Texas A&M Coturnix Quail
The famous white meat line developed at Texas A&M University — English-White-type color selected hard for size and a clean-dressing carcass. The default answer to 'which quail for meat?'
What they look like
Big white birds, often with a dark head spot or two, carrying the same white-spotting look as English White but on a larger frame — well-bred A&Ms reach 10–14 oz, with some lines heavier.
How the genetics work
Not a new color gene — Texas A&M is a selected line: white-spotting birds bred generation after generation for growth rate and breast yield. That means the label is only as good as the breeder's ongoing selection; an 'A&M' line left unselected for years drifts back toward ordinary size.
Sexing Texas A&Ms
Not feather-sexable; vent/foam at 5–7 weeks. For straight meat batches many keepers never sex at all — everyone reaches the same freezer date.
Eggs, size & production
Slightly later to start laying and slightly fewer eggs than small egg-focused lines — the usual trade for body size. Eggs are correspondingly large. Butcher weight arrives around 8–9 weeks.
Who this variety is for
Meat production, first and foremost — clean carcass, real size, easy to source. A solid dual-purpose choice if you accept a modest egg trade-off.
Before you buy
Ask for actual 8-week live weights from the breeder's current stock, not the line's reputation. Anything consistently 11 oz+ at 8 weeks is doing its job.
Keep or breed Texas A&M?
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 Texas A&M 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.
Try the genetics calculator free →Free plan included · No credit card required
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.