A brief study on quail management

ABSTRACT Quail birds are small in size. They need less space and low feeding cost to rear as compare to chicken. Quail birds are hardy in nature. They attain early marketable, early sexual maturity. Dressing percentage is similar to chicken. Quail meat has several medicinal properties. Despite of some challenges, better management of quail chicks, growers, breeders and layers leads to a profitable quail farming. KEY WORDS: Quail, hardy, early marketable, sexual maturity, management INTRODUCTION T he Quail called "bater" in Hindi, is a small type of bird that belongs to the Pheasant family. It was first domesticated in Japan in 1595. There are two species of quail in India; the black-breasted quail found in jungle (Coturnix coromandelica) and the brown-coloured Japanese Quail (Coturnix Coturnix Japonica) which is bred for meat or the one used for commercial Quail production. They were introduced in India in 1974 from California.There are 45 species of quail. Although the Japanese quail is the largest species, it is much smaller then pigeon. While Indian quail weighs up to 100 gm and lays 100 eggs a year, the Japanese quail weighs up to 250 gm and lays 280 eggs a year. BREEDS OF QUAIL At present there are 18 species of quails are available. Some of these breeds are famous for egg production and some are popular for meat production. According to their production, quail breeds are of two types such as broilers and layers. Some popular layer and broiler quail breeds are - Layer Quail Breeds - Tuxedo, Pharaoh, British Range, English White, Manchurian Golden Broiler Quail Breeds - Bobwhite (American, White Breasted (Indian) ADVANTAGES OF QUAIL FARMING · Quails are smaller sized bird, so they can be raised within small place (Eight to ten birds can be kept in the same space housing a single chicken). · Feeding cost of quails are comparatively lower than chickens or other poultry birds. · Diseases are less in quails, and they are very hardy. · Early marketing age (Five weeks for meat purposes, which is slightly below six weeks for broiler chicken) · Early sexual maturity (They require six to seven weeks of age to produce eggs) · High rate of lay (280 eggs per year) · Quail possesses a dressing proportion of about 70% (just like chicken), with the breast and thigh portion contributing nearly 68% of the total carcass. Egg production starts when the female quail reaches six to seven weeks of age and it touches 85% production by the end of 10 weeks. · Meat and eggs of quail are very tasty, delicious and nutritious. Soit’s a great source of food and nutrition. Quail eggs contain less cholesterol than chicken egg. · Quail meat contains less fat. So, it is suitable for high blood pressure patients. It promotes body and brain development in children. Quail meat and eggs are a nutritious diet for pregnant and nursing mothers. Their food to meat or eggs converting efficiency is satisfactory. They can