Quail breeding: rules for keeping at home for beginners

Even beginners in poultry farming are engaged in breeding quails in the plots, since these birds are unpretentious and do not require a huge area of \u200b\u200bthe premises. Quails have high productivity, while the cost of care and maintenance is minimal. This explains the popularity of these birds. Quails are bred to obtain eggs and dietary meat with unique taste qualities. Thus, the profitability of this type of poultry farming is high.

Pros and cons of quails

Despite the bright prospects, before breeding quails, you should find out some of the nuances that beginners often encounter. It is necessary to clarify what conditions are needed for birds, their feeding ration, so that the business brings regular profits.

Birds are bred for eggs and meat, but high productivity is impossible without following certain rules.

Among the benefits of breeding:

• small start-up capital;
• quick first profit;
• the possibility of obtaining not only meat and eggs, but also live poultry, which can also be sold;
• the bird is unpretentious in care and has a high resistance to diseases;
• weak competition;
• this business does not require a large area and a large number of staff to care for the household.

The negative aspects of breeding include: increased sensitivity of quail to the microclimate in the room, lighting and noise levels. Farmers should keep in mind that the market for consumption is not yet developed and demand is not stable, so it will take time to market the products.

Most popular breeds

You should start breeding by studying the breeds and determining the direction. For meat, Pharaoh and Texas White birds are used. Meat breeds also produce eggs, but to a lesser extent than egg-laying breeds. Among the breeds that are purchased for eggs, the most popular are Japanese and English white quail. There are breeds of meat-and-egg quails:

• Manchu;
• Estonian;
• tuxedo.

English White and English Black are bred in the UK. They are valued for their egg productivity. Weight of carcasses - no more than 180 g. Annual egg production - 260-280 pieces of gourmet eggs. Differ in the low rate of development of chicks. The progenitor of these birds was the Japanese breed.

Japanese or dumb quail is a small bird.Differs in unusual mobility, at the same time it is shy, does not take out noise. Growing them is difficult because they require a calm environment. However, the breed is suitable for breeding at home by novice farmers. Carcass weight - up to 140 g, egg productivity is high - up to 310 pieces per year.

At the heart of the Estonian breed is an individual of the species of the English quail and the pharaoh. Males are distinguished by bright plumage, and females by large forms. The main feature is early egg production, which lasts a long period of time. Slaughter should be done at the age of 4-5 months, since during this period the meat is the most tender and juicy. Egg production - up to 300 eggs per year.

A distinctive feature of the tuxedo breed is its appearance. Quails have a dark back and a white breast. The breed is based on English black and white species. Carcass weight - no more than 160 g. Egg production starts from 40 days, up to 300 eggs are collected per year.Birds are sensitive to the microclimate in the poultry house.

The plumage of the Manchurian breed is distinguished by its variegated color. The bird is universal - the farmer receives meat and eggs from it. Carcass weight reaches 280 g, egg production - about 260 eggs per year. Sometimes quails are crossed with the Estonian breed, which increases their productivity.

Comparison of meat and egg breeds according to the main characteristics:

Basic maintenance and care requirements

Farmers should keep in mind that high productivity is possible only when the necessary conditions for birds are created. Diet and some preventive measures are also important, especially for newborn chicks.However, it should be understood that it is not difficult to fulfill the basic conditions for care and maintenance.

Lighting

Good lighting is important for quails as it affects egg production. Under natural habitat conditions, quails begin to rush in the spring, when the length of daylight hours increases. The final laying is observed at the end of July. Pituitary hormones are responsible for this, which are affected by the duration of daylight hours and its intensity. You need to increase daylight hours gradually, adding 30 minutes each time.

Bright light is contraindicated for birds. Therefore, a fluorescent lamp will not work. You should choose a 40W incandescent or fluorescent variety.

Humidity and temperature

Recommended room humidity should be no more than 75%. At high rates, favorable conditions are created for the development of pathogenic microorganisms, which is especially harmful for chicks.High humidity adversely affects bird he alth and productivity. If the humidity in the room is too low, quails have to absorb more water to compensate for the loss of moisture from the surface of the body.

The optimum room temperature for quails is 21 °C. When it drops below 16 ° C, egg production drops significantly. The general state of he alth of birds that have to winter in unheated poultry houses is satisfactory, but drafts, indoor moisture should be prevented, and a competent diet should be provided.

