QUAIL RAISING 2 of 2

C. Rearing Management

After the 15th day, the birds are transferred to the growing cages. During the growing stage, it is not advisable to expose the birds to more than 12 hours of light. For smaller operation, a brooder/grower box combination can be constructed but the space requirement of the birds
should be observed.

Only birds which are healthy and with uniform size should be transferred to the growing cages. The small ones should be disposed. The average mortality from the start of the growing period up to 35 days is 1% - 4%. On the 35th day, the male birds are already discernable by the dark brown color of the breast feather. At this stage, the female birds can be segregated and transferred to the laying cages. Approximately 40% of the total population can be chosen as layers on an assumed 50/50 male/female ratio. The remaining birds can be fattened up to 60 days before these are dressed and sold as broilers. During the 25 days fattening period, light should be restricted form 6-8 hours a day. This practice will improve the quality of meat.

D. Layer Management

On the average, quail start laying after 45 days from hatching. The production cycle lasts for 300-320 days and within this period the laying efficiency should be maintained at 65 %. Some of the major consideration when managing layers are;

1. Feeding - this will be discussed separately
2. Water - like any other bird, quail needs a lot of fresh and clean water. Whenever possible, flowing water should be maintained except when there is supply problem in which case water should be replaced daily and the watering trough must be cleaned everyday.
3. Culling - For large scale operation, it is advisable that massive culling be done regularly, preferably on a quarterly basis or even once every 4 months. Birds that have physical defects should be removed including those which have grown fat, or are sickly and are not laying eggs. This later condition is manifested by the size of the vent and the conformation of the abdominal parts.
4. Removal of Waste - Because of the high protein content of the quail feeds, quail manure has high ammonia content which will cause discomfort for the birds if not removed daily. Removal of the manure can be facilitated by placing a manure receptacle or receiver under the cage.
5. Light - Laying quails may be given extra light up to midnight. This will allow the birds to consume the feed in the trough. Furthermore, the weaker birds in the group will have enough time to eat after the dominant ones have eaten their share.
6. It is not advisable to mix male birds in the laying cage except when fertile eggs are to be produced. If there is an intention of producing fertile eggs for future replacement, the male should be kept in separate cage and should only be mixed with the layers at the time fertile eggs are to be produced at a ratio of 1:6 and 1:3 for the Japanese and American breed, respectively.
7. Quail birds are very sensitive to high salt level in the feeds. The optimum level of this mineral should be kept at 7% and in no case be more than 1%.

E. Feeding Management

The major cause of failure in quail raising is the faulty feeding practice employed by the raiser . most of our quail raisers today feed commercial chicken feeds to quails. This is an erroneous practice and it should be corrected. The protein requirements of chicken and quails are different and as such the use of chicken feeds in quail raising is not advisable. Below is a comparison of the crude protein requirement of chicken and quail.

Quail / Chicken:

• Chick stage, 28% / 21%
• Grower stage, 24% / 16%
• Layer stage, 26% / 15%

From the above information, we can clearly see the mark difference in the Primary requirement of both birds. Quail cannot survive on chicken feeds for a long time. If ever they will survive, the mortality rate will be very high sometimes reaching up to 70% from day old to 45 days. Moreover, the growth of the birds is very uneven and the survivors will not be efficient layers. The productive laying period for quails fed with chicken feed do not go beyond six months.

Another disadvantage of feeding chicken mash to quails is the very occurence of molting which affects severely the egg production.

The claim that mixing quail feeds with higher protein is expensive and not economical is baseless. The advantages of giving the right ration far outweigh the cost of giving chicken feeds. This advantages can be summarized below:

1. Mortality rate can be kept low with good feed:

• 5-8% from 1-15 days
• 1-4% from 16-35 days
• 8-12% from 36-360 days

2. Production:

• a) Laying efficiency can be easily maintained within the average range of 63%-68% for a period of 300-320 days. It is not rare to get laying efficiency of 80%.
• b) Eggs are bigger and more nutritious
• c) For breeders - fertility and hatchability are high

These things when quantified and taken together would positively refute the claim that feeding quails with higher protein content as recommended here is costly and uneconomical.

The feed consumption of quail at different stages are: (Japanese vs American)

• Chick stage (per bird) 7 grams/day vs 10 grams/day
• Growing stage (per bird) 17 grams/day vs 32 grams/day
• Laying stage (per bird) 23 grams/day vs 45 grams/day

During the first 15 days, the feeds of the birds should be grounded to a fineness enough to pass an ordinary window screen wire. Like chicken, quails are affected by abrupt changes in feeding. Hence, it is not advisable to change feed abruptly.

G. Maintaining Health

There is no known morbid disease of quails. While they suffer from some respiratory disorders, these do not spread fast and the mortality rate is very low. Hence it is not difficult to maintain the health of birds. Regular cleaning and disinfection program, however, should be followed. Cages and broiler boxes including the incubator and hatchery trays can be cleaned with strong water dried under the sun. spraying with disinfectant follows. Vitamin premix can also be added to the feeds or the drinking water to promote growth and improve the laying performance.

IV. MARKETING

A. Eggs - Eggs are the main product of quails. For small scale/backyard quail raising, this can be placed in a basket and marketed fresh. For bigger operation, it is advisable to pack eggs in carton boxes with individual dividers to protect the quality of the eggs. Storing eggs in a cool dry place where air circulation is good can keep the eggs fresh for a period of seven days.

B. Broilers/stewers - The average feed conversion ratio of quail is 3:1. this poor feed conversion efficiency makes a broiler production uneconomical and therefore any broiler produced should be treated secondary product in quail raising. The procedure in dressing quail is the same as in chicken. The birds are bled and scaled in hot water (about 132-135 F) after the feathers are removed. Evisceration follows. The dressed birds are then chilled and packed by the dozen or in
kilos.

C. Prices - Broilers are more tender than stewers (culled layers). As such, the former are sold at a higher price. The selling price of these should be based on the cost of production from day old to 60 plus the dressing, storage and related selling cost.

D. Quail Production

1. Cost of Production (100 Quails)
2. Income computation
   • 70 eggs/day x P 0.60/eggs-P42.00
   • 100 quails x 2 kgs feeds x P 8.50/kg
3. Housing Equipment
   • 100 quails x P 5.00/quail
4. Other sources of income
   • a. male quails which are not needed
   • b. feathers
   • c. dungs

For grower/layer cage illustrations, download the instruction manual here
Part 1