QUAIL FARMING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
Anil Arathy1, N.C. Sandeep2 and S. Alimudeen3
1Department of Livestock Products Technology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookode, 673576, India, 2Department of Veterinary Public health and Epidemiology, CVAS, Pookode, 3 Department of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension Education, CVAS, Pookode
ABSTRACT
Quail farming is one of the least explored farming sector in the poultry industry. Quail is a robust bird that can be commercially used for both egg and meat production. Quail meat has got some medicinal properties and its nutritional value is comparatively more than that of chicken meat. Before starting a quail farm, we need to know some factors like the rearing system, feeding, management, reproduction, meat and egg production, etc. In this article, you will get some relevant information regarding quail farming and its possibilities.
Keywords: Rearing system, feeding, management, reproduction, infertility, egg collection, meat production, nutritive value, marketing, health concern
Introduction
Quail is a small avian species belonging to the pheasant family. It is first domesticated in Japan. Black-breasted quail and Brown-color Japanese quail are the species seen in India. The black-breasted quails are found in the jungle while the brown color Japanese quail is used for commercial purposes. Nowadays there is an increase in demand for quail meat.
Quail production is not a well-established sector but it has got a good position in the poultry industry. Europe and USA are the largest producers of quail meat. In America and European countries, quails are reared mainly for meat purposes but that is not the case with Far east and Asian countries, they mainly focus on egg production. Japanese quail is suitable for both egg and meat production.
Quail meat has got nutritional value in terms of low-fat content, presence of limiting amino acids and phospholipid content. There has been an increase in quail farming in developing countries. It will be a great source of income and employment for low-income regions in the country as the production requires less effort compared to other poultry sectors. Indian government has plans to provide infrastructural facilities and managemental advices to assist the people involved in quail farming but a government license is required to sell Japanese quail. The Ministry of Environment and forest issue the license to the Department of Animal Husbandry.
MANAGEMENT OF QUAIL FARM
Rearing system
Deep litter system and battery system are the two types of rearing systems commonly practiced. In deep litter system, the quails can be reared for two weeks after that they can be transferred to cages. Six quails can be reared in square feet of floor space. This system has a positive effect on body weight gain.
In battery system of rearing each unit is about 6 feet in length and one foot in width and is subdivided into six subunits. For saving space, the cages can be arranged up to six tiers in height. There should be 4 to 5 cages in a row. The bottom of the cage is fixed with removable wooden plates to clean the bird droppings. Long narrow feed troughs are placed in front of the cages. While water troughs are placed at the back of the cages. We can house 10 – 12 birds as one colony per cage. Male quails can be introduced in cages in the ratio of 1 to 3 females for breeding purposes. Behavioural studies suggest that a solid floor with litter to wire floor is more appropriate as the quail can perform its wild behaviour like scratching, pecking and dust bathing.
Requirement of space for rearing
| Age | Cage size | No. of birds |
| First 2 weeks | 3×2.5×1.5 ft. | 100 |
| 3-6 weeks | 42.51.5 ft. | 50 |
Feeding
Feed is the most single factor that costs high in quail farming. The feed should be made up of small particles and it should be specifically made for quails. Quails are fed with a starter diet up to 3 weeks, a grower diet from 3-6 weeks and a layer ration after 6 weeks of age. A quail chick will take around 500-600 grams of feed up to 6 weeks of age. After that, it takes 25-30 gram of feed per day. Commercially available vitamin mixture can also be added according to the recommendation provided in the manufacturer.
Rearing management
At the age of six weeks, female birds gain weight up to 175-200 grams, and male birds weigh up to 125-150 grams. Female birds start laying eggs at 7 weeks of age and continue up to twenty-two weeks. Egg laying happens mostly in the evening time and each egg weighs about 9-10 grams. Egg-laying quails require sixteen hours of light per day.
Difference in sex
The male breast is narrow and covered with an equally distributed feather of brown and white in color. While the female breast is broad and covered with brown and black dots feathers. At the age of four weeks male and female birds should be separated.
Reproduction
Breeding should be carried out with stock from a reputable dealer. Usually, larger birds are reared for meat purposes and smaller ones for the egg. After one laying season, the breeders have to be changed otherwise it can affect the egg production, fertility, hatchability and disease resistance of the birds. Culling is an important procedure that should be followed throughout the laying season.
Quail starts producing eggs at the age of the 7th week. They attain 50 per cent egg production at the 8th week of age. For fertile egg production, males should be reared along with the females at 8-10 weeks of age. The incubation period for eggs is 18 days. The peculiarity of the egg is that the eggshell is spotted with colors ranging from white to brown. From 500 laying quails, we can produce about 1500 quail chicks per week.
On average, from every 100 eggs set in an incubator, between 80 and 95 chicks can be expected. The hatchability depends to a great extent on the age of the breeding flock and the storage conditions. Candling is done on the 14th or 15th day of incubation. Most quail eggs are speckled or mottled down makes successful candling difficult. For better results, it is advisable to candle earlier, say on the fifth or sixth day.
Infertility
Infertility can occur due to various reasons. some of them are
- Incorrect male: female ratio
- Age of the breeding flock
- Preferential mating
- Inheritance, nutrition
- Health of the breeding flock, especially males
- Inadequate feeding and drinking space
- Overcrowding
- Lighting regime
- Stress
The suggested male: female ratio for better fertility rates is from 1:2 to 1:5, while extreme ratios of 1:1 to 1:6 should be avoided to eliminate the lower fertility rate. Japanese quail reaches its maximum fertility rate at 12 to 15 weeks of age after that there will be a gradual decline. Some males show preferential mating which can be eliminated by changing the males frequently. But it is not seen in cage rearing where mating ratios are lower. Semen production in quail is inherited. Certain semen characteristics like motility and concentration of spermatozoa and semen volume are more likely to be inherited by meat-type males than egg-type males.
