Quail ordinary - a bird known today in poultry circles. A lot of people know about the usefulness of its meat and eggs, so they prefer to eat them more often. Birds living in the wild differ from domesticated breeds in many ways. It is worth considering this breed from different angles and learn more about it.
Description and characteristics of the bird
There are two ways to look at ordinary quail - as a wild migratory bird, and as its domesticated counterpart. The first is obtained through hunting, the second is grown in poultry farms.
Appearance and Features
Quails belong to the pheasant family, the smallest representatives of the chicken order. Their average weight varies in the range from 80 to 150 g, and the body length of the bird is about 18 cm. The plumage of an ordinary quail has a brownish-brown color, into which light strokes and spots cut. The wings are pointed, the tail is short, four-fingered legs have no spurs, feathers are absent in the area of the nostrils, the beak is small.
It becomes possible to distinguish between a male and a female by about the third week of the bird’s life, when the nestling fluff will be replaced by the full plumage of an adult.
In females, the color is brighter, and on the chest there is a large number of black dots. The male plumage is not so striking, it is usually monophonic. But the color of the feathers on their heads has a greater contrast compared to the feathers of the female. The call in males is lighter, and the beak is darker and quite massive. In terms of total body weight, males are inferior to females.
Spread
Two subspecies of common quail live in Russia - European and dumb (or Japanese) quail. Mute quail was domesticated in Japan about 100 years ago, and is currently bred on an industrial scale in poultry farms as a meat and egg type bird.
Common quail is common in West Asia, Africa and Europe. In Russia, it is found throughout the middle lane. This bird belongs to migratory. They prefer to spend wintering of quail in the south-west of Asia or in Africa. From wintering, birds return late enough - most often in May.
The flight of quail is carried out at night, during the day they rest, sitting out in meadows and fields. Protection from predators to tired birds provides their nondescript color, due to which they are difficult to distinguish even in low grass.
Lifestyle
In the wild, quail feeds on various insects, invertebrates, seeds of weeds, cereals and Pancake week plants. They nest on the ground when grass just begins to break through. This happens at the end of May, in the clutch there are usually about 15 eggs. Chicks hatch in June, they are raised by a female, the male does not take part in this process.
Quail has many enemies - martens, foxes, moons, crows. These and many other animals ruin their nests.
Today, the number of wild quail is significantly affected by mineral fertilizers and pesticides, which are used in agriculture for spraying crops. Often, birds die under the wheels of tractors and other agricultural machinery. With strong winds over the Mediterranean and Black Seas, some quails die during flights. Poaching, especially during the autumn congestion of birds, also causes the death of a large number of them.
Productivity
The quail feature, which makes them extremely valuable in the poultry industry, is their high maturity and high egg productivity. The laying of the female begins by 5-6 weeks after birth and in a year is able to lay about 3 hundred eggs. Approximately 2.8 kg of feed per 1 kg of egg mass.
If we compare quail egg production with chickens, considering the ratio of the female’s body weight to the annual volume of her eggs, then quails are 3 times more productive than chickens.
Table 1. Egg production and egg mass of domestic quail females at the beginning of oviposition
Bird Age (days) | Egg production,% | Egg mass (g) |
35-40 | 4,0 | 5,63 |
41-45 | 22,0 | 8,12 |
46-50 | 47,3 | 9,50 |
51-55 | 54,0 | 9,78 |
56-60 | 67,0 | 10,75 |
61-65 | 72,6 | 10,78 |
At first, the egg mass is small (about 5 g), but by the age of two months it is compared with the egg mass of adult females, whose age reaches 4-5 months, and is approximately 10 g.
When growing poultry, meat is emphasized on its weight. Intensive fattening of meat quail breeds allows to achieve the fact that their mass will be three times the mass of egg breeds. At the same time, they will also rush, but will begin to do so later.
Classification
Today, people know about two dozen species and many subspecies of quail. Most of the species belong to dentate grouse, which are common in North America.
