I'm just curious. I have a little bit of experience with chickens but not with any of the other fowl. I'm trying to decide what to start with when we get the homestead set up and it's good to hear different opinions.
The Bob White Quail are a larger variety?
I guess it all depends on your goals and what you want from them. Haha. We didn't know, so we were trying them all out kind of.
Bobwhites, it really depends on the variety. I got them cause they're native to parts of the US - and because a friend of mine was selling them. I don't recommend them personally because they take just as long as chickens to mature and start laying eggs. So I plan on getting the Jumbo Coturnix this year. The Coturnix mature at 6-8 weeks and lay then as well, where the Bobwhites can take 20+ weeks, just like chickens. So I don't feel they're super sustainable for what we want (eat/sell eggs, eat meat - though we haven't harvested any yet). But they're easiest to care for, in my opinion.
The ducks and geese... I guess husband isn't a fan of duck/goose meat - though I haven't tried it myself. Our ducks didn't start laying until either the end of last month or the beginning of this month, though they were old enough maybe in October/November. I find ducks to be funny, but am unsure if they are a great fit for us because they love their little kiddy pools and water. They make holes in the ground, which is annoying. They love mud. The geese and ducks are good at lawn mowing though, so that's a plus. Haha. But they are messy messy and they eat more than chickens.
Wow thanks for all the information!
I definitely will be avoiding the Bob Whites, the Jumbo Coturnix Quail sound like a good option though. I have heard of them before but I forgot what they were called.
I think from what you have said and my other research I will probably start out with chickens. I have some experience with them already and they lay a lot of eggs if you get a laying breed. Ducks have a lot of attributes I like but I am not sure how I will care for them and give them water in the winter, it is frozen here about 5 months a year...
There is a reason chickens are so popular I guess.
We had to get a heated water dish for them, we have only 4 ducks and three geese so this works out decently enough. But the frozen water does suck! They miss their kiddy pools! Haha