Both internal and external parasitism affect fertility. Nematodes, gizzard worms and acuaria are commonly seen as internal parasites. External parasites like fleas, mites and lice can cause anemia due to blood loss. Diseases that can cause infertility in birds kept for years are aspergillosis, coccidiosis and avian tuberculosis. Leukosis and mycoplasmosis also affect the bird’s fertility. Salmonella-infected birds may show poor fertility and bad hatchability.
Risk of breakage reduces while transporting long-distance with cases filled with fine wood shavings around them. Reduces damaged egg no by 15 percent.
Egg collection
It is better to collect hatching eggs at least three times daily and it can be increased to more than 3 times during high-temperature conditions. Egg collection should be carried out using a clean container and clean the dirty eggs immediately, dry fine sand papers can be used for removing large lumps of dirt. Egg loses its hatchability after 4 days at the rate of 2 per cent per day, storing of eggs should be done based on that. Usually storing eggs for more than one week is not recommended. Eggs are placed with the pointed end down and are turned through 45 degree twice a day preferably morning and evening.
Under natural incubation and in still-air incubators the egg has a temperature gradient with the maximum temperature at its top. In these conditions, the optimum temperature at the upper level of the egg is between 39 and 39.5 o C. With forced draft incubators the optimum temperature is near the center of the hatching zone between 37.4 and 37.9 o C. Toward the end of the incubation period, the temperature can be lowered by 1o C. The first few days after laying is the critical period for the embryo because slight temperature changes can be life-threatening. But the same changes cause little or no effect in later stages except a change in the time of hatching. At the early stage of incubation quail, eggs need higher humidity compared to chicken eggs. Good hatchability is observed with humidity in the range of 65 to 72 per cent at a temperature of 37.7 o C.
Quail meat production and its nutritional value
The quality and composition of meat are influenced by various factors like the genotype of birds, feeding mode and slaughtering age. The ideal age for slaughter for quality meat production is at 35 days of age. Slaughter yield in Japanese quails is about 64-65 per cent. A quail having a body weight of 140 grams gives 100 grams of dressed meat.
Quail meat contains limiting amino acids lysine and methionine which constitute 11.8 per cent of quail meat protein. The ratio of PUFA/SFA in quail meat is 0.73. The breast and leg meat constitute 33 and 21 per cent respectively. The water-holding capacity of the meat is better in the case of meat from female birds. Sex or body weight doesn’t have any effect on the quail carcass composition. However, the breast meat from females is having higher protein and dry matter than those from males.
Japanese quail meat has got high C18:1 content and a high PUFA and SFAs ratio thus, it is a better food choice for the prevention of heart disease in human consumers. As we see the fatty acid profile in female birds, has got higher amounts of oleic, linoleic and α-linolenic acids while male birds have a higher amount of palmitic, stearic and arachidonic acids. Quail meat is an excellent source of vitamins the range is shown in the table below.
| Vitamin | Amount in mg/ 100g raw meat |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.52-0.68 |
| Niacin | 6.0-10.3 |
| Thiamine | 0.10-0.17 |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.66-1.10 |
| Riboflavin | 0.16-0.50 |
Composition of quail and chicken meat
| Nutrient | Quail meat | Chicken meat |
| Moisture | 73.93% | 73.87% |
| Protein | 20.54% | 20.66% |
| Fat | 3.85% | 3.61% |
| Carbohydrate | 0.56% | 0.78% |
| Minerals | 1.12% | 1.08% |
Quail egg
Even though size-wise chicken egg has got high value than quail egg, nutritionally quail egg holds a good position compared to chicken egg. It has more protein, vitamin B1, iron and potassium content than a chicken egg. And also, the fat percentage is less than that of a chicken egg. Allergies or diathesis are not reported with its consumption.
Refining the market
As in any other production sector, there will be times when consumer demand becomes low. In such cases, we can increase the marketing option by choosing ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook chilled/frozen products for exports or marketing via supermarkets, restaurants and fast food shops. Various value-added products like meatballs, tikka, tandoori and other marinated products can be made to improve consumer interest.
Health concern
Vitamin and mineral deficiency in parent stock can lead to the production of chicks with weak legs. To avoid this proper feed should be given along with mineral and vitamin supplements. Vaccination of quails is not necessary as they are having good immunity against infectious diseases when compared to chicken. Disinfection of farm premises, provision of clean water and good quality feed itself can prevent the occurrence of diseases in quail farms.
Advantages of quail farming
Quails are sturdy birds. Farming of these birds is very economical as they need,
- Less space for rearing
- Require less capital
- Selling age is very early like 5 weeks
- High rate of clutch up to 280
- The meat is tastier than chicken meat
- Meat has got low-fat content
- Egg has a low cholesterol percentage.
Conclusion
Quail farming is comparatively easy and more manageable than chicken farming. Quail meat is above the nutritional quality with respect to chicken meat and a small quail egg can be comparable to chicken egg. Quail farming is an economically promising industry that needs some more development and government intervention. The information regarding quail farming and its possibilities are scarce. Limited research is happening in this area even though the scientists are aware of the health and economic benefits of quail products. Standardization of quail feeds, the introduction of value-added products, improvement of marketing channels, provision of technical advice and assistance to quail farmers are essential for the development of this farming sector.
