Celadon quail: breed description and characteristics, diet and breeding

When growing egg breeds, the main attention is paid to the productivity and quality of eggs. Celadon are rare quails, characterized by unpretentiousness, high productivity, large eggs with high nutritional value and a unique blue color of the eggshell. The quail product can be consumed raw, it has a lot of protein and nutrients, low calorie content, excellent taste.

History of Appearance

Celadon (aka Celadon) is not a breed, but rather a line obtained as a result of a long and complex selection of 6 breeds.Therefore, quails are distinguished by a variety of colors. The progenitor of the breed is the common quail (species Coturnix). Unique quails have been bred in the USA. Breeders from South Louisiana worked on the breed. The work was meticulous, resulting in high class birds.

Description and characteristics of quails Celadon (Celadon)

Celadon is an egg breed that is still rare. Quails are medium-sized, do not differ in size from wild progenitors, but are characterized by high egg production. Description of the breed is given in the table.

body length annual egg production 300 piecesaverage daily production 1 eggmaximum monthly production 25 pieces 8-12g variety - light, light brown, dark brown, tuxedo, silver at 40 days old

16-20 cm
	egg weight
	color
	start of laying

Due to the early start of laying, breeding of the celadon breed is cost-effective. Females to be laid should be housed in individual cages as early as 25 days of age. To provide a family with quail eggs, there is enough livestock of 5-8 individuals.

Young quail become capable of laying productively after reaching a body weight of 100g

Young quails from 4 to 8 months old are characterized by maximum egg production. At the very beginning of the productive period, the monthly rate is 8-12 eggs. From the age of 8 months, productivity begins to fall, by 10 months it is 8-15 pieces.

Main pros and cons

Pros and consunpretentious;do not require special conditions of detention;look decorative;give dietary eggs with a high content of nutrients;have high egg productivity;do not carry salmonella through eggs.in winter, artificial lighting is required;life expectancy is short (maximum up to 3 years);already after 8 months of life, fertility decreases, keeping birds from this age is unprofitable.

Features of the blue eggs of the breed

Celadon quails are carriers of a unique recessive gene that turns egg shells blue. The color varies slightly, it is light blue, grayish blue, deep blue, with a greenish tint. The surface of the shell may be uniform in color, but is more often covered with brown speckles.

Blue eggs can be eaten raw, they do not transmit salmonellosis to humans.

Low-calorie, high-protein celadon quail eggs contain beneficial substances, thanks to which the product, when consumed regularly:

• strengthens immunity;
• stimulates metabolism;
• fills the body with energy;
• improves the functioning of the organs of vision;
• reduces inflammatory reactions;
• normalizes blood pressure;
• helps the body weakened by diseases to recover;
• suppresses an allergic reaction.

Maintenance, care and feeding

Celadon quail can be kept both in cages and in a free room. In order for the quail not to get sick and remain productive, it is important to create optimal conditions in the house:

• temperature - from +18 to +22 °C;
• air humidity - about 70%;
• no drafts;
• enough space - 20 cm^{2 per individual;}
• length of daylight - 16 hours.

Cages are installed with plain or galvanized metal bars, the width between which should be such that a bird's head crawls through. The height of the cage must be at least 20 cm, as quails are jumping.

Drinkers and feeders are attached to the outside of the cage, quails feed by sticking their heads through the bars. The cage is equipped with trays for the disposal of litter and the collection of eggs.

The poultry house is equipped with sources of additional lighting. They do not allow heat, because of which the birds go bald. Celadon quails die when the temperature drops below +8 °C. Chicks are best placed in a heated brooder.

Egg production is determined by the quality of the diet. In order for celadon quails to rush well, the following feeding rules must be observed:

1. Feed with complete feed for broiler chickens PK-5-2. There is no food designed specifically for quails.
2. Do not give compound feed for ordinary chickens, it reduces egg production. For the same reason, do not feed shit and other low-calorie foods.
3. Feed 3 times a day without overfeeding. The optimal daily portion per individual is 25-30 g.
4. Give food on schedule. Keep food out of feeders.
5. Don't change your diet drastically. This will cause prolonged stress to the birds.
6. When self-preparing mixed feed, use crushed corn and wheat grains, bone and fish meal, skimmed milk powder, soybean meal.
7. For better digestion of food, include sand and chalk in the diet.

How the breed is bred

3-4 females incubate the male. Celadon quails do not have a maternal instinct, so offspring are obtained using an incubator.Eggs are kept in an incubator for 17-18 days, turned over 3-6 times a day. The first 10 days the temperature should be 38.5 °C, then during the week - 38 °C, and on the last day it is reduced to 37.5 °C. Hatching is fast and consistent, stretching for a maximum of 10 hours.

For hatchery breeding to be successful, eggs must be selected according to the following criteria:

• correct form;
• smooth shell without bumps and dents;
• normal weight for the breed;
• one yolk inside when translucent, located closer to the blunt side;
• lack of two yolks, as well as dark inclusions inside;
• no cracks, even slight ones, on the shell.

The temperature in the first days of life of the chicks is maintained at +35 °C, by the age of one month they gradually increase to +25 °C.For the first half month, celadon chicks are under round-the-clock lighting. In the first days, the chicks are fed with boiled crumbled yolk, then they are transferred to compound feed for broiler chickens.

What do birds get sick with?

Pathologies that quail suffer from can be divided into several categories:

• caused by unsuitable conditions (draughts, high humidity);
• triggered by poor nutrition (hypovitaminosis, deficiency of minerals and proteins);
• parasitic;
• infectious (bacterial, viral, fungal);
• poisoning.

Rush quail celadon stop at:

• poor quality feeding;
• poor lighting;
• draughty;
• unfavorable temperature conditions;
• high or low humidity;
• appearance of a new male;
• during the molting season.

Quails are shy. They stop rushing with regular stress associated with noise, the presence of large animals nearby.

Celadon quails are less susceptible to infectious diseases when reared in closed houses than other poultry. If the conditions and hygiene of the content are not observed, the livestock may be affected by salmonellosis (the disease is hidden), colibacillosis, cholera, pseudoplague, helminthiasis, aspergillosis, pullorosis. Malnutrition leads to rickets, inflammation of the goiter, blockage of the oviduct.

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