English black quail: breed description and characteristics, breeding
Quails are small agricultural birds that are very easy to grow. Breeders have bred many breeds that differ in characteristics and productivity. Consider the description and characteristics of English black quail, the main advantages and disadvantages of the breed. How to keep, grow, feed and breed birds at home.
Description and characteristics of English quail
English black quails are derived from the Japanese breed and several varieties of meat. The result was a cross, whose representatives weigh 210 g each (average 180 g).The meat of black English quail is dark, the color is preserved even after cooking. Quails rush well, for a year they can give, on average, 290 pcs. eggs weighing 11 g. Females start laying eggs at the age of 6 weeks.
The color of the plumage of English quails is black-brown, the beak is dark, its tip is black. The body of the birds is compact, dense, legs are short, a small tail. Outwardly, females can be distinguished from males only at 2 months.
Pros and cons
Conditions and care
Quails of the English breed are characterized by unpretentiousness to feed and undemanding maintenance. As for other varieties of quails, it is necessary to create conditions for keeping the birds: temperature (15-25 ˚С) and humidity (60%) of the air. All year round, quails should be kept warm, if it is cold, the females will stop laying eggs. Lighting also affects the intensity of oviposition. Females rush during daylight hours of 18 hours. During a short day, you need to illuminate the room with lamps.
Due to their small size, quails can be kept in a cage. You can place them in tiers, one on top of the other. For this, cages with a height of 0.3 m are suitable. The volume of space is calculated by the number of livestock, at least 20 square meters should be allocated for 1 bird. see area. With a crowded content among English quails, cannibalism may begin, strong birds will begin to peck at weak birds. In addition, livestock productivity will decrease.
You can grow quails not all year round, but seasonally. Already by 3 months they can be hammered. At the same age, oviposition begins. Quails lay almost every day.
For seasonal cultivation, it is not required to specially equip the room. In summer, birds can be kept outdoors in an aviary. The corral must be protected from predators from above. You also need to provide protection from drafts that birds do not tolerate well. Cold and drafts can cause an outbreak of infectious diseases.
Quail care consists of cleaning the cage, airing the room, timely feeding and watering, treating birds and cages from infections and parasites. You need to clean the cage every day, but at least once a week. Birds should not be allowed to live on dirty, damp bedding in which pathogens breed.
Black English quails are not gluttonous, the feed consumption is small - about 35 grams per individual per day.stern. Feeding frequency - 3 times, if given less often, birds can overeat, which leads to digestive disorders. You can feed quails with compound feed, if you want to get more tasty and environmentally friendly products - prepare mash from grain, grass, root crops.
Breeding Rules
To get purebred quails, you need to make families of 1 English quail and 3-4 quails. Keep them separate from birds raised for meat and eggs. When the fertilized eggs are collected, they are laid in an incubator. Quails themselves can also incubate, but an incubator will do a better job of hatching.
After hatching, quails are kept in a brooder until they grow up. They are transferred to adults in a month. Birds intended for fattening are kept together, males and females in one cage. The best are selected for breeding: large, active, he althy.
Diseases and pests
Diseases that may be faced by quail farmers - infections and digestive disorders. When an infection appears on the farm, the entire livestock may die.
The best way to fight infectious diseases is preventive soldering with antibacterial and antiviral drugs.
Soldering should be started at an early age and repeated periodically throughout the growing season. If the birds are sick, treatment should be started immediately. It is not always possible to determine the disease on your own, so it is recommended to contact a veterinarian who will prescribe antibiotics.
Often parasites appear in the quail farm, both external and internal. To prevent the occurrence of this problem, birds are treated at least once a month with anthelmintic and antiacaricidal drugs. Of the folk methods of dealing with fleas and feathers, you can use ash or sand, which is poured into a bowl and placed in a cage.
With proper management, feeding and care, raising black English quails can be a profitable business. A lot of food for small birds is not required; in return, the owner receives dietary eggs and tasty meat. For their own needs, they keep a small number of quails, and if desired, you can organize a home farm in which hundreds of these birds will be raised.
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