The welfare of coturnix quail farmed for eggs and meat, an often-overlooked species in the broader farm animal welfare conversation.
Quail welfare in commercial production suffers from the same fundamental problems as poultry welfare generally — behavioral restriction, caging systems that prevent natural movement and activities, and insufficient regulatory attention — compounded by even less public awareness and research investment than chickens receive. These are ground-dwelling birds whose behavioral system is oriented toward searching, scratching, and dust bathing on appropriate substrate. Cage housing systematically prevents all of these behaviors. The welfare improvements available are the same as for laying hens: group housing with enrichment, appropriate substrate, and management that addresses the needs of sentient beings rather than optimizing them purely as protein production units.