Pharaoh (Wild Type) Coturnix Quail
The original Coturnix look — brown, barred, and camouflaged like their wild ancestors. Feather-sexable at 3 weeks, proven genetics, and the baseline every other variety is measured against.
What they look like
Pharaoh is the wild-type plumage: warm brown backs streaked with cream and black, a lighter barred breast, and that classic 'wild bird' camouflage. Mature males show a plain rusty-cinnamon breast and throat; hens keep a cream breast dotted with black speckles. Chicks are striped brown-and-yellow like tiny chipmunks.
How the genetics work
This is the reference genome — no color mutations at all, which is exactly why serious breeders keep a Pharaoh line running. Every dilute and pattern gene is described by how it changes Pharaoh. Crossing anything back to Pharaoh is the standard way to stabilize a wobbly line.
Sexing Pharaoh (Wild Type)s
The easiest variety to sex: by about 3 weeks, males show the plain rusty breast and hens show speckles — no vent-checking needed. This alone makes Pharaoh a favorite for beginners who want to cull extra males early.
Eggs, size & production
Standard Coturnix production: hens run 9–12 oz in most lines and lay near-daily speckled eggs. Jumbo-selected Pharaoh lines push 12–14 oz. Egg color and speckle pattern is per-hen, not per-variety.
Who this variety is for
Beginners, meat-and-egg homesteads, and anyone building a breeding program that needs a genetic anchor. If you only ever keep one variety, this is the sensible one.
Before you buy
Pharaoh is everywhere, which means quality varies wildly. Ask the breeder for weights at 8 weeks and lay-onset dates rather than taking 'jumbo' on faith. Birds sold as 'Pharaoh D1' trace to well-known meat-selected lines.
Don't let the 'plain brown' reputation fool you — in sunlight a good Pharaoh male's breast is a genuinely handsome copper.
Keep or breed Pharaoh (Wild Type)?
Show off your birds and compare notes in the free Quail Keeper Community — keepers post their coveys, hatch results, and honest line reviews. Joining also unlocks the Quail Keeper Max app free.
Planning a Pharaoh (Wild Type) breeding project?
Quail Keeper Max has a built-in color genetics calculator — pick two parents and see what the hatch should throw — plus pedigree tracking, breeding pair records, and hatch-rate stats so you can actually see which pairings work. It's the tool this guide's genetics notes come from.
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Related varieties
A note from one keeper to another: variety names in Coturnix are not tightly standardized — different breeders' lines under the same name can differ in shade, size, and how crosses behave, and several newer varieties are still being mapped by the breeding community. Treat this guide as a working keeper's reference, buy from breeders who know their lines' genetics, and trust real hatch results over any label.