want fertile eggs or plan to hatch down the line, you’ll also need to keep a cock. A typical ratio is one male for every 4 to 6 hens—enough to ensure fertility without too much pressure on the hens. If you’re not hatching, though, there’s no need for males at all.
For most backyard or beginner setups focused on eggs, starting with 8 to 12 birds is a comfortable range. It gives you a good sense of what quail care is like without being overwhelming, and still provides a steady supply of eggs.
If You’re Raising Quail for Meat
If meat is your main focus, you’ll need more birds—and a system to keep the freezer full. Coturnix are fast growers and ready to process around 8 weeks of age, but getting a consistent supply takes planning. Starting with 25 to 50 birds gives you the ability to grow out a round of birds while keeping a core group of breeders producing fertile eggs.
In this setup, you’ll be collecting eggs to incubate weekly, hatching new chicks every couple of weeks, and culling or harvesting at a steady pace. It takes more space, more feed, and more daily care—but it also creates a high-yield, low-footprint meat source for your homestead.
If you’re not ready to hatch your own right away, you can still raise for meat using straight-run chicks from a local breeder or hatchery. Just keep in mind: you’ll need enough to account for both sexes and cull size, and you’ll likely want at least 20–30 chicks per batch.
If you’re new to processing and want to raise quail as a meat source, here’s a beginner-friendly look at raising Coturnix for meat, including timeline, setup, and planning tips. Wondering whether a meat setup fits your budget? This guide offers a clear look at what it really costs to raise quail for meat.
If You’re Planning to Breed or Build a Sustainable Covey
For those wanting to create a self-sustaining setup, where you control your own lines, hatch rates, and egg/meat flow, I recommend starting with a foundation group of 20 to 30 birds, with a proper male-to-female ratio and room to grow. This allows you to begin tracking which birds are your best layers, which ones grow fastest, and which should be bred forward—or culled.
This size also gives you enough genetic diversity to rotate breeders and avoid overbreeding specific pairs. From there, you can hatch in small batches, grow out future breeders, and improve your line season after season.
For high-volume hatching and grow-outs, I recommend the Hatching Time Chick Brooder—it’s durable, stackable, and makes cleanup way easier than DIY setups. If you’re on the fence, you can check out my full review here where I break down what works and what I’d tweak.
It’s a more advanced setup, but incredibly rewarding if your goal is long-term food production, independence, or even selling chicks and eggs. f you’re planning to breed long-term, it’s important to think about how to prevent inbreeding while still keeping a closed system. This post walks through pairing, rotation, and when to introduce new genetics.
Things to Consider Before Choosing Your Starting Number
Beyond your goals, a few practical questions will help you find the right starting point:
- Do you plan to scale up? Starting with a manageable number lets you learn without burnout, but leaves room to grow if you decide quail are a good fit.
- How much space do you have? Even small-scale setups need room to keep things clean, safe, and stress-free. Overcrowding causes aggression, injury, and lower egg output.
- Do you want to hatch right away, or later? If you’re hatching soon, make sure you start with both hens and cocks—and have an incubator ready to go.
- How much time can you realistically dedicate each day? More birds mean more care: more water, more feed, more mess.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Quail are social birds and do best in a covey. Keeping at least 4–5 birds helps reduce stress and prevents aggressive behavior.
Absolutely. Hens will lay just fine without a cock present. In fact, all-female coveys are often calmer and more productive for egg-only setups.
Start with at least three groups per color line, each with one male and four to five unrelated females. This helps preserve genetic diversity and keeps color results consistent in your hatches.
Yes, but you’ll need to quarantine new birds and introduce them slowly to avoid fighting. It’s often easier to hatch or raise birds in small batches from your existing group.
If you’re brand new, I recommend starting with 10–12 birds, especially if you’re mostly after eggs. That number gives you daily experience, visible results, and an easy way to learn housing, feeding, and handling before expanding.
If you’ve already got a plan for hatching or processing meat birds, or you’re setting up a full breeding system, aim for 20–30 birds to start, with clear roles and enough space to manage them well.
Whatever number you choose, remember—quail scale quickly. Start where you’re comfortable, and build from there. If you’re still deciding whether quail are right for you, here’s a breakdown of why Coturnix make such an easy, rewarding backyard bird.
