Keeping quails in the country: care and breeding, detailed for beginners

Keeping and breeding quails in the country is a troublesome task, as it requires compliance with certain rules. This business is considered profitable, but this is subject to the fact that the farmer can organize it competently. If we compare quails with other types of poultry, then the first ones have a number of advantages, one of which is resistance to those diseases that are inherent in most birds.

Breed selection

Before choosing one or another breed of birds, you should decide on your preferences, since quails can be meat or egg. Most often, birds want to breed both for eggs and for meat. For this, breeds of the egg-meat direction were bred.

16250-350200-220 Japaneseegg12120-150300-320 British Whiteegg13

Breed	Direction	Egg mass	Individual weight	Egg production
Texas White	meat	12	350-350	220
pharaoh	meat	15	200-350	200-250
Manchu	meat and egg
		140-180	280

The most popular egg breeds include the Japanese quail. Females lay eggs from the age of one month. For a year, one individual is able to bring up to 300 eggs, while each weighs about 12 g. That is why this breed is the standard for other bird species. Of the minuses - Japanese quail will not give a lot of meat.

Many farmers grow quails for their meat products, because the meat of these birds is rich in amino acids, minerals and vitamins. Texas white quail is gaining optimal mass in a month and a half. The mass of the female reaches 500 g, the male - up to 400 g. Thanks to the white plumage, the carcass has a presentation. However, egg production is low - only 220 eggs per year. Another disadvantage is the difficulty in determining the sex.

Estonian breed - versatile and perfect for breeding on a large scale. Among the main advantages: a high percentage of fertility, rapid weight gain, egg production lasts up to 1.5 years. Birds have well-developed sexual characteristics.

Economic feasibility

Quail breeding is not a costly business.The main part of the funds goes to the purchase of young animals. Some financial costs will require the construction of a room, if there is none on the territory of the cottage, as well as the assembly of bird cages. The rest of the expenses are insignificant. Basically, the farmer will have to purchase feed.

Monitoring the market allows you to make a conclusion about the value of products (eggs and meat), so they have a high level of sales. The profitability of quail production is more than 200%.

Choosing a place for a poultry house, keeping period

There is no need to build a large room for a poultry house. A strong barn, well lit, warm, without drafts will do. It is important that it is located on a flat area, preferably a slight elevation. The building should be built at some distance from the residential building and utility rooms, since quails are rather nervous birds, and they need a calm environment.

Do not place quails near other animals, they can be aggressive towards birds. If you plan to make a place for walking, then it is desirable that the herd walk in the shade, among the grass and small bushes.

The period of keeping birds depends on how long the owner plans to stay at their summer cottage. On average, it will take 2-3 months for fattening for meat. You can keep birds all year round, and at the end of the egg-laying period, send them to slaughter, having received meat products.

Pros and cons of country maintenance

Country quail keeping has a number of advantages, one of which is the minimum floor space. Even if the summer cottage is quite small, it will fit a barn and a place for walking. The rest of the advantages of quail dacha keeping include:

• high degree of precocity of birds;
• resistance to poultry diseases;
• unpretentious content, minimal care.

There are disadvantages: quails have a low incubation instinct, chicks often die, so full hatching is possible only in an incubator.

Required conditions

Regardless of the planned number of livestock and the length of the period of keeping, the birds need to create conditions for good egg production and weight gain. Compliance with the norms is important for birds, because otherwise there is a high probability of the death of chicks, the development of diseases, and a decrease in the level of egg production.

Temperature, humidity, light, ventilation

The optimum moisture content in the room is 60-70%. If the room is too dry, then the quail egg production drops, the plumage becomes brittle, and he alth deteriorates. In rooms that are too damp, in a draft, birds often get sick and die.

The temperature in the barn should be between 17-23 °C. With a sharp decrease in temperature by several degrees, quails can die. It is important to try not to allow drops in either direction, since this will greatly affect productivity, and then the he alth of the birds. For novice farmers, it is important at the initial stage to understand how vital the appropriate microclimate is for quails.

Another important factor for birds is lighting. The light in the barn should be on for 17 hours. In this case, you should not place the light source too close to the cell. In the summer, natural light is enough.With a short light day, it is recommended to use incandescent lamps. It is important to know that with round-the-clock lighting, quails rush better, but quickly lose their resource.

