Jumbo or Standard?
What is a standard quail?
A standard coturnix quail weighs 5-6oz, with large specimens weighing up to 8oz. They will lay one egg a day, weighing around 9-13g.
What is a jumbo quail?
This question is a plague upon the hobby, because the answer is generally: whatever breeder or buyer feels like saying it is.
The issue is that there simply is NO established standard for what constitutes a "jumbo" quail. Ask 5 people, you will get 5 different answers. This isn't conducive to answering the question.
It's generally accepted that a jumbo quail is a line of coturnix quail that have been selected over time to be 2x as large as standard coturnix quail. They will lay one egg a day, weighing around 10-16g.
In MY opinion, a true, quality jumbo line should be this: 80% or more of the birds reach 10oz by 6 weeks of age. Science has looked at growth rates for coturnix, and rapid growth all but ceases around 6 weeks of age, and weigh put on after that mark is often not carcass weight (especially for hens, it's internal egg production weight... not useful for meat). The purpose of jumbo quail is to be butchered for meat, so the standard should reflect that. I also believe that larger birds should be selected for larger eggs, as larger eggs produce larger birds at hatch, and so in a true jumbo line, breeders should not be setting eggs under 14g, and ideally would be getting MOSTLY eggs over 14g from the birds, and up to 19g without being a double-yolked egg.
I often hear "10oz by 10 weeks" quoted, and to me, that's a slow-growing quail. If I am raising meat birds, I don't want to feed them an extra month to get the same amount I should be getting in 6 weeks. That's a LOT of wasted feed.
I also hear people say that jumbo quail must be over 12oz, period (not by a date). While this is a good goal, given that standard quail weight is 5-6oz, and 10oz is the lower end of 2x as large as that, there's no good reason to set the lower end of the bar for jumbos at 12oz instead.
I've heard people say the quail need to be over 14oz, and to me, that's unreasonable as the low end of the bar, and is more likely to lead to people focusing solely on fat birds, and less on the structure of the birds used to carry the weight. I've seen what happens to quail that are bred for weight and nothing else, in pursuit of 14oz+. It's not great.
So, TO ME, I don't like to call a line a "jumbo" line unless it can hit 10oz by 6 weeks. Many of my birds count as jumbos if using the 10oz by 10 weeks metric, but that's not where I want the bar to be.
The issue is that there simply is NO established standard for what constitutes a "jumbo" quail. Ask 5 people, you will get 5 different answers. This isn't conducive to answering the question.
It's generally accepted that a jumbo quail is a line of coturnix quail that have been selected over time to be 2x as large as standard coturnix quail. They will lay one egg a day, weighing around 10-16g.
In MY opinion, a true, quality jumbo line should be this: 80% or more of the birds reach 10oz by 6 weeks of age. Science has looked at growth rates for coturnix, and rapid growth all but ceases around 6 weeks of age, and weigh put on after that mark is often not carcass weight (especially for hens, it's internal egg production weight... not useful for meat). The purpose of jumbo quail is to be butchered for meat, so the standard should reflect that. I also believe that larger birds should be selected for larger eggs, as larger eggs produce larger birds at hatch, and so in a true jumbo line, breeders should not be setting eggs under 14g, and ideally would be getting MOSTLY eggs over 14g from the birds, and up to 19g without being a double-yolked egg.
I often hear "10oz by 10 weeks" quoted, and to me, that's a slow-growing quail. If I am raising meat birds, I don't want to feed them an extra month to get the same amount I should be getting in 6 weeks. That's a LOT of wasted feed.
I also hear people say that jumbo quail must be over 12oz, period (not by a date). While this is a good goal, given that standard quail weight is 5-6oz, and 10oz is the lower end of 2x as large as that, there's no good reason to set the lower end of the bar for jumbos at 12oz instead.
I've heard people say the quail need to be over 14oz, and to me, that's unreasonable as the low end of the bar, and is more likely to lead to people focusing solely on fat birds, and less on the structure of the birds used to carry the weight. I've seen what happens to quail that are bred for weight and nothing else, in pursuit of 14oz+. It's not great.
So, TO ME, I don't like to call a line a "jumbo" line unless it can hit 10oz by 6 weeks. Many of my birds count as jumbos if using the 10oz by 10 weeks metric, but that's not where I want the bar to be.
Which is right for me?
If you're looking to raise birds for meat, then go with jumbos. They have more meat.
But to be completely honest, if you're getting egg layers, just get standards, or large standards. Jumbos are made to grow fast for meat, but that means they also consume ~2x as much feed, for eggs that only weigh a couple grams different. They're also going to poop more, need more space, and are at a higher risk for prolapsing because they don't move around as much as standards. A poorly-bred line of jumbos selected for size but not type, may also gain keel rubs or even lesions on their keel from laying down too much, the same way some meat chickens do. Standards are lighter on their feet, and will lay prolifically. They'll also suffer fewer health problems (no keel rubs, but also no organ failures from being oversized) and lay/live longer, meaning you may get 2+ years of good, daily eggs from them instead of only 1 year.
But to be completely honest, if you're getting egg layers, just get standards, or large standards. Jumbos are made to grow fast for meat, but that means they also consume ~2x as much feed, for eggs that only weigh a couple grams different. They're also going to poop more, need more space, and are at a higher risk for prolapsing because they don't move around as much as standards. A poorly-bred line of jumbos selected for size but not type, may also gain keel rubs or even lesions on their keel from laying down too much, the same way some meat chickens do. Standards are lighter on their feet, and will lay prolifically. They'll also suffer fewer health problems (no keel rubs, but also no organ failures from being oversized) and lay/live longer, meaning you may get 2+ years of good, daily eggs from them instead of only 1 year.