Ventilation

The room in which quails will be kept in cages must be provided with supply and exhaust ventilation. When arranging, you should think in advance where fresh air will come from and where the exhaust air will be discharged. The air expelled from the house must not be drawn back in.

In detail, for each kilogram of quail weight, at least 5 m is required²/hour in summer, in winter - 1.5 m^{2 /hour. The ventilation system must operate delicately as birds do not respond well to excessive air circulation.}

Cells

Quails are more convenient to keep in cages. They can be purchased at a specialized store or made independently. The shape and size can be chosen at the discretion of the farmer, but it is desirable that at least 100 cm come out per adult quail^2.

The height of the cage should not exceed 25cm as the birds jump up and could get injured.

The floor should be made with a slight slope, and it is also important to provide a pallet for collecting litter. Feeders and drinkers are attached to the front wall. Quails do not need perches and nests - birds lay eggs on the floor. Then they roll out along a special groove. If the livestock is large, then farmers use multi-tiered cages, which they also make with their own hands.

Feeders and drinkers

Feeders should be placed outside the cage, as otherwise the feed will scatter. However, birds should have free access to them. The optimal height of the feeder is 6-7 cm. It is desirable that it be made of galvanized steel to prevent corrosion. Suitable for this purpose and a plastic pipe with holes for the heads. The length of the feeder should be based on the calculation of 0.4 cm per individual.

Drinking containers are made of stainless steel. A prerequisite is exceptionally pure water. Drinkers are placed both outside and inside, but they should be slightly raised above the floor surface - so the water will be much less polluted. Drinkers and feeders should be maintained daily by cleaning them.

What to feed the bird

Quail food should be balanced. Only under this condition will productivity be as expected by the owner.When purchasing compound feed, carefully read the composition of the mixture. It must meet the necessary requirements.

Protein Phosphorus RicketsVitamin DReduced eggshell qualityDecrease in the number of fertilized eggs

Low Egg Production
	Delayed breeding season
Calcium	Decrease in egg production
Manganese	Ankle development disorder
	Decrease in the number of hatched chicks
Vitamin E	Reducing the number of hatched quails

Adults

Adult should receive daily:

• from grain crops - millet, oats, barley;
• vegetables - boiled and raw potatoes, carrots, cabbage;
• fish oil;
• chicken feed;
• clover, lettuce, wheat germ, sunflower seeds;
• fish meal.

Once a week, quails need to be fed crushed shells, chalk, crushed shells.

Chicks

Newborn quails are given crushed boiled eggs, cottage cheese. In addition, the chicks are fed with starter feed, which contains the components necessary for babies. It is possible to transfer chicks to compound feed for adults starting from the age of three weeks. Chickens should only have warm boiled water in the drinkers. The first days after birth, antibacterial drugs should be added to the water.

Reproduction rules

To breed quails, you need to create a quail family. Usually it is a male and three females. You need to buy young animals at the age of 1-2 months. During this period, it is already possible to determine the sex of the bird.

When choosing eggs for incubation, it is important to pay attention to their quality:

• they must be fertilized;
• taken from he althy 2-10 month old quail;
• their weight should be 9-11g;
• Storage duration - no more than a week.

Only under such conditions will he althy offspring appear, which can be grown further. The duration of incubation of quail eggs is 17 days. The egg emergence procedure takes up to 6 hours. Subsequent rearing continues in a brooder with an infrared lamp.

He alth will be quailed

The he alth of newborn quails largely depends on proper care for the first time.For beginners, it is important to know before the chicks appear what the babies will need before they become independent.

Temperature, °C Indoor 1 382 2534 21

Age in weeks
	Under the lamp
30
				3
21

Diseases appear for several reasons:

• unbalanced diet;
• lack of proper care;
• lack of light and wrong temperature conditions;
• bad containment conditions.

The owner should be alerted by ruffled feathers, lack of appetite, lethargy and head tilt.

Preparation for slaughter and slaughter

Preparation for slaughter is to exclude water and feed so that the bird frees the intestines. This must be done 12 hours before slaughter.

Slaughter occurs with the help of a hatchet, scissors, you can use a pruner. Processing of the carcass begins after the blood comes out. Then you can trim the legs and wings. Next, the carcass is dipped in boiling water, the feathers are plucked and gutted.

Quail breeding mistakes

The main mistakes of beginners in poultry farming are the wrong diet, care and maintenance of quails. Many novice farmers believe that if the birds are not capricious, then you should not equip the cages properly and monitor the microclimate. This negatively affects the productivity of livestock and the he alth of quails in general.

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