Common quail (Coturnix coturnix) belongs to the subfamily of partridge and is divided into 8 subspecies:
- c. africana;
- c. confisa;
- c. conturbans
- c. coturnix;
- c. erlangeri;
- c. inopinata;
- c. parisii;
- c. ragonierii;
Description of breeds
Breeds and lines of domestic quail depending on the direction of their productivity are divided into:
- egg-laying;
- meat;
- general use;
- laboratory.
Among the most common breeds of modern domestic quail are the following:
- Japanese. Bred in Japan. Thanks to the breeding work, egg quail lines of Japanese quails were created, which also became widespread in many other countries.
- English white and black. Bred in England as a result of mutation of Japanese quail.
- Tuxedo. Obtained by crossing black and white English quail.
- Manchurian Gold. Quite popular among breeders because of the largest eggs among the species.
- Marble. Bred in Russia, feathers of this breed have a characteristic light color.
- Pharaoh. The breed of meat, bred in the United States.
- Estonian. Common breed. It was bred in 1988 in the Estonian SSR from crossing Japanese and English white quails with pharaoh birds.
Japanese quail
English white
Tuxedo quail
Manchu Golden Quail
Marble Quail
Pharaoh
Estonian quail
Why are quails bred?
Quail meat and egg are extremely popular among consumers and in most of them make up an important share of the daily diet.
Quailing is widespread throughout the globe - this genus of birds is well adapted to captivity and is distinguished by the high palatability of their meat and eggs.
In different countries of Eurasia, there are several types of hunting and trapping of ordinary quail. From ancient times there was a gun and hawk hunting for this bird. Various nets, a special bait pipe or a live female, a dog, and even a net were used to catch quail. Today, such hunting is becoming very popular, so it’s quite cost-effective to grow quail for hunting grounds. But in some European countries, quail hunting is prohibited.
Wild quail meat poisoning has been reported. The causes of such poisoning are the accumulation in the meat of individual birds of toxic substances found in some plants. Cases of poisoning occur rarely, but regularly - the largest number of them in Russia is recorded in early autumn, when birds begin to migrate for wintering.
Common quail in the countries of Central Asia was also kept as fighting birds. There, fighting of quail males is quite common. Owners of fighting quail usually wore them in the bosom. Under the arena for the battle, which was always accompanied by a bet, extensive pits were used, along the walls of which spectators were seated. And in modern times, the holding of such bird fights is not uncommon for this region.
Also in the old days quails were valued for the male’s voice, which is usually called singing, although he has little in common with him, because he looks more like a scream. Quail females cannot make such sounds. In pre-revolutionary Russia, quail was often kept in cages as songbirds. To date, the bird is also used as a decor, but it is less in demand from a business point of view.
Home conditions
Quails are most conveniently kept in cages that can be placed in an apartment, in the attic or in a barn. The room should be well ventilated, warm, bright and inaccessible to rodents.
When placing and keeping quails, the following conditions must be observed:
- the cage must meet the ecological needs of birds;
- the diet is selected taking into account the age of the quail and the purpose of their maintenance;
- Birds must be properly looked after.
Room
For the maintenance of quails, it is customary to use all-metal, wooden or combined types of cells.
Materials for all-metal cells are aluminum, duralumin and steel. Such cells have very important qualities:
- durability;
- hygiene;
- good light transmission.
There are drawbacks to such designs - in winter they are too cool, and making such a cage at home is quite difficult.
For the manufacture of wooden cells using hardwood:
- oak;
- beech;
- maple;
- Birch.
Decorative quail species need cages with a raised side and a sliding tray covered with sand 3 cm thick. These quails love to swim in the sand, so they will have to clean up the mess more often.
Read more about making quail cages from various materials - read here.
Lighting
For quail, the length of daylight and the intensity of lighting in the cage are very important.
In winter, when the day becomes especially short, some quails do not have time to eat the daily feed intake. Therefore, it is necessary to artificially extend the daylight hours to 17 hours using electric lighting.
It has been established that the light of ordinary incandescent and gas-light (more economical) birds exposed to the bird completely (with the exception of the effect of ultraviolet radiation) replaces natural sunlight.
