Quail farming by Dr Keerthana

Complete Description about Quail Breeds.Advantages,Management & Farming

1. Quail Farming Submitted by Dr. T keerthana

2. Introduction Class : Aves Family : Phasianidae Genus : Coturnix Scientific name : Coturnix coturnix Japonica Hindi name : “ Bater ”

3. History First domesticated in Japan in 1595. There are two species of quail in India: a) The black-breasted quail found in jungle ( Coturnix coromandelica ) b) The brown- coloured Japanese Quail ( Coturnix coturnix Japonica ) Introduced in India in 1974 from California. There are 45 species of quail although the Japanese quail is the largest species

4. Why Quail Farming?? Easy to handle Adopt to varied environment Fast growing bird and short generation interval 3-4 generations in a year Pilot animal for genetic, nutritional and physiological studies. Popular in the countries like Japan, Hongkong , Singapore and France . As a source of egg and meat production

5. Advantages of quail farming Requires minimum floor space (5 to 6 birds/ sft ) Needs low investment Quails are comparatively sturdy birds Can be marketed at an early age ie . Five weeks Early sexual maturity  - starts laying eggs in about six to seven weeks of age High rate of egg laying -280 eggs per year

6. Quail meat is tastier than chicken and has less fat content. It promotes body and brain development in children. Nutritionally, the quail eggs are on par with that of chicken eggs. Moreover, they contain less cholesterol. Quail meat and eggs are a nutritious diet for pregnant and nursing mothers. Any type of weather condition is suitable for quail farming and the most important fact is it can be raised along with other birds successfully, but with a little risk factor Advantages of quail farming

7. Quail farming as economically viable and technically feasible Very short generation interval (3 to 4 generations per year) Quails are very robust to diseases No vaccination is required Low space requirement Early maturity Very high laying intensity- female starts laying at an age of 42 days Practical Utility Quail offered an opportunity to alternative the chicken farming It is useful as table delicacy Pilot animal for research and education

8. GENERAL CHARECTERISTICS OF QUAIL Small size with weight of adult birds being 150 to 200 grams and weight of egg being 7 to 15 grams . Female bird can start laying eggs in 6 or 7 weeks after birth and frequency is one egg a day. Average eggs that can be laid by the bird in the first year is around 280. Egg production decreases after the first year of laying . Meat is tasty and nutritious and contains low fat . Eggs can be of different colours . The bird does not incubate the eggs .

9. QUAIL BREEDS For commercial and profitable business, there are 18 different species of quail available and like the poultry breeds, they are also divided into egg type and meat type. Among so many species 3 most important species are The Common Quail: Wild variety . Height is 16 to 18 cm and weighs 70 to 135 grams. Migrate from Europe to Africa. Can be farmed under non-conventional framework .

10. The Japanese Quail: Native to Japan. Plumage is mottled grey with brown speckles. A female bird is larger than the male. Can produce300 eggs in a year. Average egg weight is 180 grams when 50 days old. The King Quail: Measures 12 to 14 cm and weigh 40 grams. Raised as decorative bird . The throat of male bird has delineated black and white pattern. The plumage of female bird is striped and is brown and white in colour . The colour of the bird may be tawny, white, silver, brown, black Contd.,

11. Other Breeds Some popular layer quail breeds are: Tuxedo Pharaoh British range English white Manchurian golden Broiler breeds of quail are: Bobwhite White breasted

12. QUAIL BREEDS Quail varieties available at CPDOs : Brown White White breasted grey White breasted brown Grey spotted Brown spotted Grey brown cross Brown grey cross

13. QUAIL BREEDS Quail varieties available at other institutions: Cari-uttam (broiler quail line) Cari-ujjwal (white breasted quail) Cari -pearl (white egg shell line) Nandanam quail Cari-uttam Cari-ujjwal Cari -pearl Nandanam

14. Male vs female

15. Reproduction of quail The male to female ratio in breeding stock to be maintained is 1:3 for the production of hatching eggs Female quail start laying eggs at 7 weeks of age and continue upto 22 weeks Usually egg laying happens during evening time of the day Eggs can be collected before hatching i.e., 4 days after keeping male and female breeder birds

16. The quail egg usually weigh about 9-10 gms Eggs collected from the parents aged between 10-24 weeks are highly fertile The eggs can be incubated with optimum temperature, relative humidity, adequate ventilation and turnings The incubation period is 17-18 days Hatchability is about 60-70% under artificial incubation When males are sexually matured a large glandular or bulbous structure appears above the cloacal opening If this gland is pressed it will emit a foamy secretion . Contd.,

17. Brooding of quails Rearing of quails during first 3 weeks is called brooding Battery system of brooding is the best for quails Brooding temperature during first week of life is 37˚C which is to be reduced to 3˚C on every 5 th day till it reaches to 22˚C by the end of 3 rd week It is better to cover the floor with corrugated paper or clean gunny bag to provide them foothold Continuous light may be provided during the first 2 weeks and then it is to be gradually reduced from 3 rd week of age to 12hrs during the growing period Layer quails require 15-18hrs of light per day during laying period Age (days) Temperature°c Light(hour) 0-7 37.7 24 8-14 35 24 15-21 32.2 12

