Interview with an expert: quail breeding

The Internet is full of articles about quail breeding, but it is difficult for a poultry farming beginner to understand the information flow. Sometimes, the recommendations are so different that there is a doubt about its usefulness.

The team of the website FarmerScan asked Oles Skytovych, the owner of the private farm "Kroliacha Nora", about techniques that are effective in practice and in which way money can be saved:

“If you breed quails for yourself, it is easier to purchase grown chickens. It will help you to save time and money. It makes no sense to buy an incubator, if you need only 10-30 quails. In order to breed quails for business, you must have your own breeding stock”.

The farmer started with 10 quails and 3 cockerels, but now keeps 500-700 fowls. As Oles Skytovych says, this amount allows you to be noticeable on the market, break even and find customers. Further, it is necessary to increase the volumes.

Incubator

“For quail breeding, it is better to have two incubators: one directly for incubation, the other is the hatcher”, shares his own experience the poultry farmer.

The total incubation cycle for quails is 17 days. The eggs are placed in the large incubator for the period of 15 days, and then transferred to the second incubator for 2 days for hatching. The first incubator is equipped with 2 trays, in which the farmer sets eggs every seven days. Thus, quails hatch every week. Such a conveyor is very convenient; there is a constant renewal of the poultry population, which is grown for meat. There are no interruptions with the product supply.

Brooder

The first month in the life of quails is the most important one and requires increased attention to the housing conditions.

“In brooders, the temperature is maintained by an ordinary 40-60 W lamp and a film heater on the back wall of the cage. In some sources of literature, it is recommended to install an infrared lamp with a minimum power of 150 W. You also need to buy a regulator for it – these are additional costs. I see no reason to pay more money. In addition, it is recommended to regulate the temperature clearly in brooders. To do this, many poultry farmers install temperature sensors and other devices. However, experts agree that, first of all, you need to look at the state and the behavior of quails. It is immediately clear, whether the temperature is comfortable for poultry or not: if quails are flocked together – it’s cold, quails wander off and rest – it’s good, they open their beaks and often breathe – it’s hot”.

Enclosed area

It is necessary to provide ventilation on the enclosed area for keeping quails. At the same time, there should not be drafts that are harmful to the poultry.

The next important point is the lighting, which is regulated depending on the age of quails. The lamp should light constantly for young chickens up to a month. In the quailhouse, where older birds are kept, Oles Skytovych set a timer with a given light day of 16-18 hours. The light automatically turns on at 6 a.m. and out at 11 p.m.

The number of fowls that can be kept, directly depends on the enclosed area. The quails are kept in batteries, which consist of 5 cages and placed one above one. There can be 35 quails in a standard cage of size 45*90 cm. Thus, in one battery there are 150-160 quails. It is necessary to consider and plan passes between batteries.

Correctly calculated rate of stocking, saves on heating. As Oles Skytovych explained that the effect is achieved by means of the high body temperature of quails:

“The enclosed area, in which my quails live, is small – 10-12 square meters. There is no special space heating, but the temperature on the thermometer is + 20ºС, although it was -12ºС outdoors at night. This result is achieved by means of the body temperature of quail, which is 42ºC, and brooders heating. By the optimal rate of stocking, the bird will warm itself”.

Care and maintenance

The most important thing is to ease your work by the organization of care.

“Feeders and nipple waterers are fixed outside the cages. In brooders there are vacuum waterers. Tubs and cut bottles do not fit, all this needs to be washed, it will take a lot of time. All my care and feeding work takes 15 minutes in the morning and evening. I feed the quails with the compound feed. Only the last week before slaughter, I feed it only with corn, so the meat is tastier, and carotene gives it a beautiful yellow color. In the corresponding material, they write that quail needs 30-40 g of feed per day. My quails eat ad lib, I do not calculate the daily rate. After all, the bird will not eat more than it needs. Moreover, for the meat breed it is only a plus – the more it eats, the better it grows. I don’t give antibiotics at all, they affect immunity. It only makes sense if you buy chickens, then it is better to give antibiotics so as not to infect the poultry”, said the man.

“Before starting a business, future quail-keepers need to study the information on subject forums, to watch videos on YouTube. There are many nuances that can only be got to know from experts. For example, when I was making cages, I watched a video of one poultry farmer, who advised to make pallets at least 3 cm deep. This seemingly insignificant nuance allows to clean the quail cages not every day, but every 3 days, which reduces the time for care. Therefore, before starting to breed quails, you need to spend at least a month to study the topic”, concluded Oles Skytovych.