A constant supply of fresh air from the street should be provided by ventilation. In summer, it is enough to install a fan with an air extractor. It is also possible to make a natural hood, especially if the number of livestock is high.

Cages and aviaries

Cages should be as compact as possible, with the floor sloping so that the testicles roll off of them. Since quails are jumping birds, the design should not contain sharp corners and details. Slits that are too large are not allowed.

The cage can be designed and made independently, but first you need to decide on the number of livestock. To contain a large flock, it is desirable to make sectional multi-tiered structures, where 20-30 birds can be located.

Keeping quails in an aviary is unprofitable. They do not need as much space, moreover, spacious cages often lead to injury to birds, as they love to fly and jump.

Care in the cold season

When keeping birds in the country during the cold season, it is important to follow a few basic rules. Quails should not suffer from drafts, dampness and exposure to low temperatures. The poultry house must be insulated before the onset of cold weather, close the cracks, lay the floors if they are wet in winter. It is important to take care of a high-quality ventilation system and additional lighting. It is necessary to ensure that the temperature in winter does not fall below 17 ° C.

Special case - breeding chicks. Before they appear, you need to make a strong wooden box with a door, lay a warm bedding, pour sawdust.

What and how to feed

Adult quails should receive a ready-made mixture of cereals daily. Separately, you need to add fish or bone meal, crushed eggshells, shells, river sand, chalk. Occasionally chopped greens, chopped vegetables, sunflower seeds, boiled potatoes are added to the diet.

It is necessary to establish a certain feeding regime for birds - twice a day, at the same time. To keep the cage clean, you need to place the feeder outside the cage, but so that the bird can reach the food.

Quails from the first day should be given a boiled egg, on the second day they add cottage cheese, herbs, millet porridge. From the fourth day, the diet is replenished with peas, rice, chalk and shells. From greenery - chopped leaves of carrots, clover, dandelion. They are transferred to a full-fledged diet starting from the 30th day.

Hygiene procedures

To eliminate and prevent infectious diseases, it is necessary to properly care for the cages, poultry houses and inventory.

Daily you need to clean the litter tray, feeders and drinkers. Nipple devices are periodically disinfected with hydrogen peroxide or citric acid solution.

The bird incubator is also cleaned and disinfected before the eggs are laid and after the chicks hatch. To prevent diseases, eggs are also processed using a quartz lamp for 4 minutes.

Subtleties of breeding

Quail breeding is not an easy process, however, if it is properly organized, the event becomes successful. It is important to choose or make your own incubator, pick up eggs, follow the parameters and then, after the chicks appear, create conditions for them to develop.

Choosing an incubator and eggs

A chicken incubator is suitable for breeding. When laying, eggs with a 10-day shelf life are required. The weight of eggs for breeding egg-bearing breeds is up to 11 g, for meat breeds a suitable weight is 16 g. It is important to pay attention to the appearance of eggs - shape, color, bumps and growths.

The incubator is selected based on the goals and number of livestock. The device should be selected with auto-rotation, the ability to set the desired temperature and humidity. To cut down on this expense, you can make your own bird incubator.

Egg laying and required parameters

Eggs are laid in a vertical or horizontal position. Every 3 hours they are turned or rolled. The optimum temperature in the incubator is 37-38 °C. In this case, it is necessary to monitor the temperature in the poultry house itself. It must not fall below 20°C. A temperature higher than a few degrees leads to the death of quails.

One of the nuances is that the heat should be evenly distributed throughout the incubator. This is not easy as the warm air rises. To avoid this, the eggs are interchanged, equipped with additional heat sources.The humidity in the device must be changed depending on the day of bookmarking.

Hatchlings

Eggs are in the incubator for 17 days, after which chicks weighing up to 12 g appear. As soon as the plumage dries, the babies are transferred to a brooder with a lamp and a warm floor. The temperature in the brooder must be at least 36°C. Then it should be gradually reduced. Starting from the fourth week of quail life, it should be between 20-22 ° C.

Among the common mistakes, after which the percentage of quail hatching decreases, violations of the incubation regime, improper gas exchange during overheating, unbalanced nutrition of the female. However, if the requirements are met, there will be no problems with the withdrawal of birds. The main thing is to show patience and perseverance, especially at the first stage.

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