18. Care should be taken with small quails to prevent drowning in water troughs Feather pecking or other forms of cannibalism occur frequently when they are kept on wire Debeaking is the best preventive measure and other steps like reducing light intensity, increasing dietary fibre and grit can also reduce cannibalism Contd.,

19. REARING MANAGEMENT After 15 days birds transferred to growing enclosures Donot expose birds to more than 12 hours of light On 35 day male and female birds can be identified based on feathers and females segregated and transferred to laying enclosures Male birds fattened up to 6p days dressed and sold.light during this period is restricted to 6 to 8 hours

20. LAYER MANAGEMENT Quails are transferred to laying enclosures at end of 6weeks Production cycle lasts for 300 to 320days Removal of waste – high protein in feed so high ammonia content light-16 to 18 hours Quail is sensitive to salt so optimum level of salt should be 0.7%

21. Incubators that are used for hatching chicken eggs can be used Incubation period for quail eggs is 18 days. Eggs should be stored at 13 C at 80% RH for 5-7 days Fumigated with formaldehyde gas for 20 minutes before storage. A wire mesh or grid of 1.5 x 1 inch should be fitted on the setter trays Incubation and hatching Duration (Days) Temperature (F) Humidity (%) Turning of Eggs 0-14 99.5 60 Through 45 deg. 5-6 times a day. 15 to 18 98.5 70 Not required Incubation requirement are as follows:

22. Life cycle of quail INCUBATION: Optimum laying is observed when light is provided for 18hrs Eggs that are smooth within matt shell should be incubated Before incubation eggs can be stored at 15C The incubation period is for 16 to 18 days Static hatching chambers or incubator with static ventilation is best suited for this purpose Temperature for incubation should be around 38.5 to 39 C with a humidity of 55 to 60% for 14 days. The humidity can be increased to 70% after the 14 day The eggs fragile during the first 3 days, so the incubator should not be disturbed

23. HATCHING: 85 to 90% of the fertilized eggs hatch on the 16 or 18day Deformity rate is estimated to be 10% due to consanguinity The hatching incubator should not be opened until 15\ The day old chicks weigh around 5 to 6 g They should remain in the incubator for 24 hrs for drying No feed is required during this period GROWING: Growth appears fast during the beginning days and feathers on the third day Overcrowding should be avoided Quails of different ages are separately raised The temperature of the brooder should be around 38 to 40C After 3 days the temperature of the brooder should be reduced by 1C Feeder length should be around 120cm and water should be 40cm Huddling is an indication of low temperature in the brooder

24. FATTENING: 3 weeks after the growing period the quails are placed in a proper housing system and are raised there until 7 week Birds of the same age are housed together Small quail farms use newspapers or metal trays under the cage for disposal of waste Bedding material in the quail farm can be replaced before the next batch of hatching begins The mortality rate during fattening is 10% The birds with good fattening ability are used as breeders SLAUGHTER: When the quails attain 45 to 50 days and gain 160 to 180 g weight they are strangulated The parts are plucked and skin is removed for selling in the market

25. Housing

26. Housing Deep litter system 6 quails can be reared in a sq.ft . of floor space. After 2 weeks, Quails can be reared in cages. This will help to gain good body weight .

27. Cage System : Each unit is about 6 feet in length and 1 foot in width, and subdivided into 6 subunits. The cages can be arranged up to 6 tiers high. Bottom of the cage is fixed with removable wooden plates Long narrow feed troughs are placed in front of the cages. Water troughs are placed at the back of the cages. Commercial egg layers are usually housed in colonies of 10-12 birds per cage. Age Cage Size No.of birds First 2 weeks 3 x 2.5 x 1.5 ft. 100 3- 6 weeks 4 x 2 .5 x 1.5 ft. 50 Contd.,

28. FEEDER It can be small pet bowl,small chicken feeder or trough feeder Feeder space in trough feeders 2cm×1cm linear up to 3 weeks 50% increase from 3 to 5 weeks 5 to 6 weeks-2.5 to 3.2 cm Contd.,

29. DRINKER Clean and fresh water should be provided Nipple drinkers and cups are available for adult quails Drinking space up to 3 weeks-1cm 5 to 6 weels-1.5 to 2 cm in trough One nipple or cup should be provided for every 5 birds.

