Quail pearl fairy: breed description and characteristics, breeding
The popularity of breeding and growing quails has led to the fact that breeding work on the development of new breeds and crosses does not stop. For example, recently a new quail hybrid has appeared - the pearl fairy. In Russia, it is not yet common, and little is known about it. Consider the description and characteristics of quail pearl fairy, the pros and cons of the cross, the technology of growing and breeding.
Description and characteristics of quail pearl fairy
Cross pearl fairy, which has another name - the blue pharaoh, received in Germany. The bird attracts attention with an interesting plumage color - pearl gray. Lays eggs with a light blue-gray shell.
The hybrid belongs to the meat and egg direction. The productive characteristics of the new cross are similar to those of the Pharaoh breed - in 1.5 months the carcasses weigh 380 g.
Advantages and disadvantages of the breed
The disadvantage of the new hybrid is that it is not widespread in Russia. But, judging by the characteristics of the cross, this shortcoming is temporary.
Maintenance, care and feeding
Quails of a new promising cross are grown mainly for meat.The fattening period lasts 1.5-2 months. Some number of females are left to receive eggs. They also begin to rush at 2 months of age. Stable egg production continues until the age of 10-12 months. Then the batch of quails does not produce many eggs anymore, so they are replaced with new young quails.
Females and males are reared separately. You can determine the sex of a bird by external signs - male quails have a slight thickening above the cloaca. Females do not have it, the skin is gray. In this way, sex can be determined in quails not earlier than 1 month of age.
Like other quail breeds, pearl fairies are kept and raised in cages. Birds do not need a lot of space, they do not need to be walked. This simplifies maintenance, however, it must be remembered that quails are demanding on temperature, humidity and lighting. They like warmth (minimum 20 ˚С), moderately humid air (60%), long daylight hours (18 hours) and dim light. Such conditions must be created so that the quail lives in comfort, and the females rush every day.It is unacceptable to keep birds in a cold and damp room where there are drafts. Any breach of containment will lead to a drop in productivity and an increase in the cost of the final product.
They feed silver-gray quails with bird feed (it is convenient to feed birds for meat like broilers) or grain-grass mixtures. Make up mixtures of finely ground grains. Moreover, the grain should be varied, the composition of the feed should be changed from time to time so that different nutrients, vitamins and trace elements enter the body of the birds. Finely chopped grass, grated vegetables, root crops, premixes are added to the grain. In general, the more different foods there are in the diet of quails, the he althier they will be and the more intense they will be carried.
Breeding rules
The Pearl Fairy is a hybrid, so getting your own quail will not work. When cockerels are crossed with pearl fairy hens, the inherited traits are split and the characteristic traits are gradually lost. It remains to buy hatching eggs or young animals on breeding farms. You will need to change the livestock every year, so you need to try to find a farm where you can update the quail every season.
Diseases
In order for quails not to get sick with infectious diseases, digestive disorders, it is necessary to clean the cage literally every day and ventilate the room. It is convenient to keep birds in cages with a mesh floor and trays underneath that are easy to clean and wash. With daily cleaning, there will be no dirt or smell even in the apartment, where many people keep quails.
But cleaning and caring for quails is not enough to keep them from getting sick.To protect your farm from infections and loss of livestock, you need to vaccinate against viral diseases, drink antibiotics from bacterial diseases. From external parasites of quails, treat with antiparasitic agents or put a small bowl of ash in a cage.
For sick quails, you need to keep a separate cage on the farm, where to transplant birds for the duration of treatment. Cross pearl fairy is of interest as highly productive and promising. For those who like to experiment with new breeds, this is a good solution. Raising a small number of birds can be handled by one person.
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