Proper quail breeding at home for beginners

Today, quail breeding at home for beginners is becoming especially popular. Since this bird is ready to give meat and diet eggs, it is the most popular among poultry farmers.Breeding quails will not cause inconvenience, and even a novice poultry farmer will quite pull the contents of a small and unpretentious bird in the apartment. Such breeding can be attributed to a productive business, it practically does not require costs and some special conditions.

 

Breeding quails at home

Today, the Japanese quail variety is the most popular among farmers. Moreover, in Japan, such a breeding tradition has existed for more than 100 years. Today, they boldly grow and contain representatives of descendants from the Japanese version, not only for meat, but also for obtaining dietary eggs in a number of farms and agricultural farms.

Before you buy quail for home breeding, you should study the breed description, read reviews, see photos and videos. Birds should be purchased from breeders or from trusted sellers. The quality and health of the entire livestock, as well as meat and eggs, will depend on how healthy and developed the young growth will be.

Breeders, after lengthy work, were able to breed representatives of both meat breeds and egg varieties. What are the characteristics of this domesticated variety:

• the annual productivity of eggs with a weight of 10-12 g is 340 pieces;
• egg laying is already beginning at the age of 1.5 months;
• the weight of quail is usually 150 g for a laying hen, 130 g for a male

In order to get a diet and tasty quail meat, broilers have recently become popular. Only such representatives weigh much more.Broiler weight can be from 250 to 500 g.

Quail Breeds

Depending on what you want to get, you should choose the most suitable breed. It is best to engage in quail breeding at home on the balcony or in the private sector in the fresh air. It is not difficult to breed quails, but all the rules for the care and maintenance of such birds should be observed. Novice farmers can try to breed quail in the garage, if it is capital and heated.

Of course, on the street, the quail is more likely to fully develop and carry healthy offspring, but not everyone has the opportunity to build a separate house in the garden. When choosing a breed, one should take into account the fact where the individuals will live and pay attention to their features and adaptability to these conditions.

Breed quail Japanese

• egg direction ;
• yellow-brown color of plumage;
• the weight of the male is about 130 g, females are 150 g;
• egg production is 90%;
• egg product weighing about 9-11 g.

Chanzhursky quail breed

• meat and egg;
• yellow-brown color of plumage;
• individual weight – about 300 g;
• egg production – 85%;
• the weight of the egg product is usually with It represents around 13-16 g

Breed English white quail

• meat and egg direction;
• plumage color white;
• weight of the individual – 280-350 g;
• egg production of the breed – 85%;
• the egg product weighs approximately 13-15 g

Breed Pharaoh

• meat direction;
• plumage color yellow-brown with a strip;
• the weight of the female is 320-360 g , 280 g weighs a male;
• egg production of the breed – 85%;
• the weight of the egg product is usually 12-16 g.

Phoenix breed

• meat-egg direction;
• yellow-golden plumage color;
• weight of wasps obi is usually about 250 g;
• egg production – about 85%;
• the egg product is about 12-18 g.

Texas white breed

• meat-oriented;
• white with a black spot;
• the individual weighs approximately 500 g;
• 85% egg production;
• weight of the egg product – 14-16 g.

California quail

• the bird is very beautiful due to its unusual and variegated color;
• is used for decorative purposes: it is not a wild breed, therefore, a California individual can be bred just for beauty.

Productivity of quail of different breeds

Breeding and growing quail at home should begin with the acquisition of young stock of the desired breed.For any breed, active productivity and a good metabolic rate should be most characteristic. If we consider quail with a weight of about 120 g, then over the course of a year it can produce at least 300 eggs. It is also interesting that the egg mass itself will be 20-24 times the weight of the female.

By nutrition, such testicles are ready to surpass the chicken ones, since there is no cholesterol in the quail testicle. You can eat them easily and raw, since the quail does not suffer from salmonellosis. If we compare 5 quail eggs, which will be equal in weight to one chicken, then quail eggs will be superior in content to some elements:

• potassium in them will be as much as 5 times more;
• iron will be 4.5 more;
• the presence of vitamins A, B2, B1;
• protein 60%, and in chicken it is only 55.8%;
• the presence of antioxidants.

The quail testicle is usually white to dark-colored in color. The shell is quite fragile and its weight is about 7.2% of the total product. Up to 10% of the total mass is the weight of the shell in ordinary poultry species. It is also important to note that the shell of a quail egg can be safely used in the treatment of certain diseases (these are diseases of internal organs and skin). With the help of such a difficult shell, the effects of radiation can easily be derived. Quail eggs are not capable of causing allergic reactions.Quite the contrary, allergic reactions are suppressed with the help of a product called ovomucoid, which is contained in the egg.

