1. QUAIL FARMING AS DIVERSIFICATION VENTURE IN RURAL INDIABy
Dr. Avishek Biswas
Senior Scientist
Avian Nutrition & Feed Technology Division
Central Avian Research Institute
Izatnagar, Bareilly (U.P.), India

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
Why quail farming?
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.

4. Advantages of quail farming
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.

5. Quail farming as economically viable and technically feasible
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

6. Difference b/w Male & Female
Females are heavier ( g) than male ( g)
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

7. Housing Age Cage Size No.of birds First 2 weeks 3 x 2.5 x 1.5 ft. 100
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.
          
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 birds per cage.
Cage System
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

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

9. 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
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
2750
2700
Protein % 27 24 20 19
Calcium %
0.8
0.6
3.0
Phosphorus %
0.3
0.45

10. Egg production Composition of Quail Egg (Whole, Raw)
Smaller eggs than chicken
Average age at first egg production is about 50 days
Average egg production /year
Eggs laid between 3-5 pm
Eggs are multicoloured (dark brown, white, buff, blue etc)
Eggs wt. is 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%
649 k J/100g liquid

11. 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, brined quail eggs etc.

12. Is quail meat preferred over chicken 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 ( eggs per year)
Occupation of a minimum floor space
Eight to ten birds can be kept in the same space housing a single chicken

13. Through 45 deg. 5-6 times a day.
Incubation and hatching
Incubators that are used for hatching chicken eggs can be used
A wire mesh or grid of 1.5 x 1 inch should be fitted on the setter trays
Incubation period for quail eggs is 18 days.
Eggs should be stored at 130C at 80% RH for 5-7 days
Fumigated with formaldehyde gas for 20 minutes before storage.
Incubation requirement are as follows:
Duration (Days)
Temperature (deg.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

14. Management of quail chicks
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.

15. 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 feed).
Ulcerative enteritis (Clostridium colinum)
Sterptomycin, bacitricin, and of feed.
Mortality rate 5-10%

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

17. Thanks