30. Feed Management Feed Ingredients Chick mash Grower mash   0-3 weeks 4-6 weeks Maize 27 31 Sorghum 15 14 Deoiled RiceBran 8 8 Groundnut Cake 17 17 Sunflower Cake 12.5 12.5 Soya meal 8 - Fishmeal 10 10 Mineral Mixture 2.5 2.5 Shell grit - 5 Feed can be formulated as follows :

31. Feed material should be made of small particles A 5 weeks old quail consumes about 500 gms of feed Quails of 6 month old, consumes about 30-35 gms of feed per day. Quails require about 400 gms feed for the production of 12 eggs. The particle size is reduced by grinding the feed for one more time. Contd.,

32. Feeding Classified as, Starter (0-4 wks), Finisher (4-6wks) and layer or breeder (6 wks onwards). Starter period is more crucial and needs special management and feeding care. Balanced and higher nutrient is required Feed conversion ratio (FCR) is an average 1.75-1.80 Nutrients Broiler Quails Layer Quail (For Egg) Starter (0-4 wks.) Finisher (4-6 wks.) Starter (0-4 wks.) Grower (4-5 wks.) Layer (> 6 wks.) Energy (Kcal /Kg) 2800 2800 2750 2750 2700 Protein % 27 24 24 20 19 Calcium % 0.8 0.6 0.8 0.6 3.0 Phosphorus % 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.45

33. Egg production Smaller eggs than chicken Average age at first egg production is about 50 days Average egg production 280-300/year Eggs laid between 3-5 pm Eggs are multicoloured (dark brown, white, buff, blue etc) Eggs wt. is 10-12 g 7-8% of the hen’s body weight. Composition of Quail Egg (Whole, Raw) Water Protein Fat Carbohydrate Total ash Calorific Value 74% 13% 11% 1% 1% 649 k J/100g liquid

34. Quail meat Dressed quail meat weighs 70-73% weight of live quail. Hundred grams of quail meat is usually obtained from a quail weighing 140 g The Comparision in Composition (Raw Meat) (Ref.: Pande and Srivastava , 1987)   Moisture Protein Fat Carbohydrate Minerals Quail 73.93% 20.54% 3.85% 0.56% 1.12% Chicken 73.87% 20.66% 3.61% 0.78% 1.08% What is the acceptance or popularity of Quail meat and egg? Quail meat / egg are now widely accepted in India. Small size of quail egg as alternative to chicken egg. They make attractive snacks or salad ingredients. Value addition is possible with products like egg pickles, brine quail eggs etc.

35. Is quail meat preferred over chicken meat? Yes it is tastier than chicken. Quail meat promotes body and brain development in children Best balanced feed for pregnant and nursing mothers. Less fat content (Low calorific value) but more of phospholipds . Is quail farming a suitable option in terms of meat and egg production? Early marketing age Early sexual maturity High rate of lay (280-300 eggs per year) Occupation of a minimum floor space Eight to ten birds can be kept in the same space housing a single chicken

36. If you are going for such operations of producing chicks at your farm, following information may be of help to you: Male / female ratio in the parent stock should be 1:2 or less. Quails start laying eggs at the age of 6 weeks, Quails lay most of the eggs during evening hours (Between 3 to 6 PM). Fertile eggs from the female of age 10 to 20 weeks can be collected Eggs should be collected very frequently and carefully Eggs should be stored at 55 F with 70% relative humidity before incubation. Management of quail chicks The day old quail chicks usually weigh 8-10 g. The quail chicks need more temperature. Absence of adequate temperature and exposure to high speed cool wind leads to clustering of young ones, which results in high mortality.

37. Quail diseases Quails are very sensitive during first 2 wks of their life Quails are not vaccinated No dewormer used Resistant to 8 starins of Eimeria pathogenic to chicken Brooder pneumonia reported in quails (use calcium propionate@2kg/ tonnes feed). Ulcerative enteritis ( Clostridium colinum ) Sterptomycin , bacitricin , and neomycin @50-100g/ tonnes of feed. Mortality rate 5-10%

38. GROWTH AND PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE OF QUIAL Age(weeks) Average B.wt(gm) Total feed consumption (gm) Cumulative feed efficiency 1 25.6 45.7 1.78 2 52.2 136.9 2.62 3 87.9 237.2 2.69 4 136.8 391.8 2.86 5 192.1 561.6 2.92

39. Farm management Maintaining a record of farm activities Events such as birth, death or loss, removals, total egg count, eggs sold and number of quails purchased along with their dates should be recorded for reference. There should be record of treatments and other medical activities with their exact dates The expenditure and income of the farm should be recorded If the farm has an incubator then details such as eggs hatched, temp, date etc., should be noted.

40. Where to get parent birds or adult quails? 1. Director , Central Avian Research Institute, Izatnagar , Dist. Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, Pin: 243122 A.V.M Hatcheries & Poultry Breeding Center Pvt. Ltd. 25 / 327, Rangai Gauder Street, Coimbatore Pin: 641001 Director, Central Poultry Breeding Farm, Govt of India located at a) Aarey colony, Goregaon (E), Mumbai.- 400065 b ) Hessarghatta , Bangalore (North)-560088 c) Nayapalli , Bhubaneshwar-751012 d) Industrial Area, Chandigarh-160002 4. M/s Venkateshwar Hacheries Pvt. Ltd. Quail Unit at Naigaon , Pune , C/o Dr. B.V. Rao , IPMT At/PO - Urulikanchan , Pune – 412202