The ultraviolet part of the solar spectrum, delayed by window glass and absent under artificial lighting, has a bactericidal effect and contributes to the formation of vitamin D. Therefore, in the warm season, it is advisable to take out the quails during the day on the balcony or in the yard so that the birds receive the necessary dose of ultraviolet rays. But part of the cage must be shaded so that the birds do not overheat and receive heat stroke.
In well-lit rooms and when exposed to direct sunlight, quail feel better, their egg production increases, young growth grows full.
The duration of additional artificial lighting is determined by the seasonal change in the length of the day, as well as the state of the weather. In cloudy weather, lighting must be turned on earlier, in cloudless weather - later.
Humidity
Humidity in rooms where quails are grown should not be lower than 50%. At lower humidity, birds begin to drink more and eat less food, egg production decreases, feathers become more brittle, stiff. The optimum value of air humidity for rooms with quail is in the range from 60 to 70%.
With reduced humidity in the room, the floor should be watered or trays with water should be installed. Particularly carefully monitor air humidity in the heat and with intense heating of the room.
Temperature
Air temperature affects egg production, egg weight and quality, feed intake, bird weight, and well-being. The optimum temperature for quail is considered to be 16-20 ° C.
With increasing air temperature, water consumption by quail increases, a significant part of the digestive tract in birds is filled with liquid, and humidity of litter and air in the room increases. Since the body temperature and water demand of good laying hens is higher than that of males and non-rushing females, it is more difficult for them to adapt to environmental changes.
Cell Equipment
Before populating the cage with quails, it must be equipped with feeders and drinking bowls.
When quails are kept in groups, feeders need to be taken out of the cage and set on its front. Feed equipment must meet the following requirements:
- ease of maintenance;
- minimal feed loss;
- lack of possibility of contamination with litter
- moisture resistance.
Feeders for keeping domestic quail are made of sheet metal. In factory-made cages, the feeder is provided for by design.
With a single quail, the drinker in the cage is installed outside, like a feeder - in front of the hole in the side wall. It can be made of the same materials as the feeder.
In imperfect feeders, feed losses can reach 15-30%.
Feeding
Adults are taken 3 times a day. Using ordinary compound feed for quail, it is necessary to enrich it with cottage cheese, fish or soy. With an increase in the protein composition above the norm, it is possible to obtain eggs with two yolks.
Varieties of feed and diet quail
The composition of the quail food must include:
- Grain, grain waste, legumes and grass seeds - beans, vetch, peas, hempseed, corn, buckwheat, poppy seeds, oats, pearl barley, millet, wheat groats, millet, rice, weed seeds, sorghum and chumiza, soy, lentils, barley, oilcake, meal, bran.
- Animal additives - fat, quail blood or blood meal, fish and fish oil, fish meal, yogurt, cottage cheese, bloodworms, flour worm, meat and bone meal, earthworms, maggots, eggs.
- Vitamins A, D, E, C, PP Group B - boiled potatoes, dandelions, cabbage, nettle, clover, alfalfa, grass meal, green onions, carrots, beets, pumpkin, zucchini, needles and coniferous flour, garlic.
- Minerals - gravel, bone meal, chalk, salt, shells, eggshell.
If the nutrition is insufficient and varied, quail diets may include: premixes, protein and vitamin supplements, yeast, and chiktonik.
If it is impossible to feed quails with compound feed, they can be fed with separate, pre-mixed feeds (mash mashines). The composition of such mixtures should include grain, protein (protein), vitamin and mineral feed.
Table 2. The need for quail in some elements
Elements, mg | Units | Age of quail (weeks) | ||
until 6 | from 6 to 12 | adults | ||
Calcium | % | 1,30 | 0,60 | 4,50 |
Phosphorus | — | 0,75 | 0,60 | 0,70 |
Magnesium | — | 0,02 | 0,04 | 0,04 |
Potassium | — | 0,30 | 0,30 | 0,50 |
Manganese | mg / kg | 90,0 | 90,0 | 90,0 |
Selenium | — | 1,00 | 1,00 | 1,00 |
Iodine | — | 0,40 | 1,20 | 1,20 |
Zinc | — | 65,0 | 75,0 | 75,0 |
Iron | — | 8,00 | 20,0 | 20,0 |
Copper | — | 2,00 | 3,00 | 3,00 |
Food depending on the season
In winter, feeding is carried out not only with compound feed, but also with sprouted oats, wheat, millet and green onions. They serve as additional sources of vitamins and minerals.