Quail meat contains many minerals, amino acids, and even vitamin B. Such meat is characterized as dietary. When storing quail meat for a long time, it will not lose useful substances and will not deteriorate. Such a product is recommended for use in diseases of the cardiovascular system, with some gastrointestinal disorders, in diabetes mellitus and some other diseases.

Reproduction of quail at home

to breed quails; it is not necessary to start a male and a female at once. Layers are able to rush without a male. But only those who pursue the goal of breeding just such breeds need a male. In this case, young growth should be bought. Young quails are able to easily transfer the stress of moving to another place.

Before buying, you must always inspect the livestock. Here are the criteria that usually distinguish a healthy quail:

• around the cloaca it will always have a clean plumage;
• the beak is dry and without deformation;
• the breath is clean in sound ;
• average weight (the pet is not overfed and not exhausted);
• feathers without fragments of dirt, clean and smooth, without excrement.

When breeding quails at home should avoid closely related crosses.Females should be chosen at the age of 3-8 months, but the age for quail should be from 3 to 6. It is better to cross in the same breed.

How to breed quail correctly if the female instinct is not particularly developed ? For breeding from scratch, in order to be beneficial, it is necessary to use special incubators.

The content in the incubators greatly simplifies the breeding of quails and increases its profitability. The farmer will not need to create a certain temperature and constant humidity for the egg. When choosing an incubator, it is better to pay attention to those models where the testes are not turned over manually, but automatically by the system itself. When breeding, the egg should be from laying hens for 2-10 months, they must be fertilized and not older than one week with a weight of about 9-11 g.

You can easily make an incubator with your own hands

• in any cardboard box you need to build a soft litter;
• put everything that the birds need in the box, as well as a special thermometer;
• fix a lamp with a power of about 40 watts on top;
• by adjusting the height of the lamp itself, you can achieve a constant temperature of 37, 5-38.5 ° С;
• it is imperative to install an air humidifier nearby to maintain a certain humidity;
• install a fine-mesh net to the bottom;
• place it on the bottom along the bedding no pain older than 20 eggs of equal size, and turn them 3-5 times a day;
• about 17 days it will take young animals to hatch. Chicks usually appear at the same time for 5-6 hours.

Growing young

Usually the weight of the chick is 6-8 g and it is already active from the first hours of life. The body of the quail covers brown fluff and two stripes on the back. You need to monitor the chicks constantly, as they can easily drown in a saucer with water or hide in a corner and suffocate. It is extremely important to be vigilant. In time, you need to transplant the birds into a room covered by a net – into a brooder. It is necessary to observe the correct size of the brooder, depending on the number of quails in it. Maintenance and feeding of young animals should be carried out in accordance with all the rules.

Small quails themselves feed, but it is better for the farmer to help completely weakened and helpless individuals.Where to start if young animals have no appetite? In this case, there should be care. You need to feed only the food that is now needed. Perhaps you should change your drinking water to fresh. If garbage got into the water, then young animals will not drink it, and therefore refuse to eat. It is also necessary to make a suitable diet with protein feed. Immediately after birth, it is better to give a finely chopped egg (protein and yolk separately). The egg must be boiled. Feeding the birds with such food should be done about 5 times a day. On the third day after birth, you can also connect cottage cheese.

You can purchase combined feed. This may be a feed called “start.” It must first be processed in a coffee grinder.

On the seventh day, you can give chopped greens.

Already from 21-28 days the quail needs to be fed as adults. The main thing is to start proper feeding, and the young growth will be attracted to food, the necessary reflexes will appear. If the food is intensive and balanced, the quail will increase in weight up to 20 times in 2 months after birth. You can drink them with a nipple drinker or use only vacuum ones. Water must be poured into the birds warm and always boiled. For the purpose of prevention, you can solder the quail with chloramphenicol in a solution.

Lighting for quail

At home, breeding and keeping the quail requires proper lighting.If this rule is not observed, then the birds may not be carried, laying hens will be aggressive. Males can engage in fights among themselves.

Lighting in the first 14 days in the brooder should be 24 hours a day, then you can reduce it gradually to 17 hours. A dry and warm room should be in young animals and always with ventilation. The temperature should be 35-38 ° C. Breeding and keeping quail in winter also requires a responsible attitude to lighting, because if you do not follow the rules, the livestock can either roast or freeze.

