Italian quail? Who has them and how do they compare?

[exop]

Was looking at quail just recently and I wondered about the Italian variety. The markings are beautiful, but the catalog I was reading had nothing to say about their hardiness or productivity. Does anyone here raise these little guys?

Best - exop

 

[Stellar]

I have just separated my Italians from my Manchurian Goldens so it will be a little bit before I offer eggs.

They are just a color variety of the Coturnix. Same productivity as any other Coturnix. Some are large and some are small. Selective breeding takes place to get your jumbos or XL.

 

[peewee]

Just curious Quaillady. I was wondering what are the differences in the Goldens and Manchurians. I always thought they were the same.

 

[mhwc56]

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so did i....

 

[Stellar]

I thought they were the same until this

They both have the FAWN gene. The Italian occurred after mating back with the Browns more. So the more lethal is the Manchurian. The Italians shouldn't be as lethal.


And then I did several matings and it really differentiates the two colors. The Manchurian Gold is more yellow whereas the Italian is a cream base with the brown "v" markings on the back feathers and the speckles on the chest (if female). The photo is of two hens

 

[Hooligan Farm]

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Manchurian are more aggressive lethal?

 

[Robo]

If you breed a manchurian to a manchurian there is a lethal gene that can kill your offspring.

 

[Stellar]

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no... the chicks will develop in the egg but will never hatch, they just die in the shell. If they hatch, they are good to go.

 

[Hooligan Farm]

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Thanks I will make a note of that. So what if I breed a Manchurian with a Italian? Will it have the same effects?

 

[Stellar]

It's less of an effect because that was what I was doing and had great results LOL