How to Breed Tibetan Quails

House your birds in clean, sheltered cages with enough room for the birds to comfortably move around, feed, and perch. Commercial operations house quail in cages as small as 18-by-20 inches, but a larger space (such as a safely enclosed outdoor coop) is always preferable, and will give the birds more room to exercise and interact in a natural way. Always be sure to provide access to an enclosed shelter if you keep your quail outdoors.

Select breeding birds that are healthy and in good condition with bright eyes and clean plumage. Look for birds that match your needs: if breeding quail for meat, look for large, robust birds; if breeding to train dogs, look for quick, flighty animals. Keeping birds at a ratio of two or three females to each male may encourage success.

Offer a high quality quail feed rather than generic poultry food. Hens should be offered a quail breeding formula if one is available, or their regular diet should be supplemented with crushed oyster shell or cuttlebone to add calcium during the breeding months. Place at least two feeding stations in larger coops to minimize squabbles over food.

Keep fresh, clean water available at all times.

Clean the cage liners or rake the coop floor clean at least once a week, but preferably every day to minimize the spread of bacteria and illness.

Encourage reproduction by exposing the birds to 14 to 17 hours of light per day. For birds kept in outdoor coops where artificial light is not an option, the coming of longer spring days will generally encourage the birds to begin breeding naturally.

Check the nest daily after breeding is observed, and remove any damaged or cracked eggs. If the quail are being kept for egg production, fresh eggs should be removed immediately and refrigerated. Eggs left to the mother's care should hatch in 16 to 17 days.

Offer the chicks fine crumb quail food until they are able to transition to adult quail feed.