When it becomes cold for such chicks, they begin to pile up and scream. In this case, the farmers simply lower the lamp to illuminate a little lower. When the chicks are around the perimeter with their beaks raised, it’s worthwhile to raise a heat source: this reaction means that the young are hot. After a week, heating will need to be reduced to 34 ° C, and after 4 weeks to 22 ° C.

Sex of the young

You can already determine the sex characteristics of the quail 3 weeks after birth. For experienced poultry farmers it will not be difficult to determine the gender, but a beginner will have to train. In males, a reddish-brown color of the feather can be observed in the area near the neck and near the chest. In females, such places are painted in a light gray shade of speck.

The male at the age of 8 weeks ceases to grow. After 1.5 months, the males are ready to breed.Individuals not intended for breeding should be planted separately for fattening. Females are ready for reproductive function a little later. This roughly happens at 9 weeks. In each individual, puberty occurs at different times, since many factors influence it, for example, immunity, state of health, weight of the laying hen.

Diet for quail

Quail , their breeding and feeding at home should meet all standards. The health of the livestock and the immunity of individuals depends on how well the diet is selected. With periodic feeding with vitamins and minerals, birds are less likely to suffer from common diseases. Feeding individuals is best done with remote containers, as laying hens and males like to spread food during meals.

For convenience, many farmers purchase special equipment, drinking bowls and feeders, from which it is inconvenient for birds to spill or sprinkle something. Such feeders and drinking bowls significantly save food and water, so you should consider purchasing such equipment. It is recommended to feed the birds 2-3 times a day. The feed volume is 25-30 g per one chick.

How to feed the quail

• fish oil;
• ground egg shells, shells, crushed chalk;
• boneless boiled fish and fish meal;
• sliced ​​egg, cottage cheese, sunflower seeds;
• vegetable peeling (carrots, shredded cabbage, boiled potatoes);
• greens (clover, salad, onion, sprouted wheat);
• cereals (millet, barley, oats);
• special compound feed.

The health of young animals

Be sure to monitor the behavior of individuals. When the bird becomes passive and refuses food, it is worth transplanting it separately and contact your veterinarian. Birds are also placed separately after physical injury. In the manufacture of the house, it is recommended to make such a house on several tiers. In this case, the birds can be on any tier and there will be enough space for everyone.

Next to the premises you need to build a separate pen for quarantined individuals. After acquiring a new livestock, birds need to be quarantined for 10 to 30 days, where they will be separately fed and kept. If an individual has not revealed any changes during this time and its behavior has remained active, then a new bird can be released to the rest of the livestock.

Useful tips

For fattening for slaughter of meat birds should use a slightly different breeding and maintenance tactics. For breeding for meat, the following conditions are necessary: ​​

• Lighting should be reduced.
• Make the temperature 24 ° C.
• Create a twilight, as mobility decreases under such conditions, the need for food increases.
• Meals should be taken at least 3 -4 times a day.

If you want to start several different breeds, it is important to ensure that sexual relations do not occur between related breeds or too different individuals. Crossing representatives of different breeds is also not recommended. Many individuals can’t even get along with birds of another breed. The surest decision is to get females and males of the same breed and similar complexion.

Too thin a male or female may not fit purely in physical parameters to each other. Also, the male may not like a full or thin layer. Individuals should be of medium configuration.

When breeding quails on the balcony, soundproofing should be done and the feeder, drinking bowls and perches should be cleaned every day. If this is not done, then the unpleasant smell of litter and noise will annoy the neighbors. Quails can be kept in cages. Special sizes should be selected with a calculation: 30 x 30 cm per male and 3-4 females. If the area is slightly larger, family productivity decreases sharply. It is necessary to equip nests and perches. Be sure to make ventilation. Humidity should be 60-70%.

Many farmers distinguish the following features when breeding and keeping quails

• In several places, quail singing is valued, and individuals are used as fighting ones.
• When a fight appears, it is imperative to jail the instigator of the conflict separately.
• It is necessary to exclude stressful situations in the team, for this it is worth taking care of the absence of any negative situations.
• so that the paws of the chicks do not disperse, do not lay paper.

Home-grown quail will be profitable, if observe proper care and make the right diet of adults and chicks. Even if the birds are not bothered and they look healthy, they should be shown to the veterinarian for a routine examination.