Japanese Quail are raised both for meat and eggs.
The birds have all their feathers when they are four weeks of age. Cinnamon-coloured feathers usually indicate a male, but not always.
Males will weigh 3 ½ to 5 ounces (100 to 140 grams); females 4 to 5 ½ ounces (120 to 160 grams.)
The birds are stimulated to keep on laying eggs by having lights left on at night. The egg colouring ranges from white to brown, or buff-coloured with brown mottling. The average egg weight is about ⅓ oz (10 g.)
Nutrition
13% protein and 11% fat.
 |
|
Amount
|
| Calories | |
158
|
| Calcium | |
.59 mg
|
| Iron | |
3.8 mg
|
History Notes
Japanese Quail were raised in captivity in Japan from the 1100s on, initially as ornamental aviary birds for their song, but by the second half of the 1800s, they were definitely seen as a food item.