In the absence of fresh grass, it is possible to give quails dried summer herbs prepared in summer with the inclusion of, for example, nettles, clovers and alfalfa.
In the summer, the amount of green food can be easily increased due to spinach, green salads, clover flowers, nettle, alfalfa, beetroot and cabbage leaves. They increase the digestibility of feeds and the absorption of nutrients. For proper feeding of quails, green feed must be carefully chopped. As animal feed, earthworms can be used.
How to breed quail?
Young growth of home and decorative quail can be hatched in two ways: artificial - in an incubator and natural - under hens. You can incubate any eggs received in the household, except for rejected ones.The latter are used for feeding chicks and for human consumption.
An egg that has just been laid is best suited for hatching. From such eggs, chicks hatch earlier, grow better and gain weight faster.
The following eggs are considered unsuitable for incubation:
- irregular shape;
- with two yolks;
- with yolk displaced or adhered to the shell;
- with a wandering air chamber;
- affected by mold and having dark spots.
Incubation
The incubator should provide optimum temperature and humidity for embryo development. Lay eggs in it after reaching the required maintenance requirements. Eggs should be placed in trays with a blunt end up, slightly oblique. You need to check the humidity and temperature in the incubator regularly, turn the eggs over every 2 hours.
Quail embryos are less susceptible to temperature changes in the incubator than many other bird embryos. They more easily tolerate lower temperatures in case of power outages and overheating up to 40 ° C.
On the 16th day, after the start of incubation, the eggs are viewed on an ovoscope. To this period, embryos, under normal development, should fill the entire contents of the egg, except for the air chamber at its blunt end. After viewing on an ovoscope, eggs with live embryos must be carefully transferred to the hatcher's hatcher. The shell by this time is already very thin and fragile, so you should act with great caution.
At this time, eggs with dead embryos or without embryos are transparent, their contents will have a greenish tint. Eggs with later dead embryos are darker in color. In eggs with live embryos, the color of the contents is pink.
Care of quail and conditions of their maintenance
Young quail offspring require special care. The conditions of the chicks are very important for their full development.
Growing conditions
Healthy, full-fledged chicks are placed in boxes with electric heaters.
It is necessary to ensure that the chicks under the electric heater are evenly located under the heat source. The crowding of the chicks indicates that the room temperature is too low. Too high a temperature is also unfavorable for the chicks: they begin to consume a lot of water and lose their appetite, which affects their growth and development.
Table 3. The growing conditions of the quail
Age days | 1-8 | 8-15 | 15-21 | 21-30 |
The average temperature in the brooder, + ° C | 35-36 | 29-32 | 25-27 | 20-24 |
Indoor temperature, + ° C (outdoor cultivation) | 27-28 | 25-26 | 23-25 | 20-22 |
Feed g / day per head is required | 4 | 7 | 13 | 15 |
Duration of lighting hour / day | 24 | 24 | 22-20 | 20-17 |
There should be no drafts in the room. Chicks aged 2 to 4 weeks are grown on a bed of sawdust or clean river sand. Then the young growth is transferred to the cages in which the adult bird is kept. The duration of lighting for chicks up to 3 weeks of age should be about 18-20 hours a day, then it is gradually reduced to 17 hours.
Feeding chicks
From the first day of cultivation, the chicks are given food and water. The water level in the drinker should not exceed 0.5 cm so that the chicks do not drown. In the diet, animal food must be present:
- finely mashed omelet;
- small flour worms;
- bloodworm.
Finely chopped fresh herbs should also be given. It is necessary to feed the chicks as often as possible, but in small portions, since soft food (hard-boiled boiled egg, boiled fish, etc.) quickly deteriorates. On the 4th day, the egg is gradually excluded from the diet.
