QUAIL FARMING AS DIVERSIFICATION VENTURE IN RURAL INDIA

ByDr. Avishek Biswas

Senior Scientist

Avian Nutrition & Feed Technology DivisionCentral Avian Research Institute

Izatnagar, Bareilly-243122 (U.P.), India

Introduction

Class : Aves Family : Phasianidae Genus : Coturnix Scientific name : Coturnix coturnix Japonica

Hindi name : “Bater”

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

Why quail farming?

History

Hardy 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. As a source of egg and meat production Popular in the countries like Japan, Hongkong, Singapore and France.

Requires minimum floor space

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

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.

Advantages of quail farming

Very short generation interval

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

Quail farming as economically viable and technically feasible

Difference b/w Male & Female

Females are heavier (200-250 g) than male (180-200g)

Female: long & pointed feathers with black speckles on the throat

and upper breast.

Male: rusty brown throat and breast feathers, cloacal gland.

Female/Male Japanese Quail

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.

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

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 platesLong 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.

Housing

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.

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.

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 19Calcium % 0.8 0.6 0.8 0.6 3.0

Phosphorus % 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.45

Feeding

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.

Egg production

Composition of Quail Egg (Whole, Raw)Water Protein Fat

Carbohydrate

Total ash

Calorific Value

74% 13% 11% 1% 1%649 k J/100g

liquid

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)

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, brined quail eggs

etc.

  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%

Quail meat

YES

According to Gourmets, 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

Is quail meat preferred over chicken meat?

Incubation and hatching

o Incubators that are used for hatching chicken eggs can be used

o A wire mesh or grid of 1.5 x 1 inch should be fitted on the setter trays

o Incubation period for quail eggs is 18 days. oEggs should be stored at 130C at 80% RH for 5-7 daysoFumigated with formaldehyde gas for 20 minutes before storage.

o Incubation requirement are as follows:

Duration (Days) Temperature (deg.F) Humidity (%) Turning of Eggs

0-14 99.5 60Through 45 deg. 5-6

times a day.15 to 18 98.5 70 Not required

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 550 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.

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%

Where to get parent birds or adult quails?

1. Director, Central Avian Research Institute, Izatnagar, Dist. Bareilly,

Uttar Pradesh, Pin: 243122

2. A.V.M Hatcheries & Poultry Breeding Center Pvt. Ltd.

25 / 327, Rangai Gauder Street, Coimbatore Pin: 641001

3. 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

Thanks