In the first 4-7 days, chicks should not be given river sand. They do not distinguish it from feed and, pecking, can die. Therefore, in the first days of the life of the chicks, it is better to keep on a litter of paper, which is changed daily. Drinking water is poured into flat cups.
Before the laying of eggs (in meat breeds it begins a little later than in egg breeds), young animals are divided by sex and transferred to adults or for fattening.
Table 4. Live weight of young animals depending on age
Age (days) | Mass quail (g) | |||
egg direction | meat breed | |||
females | males | females | males | |
1 | 6-8 | 6-8 | 8-10 | 8-10 |
10 | 20-25 | 20-25 | 35-45 | 35-45 |
20 | 55-60 | 55-60 | 70-80 | 70-80 |
30 | 85 | 75 | 135 | 120 |
45 | 95 | 85 | 160 | 140 |
60 | 120 | 110 | 200 | 180 |
Read more about breeding and keeping birds here.
Bird health
Before growing quails, you need to take care of their future home. It should not have drafts and dry, musty air. Signals that the conditions are not suitable for the birds will be single bald patches and focal loss of feathers from the head or back.
If the birds for a long time will be in unsuitable conditions for them, then all their plumage will become brittle. Elimination of the situation will be helped by the elimination of drafts and the creation of optimum air humidity for quail.
Young growth should be grown separately from adults. The usual microflora, which necessarily accumulates on the body of an adult bird, can be fatal to chicks.
In addition to problems with the poultry house, their numbers also affect bird health. If the house is small and there are many birds in it, then they can start pecking each other. This leads to various injuries and death.
Cleanliness
Cleanliness in the cage is one of the main conditions for maintaining the health of birds. Every day you need to monitor the cleanliness of inventory and equipment, remove debris from the cage.
In the warm season, it is especially necessary to wash the feeders and drinking bowls, and to keep clean the bedding material: sand, sawdust. Accumulation of droppings and dirt in the cells creates favorable conditions for the reproduction of external parasites.
There should not be any gaps in the premises, allowing rodents to penetrate into it, rodents that have appeared must be exterminated. Fallen and landed birds suspected of being ill should be reliably isolated from the rest of the livestock.
Bird diseases
The main cause of non-communicable diseases is poor or malnutrition of quail. As a result of a lack of healthy vitamins, these birds develop persistent vitamin deficiencies.
The following symptoms are an indicator of a lack of nutrients:
- loss of appetite;
- head tilting;
- neck extension;
- lowering the wings;
- ruffled feathers.
You can cope with the treatment of such a problem yourself, without the involvement of a veterinarian. To do this, you just need to make a balanced feed for the bird.
Among infectious pathologies in quail, the most common are:
- Newcastle disease;
- pullorosis;
- aspergillosis;
- colibacillosis;
- pasteurellosis;
- infectious diarrhea.
Preventing infectious diseases is much easier than treating them. As a preventive measure, containers with soda or chlorine can be installed in the house. Good results in this case show the use of ultraviolet lamps.
Read more about quail diseases here.
Unfavourable conditions
The unfavorable microclimate parameters that cause stress in birds can include any errors in the care of quails, their feeding, the presence of external irritants, and much more.
Stress can be caused by irritants such as:
- hunger;
- a sharp change in diet;
- loud noise;
- tightness in the premises for keeping birds;
- unsuitable temperature and humidity;
- low oxygen concentration.
To maintain a bird, it is necessary to create all the conditions for its normal existence. Any stress factors should be eliminated.
Cost of quail
Today, an incubation egg for hatching can be bought for 10-35 rubles, depending on the breed. Per diem quail costs 30-60 rubles. Particularly rare and expensive breeds - 300-500 rubles.
The price of birds suitable for slaughter is 50-150 rubles. Ready-made quail carcass costs around 600 rubles per 1 kilogram. The price of quail eggs suitable for consumption is 30-40 rubles per dozen.
It is better to buy birds in the fall: during the winter they will grow up, get stronger and the females will begin to lay their eggs.
Quail is a very common type of bird whose meat and eggs are extremely beneficial to the human body. To achieve high productivity, you need to know the basic nuances of breeding and keeping chicks. If everything is done according to the rules, then the desired result will not be long in coming.