Quails growing at home. Economic aspects of quail breeding. Breeding quails at home for beginners

Breeding quails in a private backyard is less popular than keeping other poultry. However, the process is no more complicated than in the case of chickens or ducks. In addition, quail are not inferior to them in meat and egg productivity. What those who are planning to keep quails need to know, what conditions and care they need - expert advice and videos will help.

Features of growing quails. The nuances of feeding birds

Quail breeding is a profitable activity if everything is organized correctly. In the consumer market, the product is considered niche. It has a limited number of buyers. But they are willing to pay more for meat or eggs high price than for cheap poultry products: chicken, duck or goose.

There is a reason to value quails:

1. The meat of this bird has a unique tender and juicy texture and taste. It is considered dietary and is included in the recipes of many dishes that are recommended for stomach diseases.
2. A quail egg is much smaller than a chicken egg. But it has a richer composition of valuable microelements and vitamins. The egg is completely anti-allergenic.
3. Quails can grow, live and reproduce even in the cramped space of a cage, the main thing is warmth and proper nutrition.
4. They are resistant to most poultry diseases.

The benefit of breeding quails lies in their early maturity. Incubation of the egg takes only 17-18 days. A young laying hen lays its first clutch within 1.5 months. after birth. Quails have a high egg production: the average annual figure is 320-330 pieces. The weight of one testicle is 10-12 g.

When buying quails, ask the seller about their diet. For the first weeks, feed the chicks the same way, and only then gradually switch to your own food. This bird is fed 3 times a day, strictly adhering to the norms. Depending on the breed, they amount to 25-35 g per day (about 10 kg per year).

Poultry farmers involved in quail breeding are advised to immediately provide starter feed for broilers (PC 5-2). Otherwise, choose foods high in protein. Quail feeders should be placed in front of the front wall of the cage. Install drinking bowls nearby (drip ones are best). It is convenient for quails to eat from low-sided feeders and drink from vacuum drinkers. In deep containers, small chicks can simply drown.

Breed selection

Like other poultry, quail breeds are divided into meat and egg breeds. They differ in size, color, and care details. For home grown They use the Japanese or mute Quail breed. On its basis, many hybrids were bred.

Among the egg breeds in the Russian Federation, the Moscow variety of quail is especially in demand:

• carcass weight - 125 g (female);
• egg production - 290 eggs per year;
• egg weight - 8-12 g;
• The color of the bird is mottled brown and white with a lighter belly.

Quail chicks

Also, when breeding quails, English black and white populations are in demand. They are similar in productivity properties:

• body weight - in laying hens 170 g (white) and 205 g (black), in males 15-20 g less;
• the color of the quail's plumage corresponds to the name of the breed;
• egg production - about 280 eggs/g;
• egg weight - 10-11 g.

Will please not only with eggs, but also decorative look hybrid Manchurian golden:

• quail color - wheat-brown feathers;
• carcass weight - 160-180 g;
• productivity indicator - 280 eggs per year.

Meat quail breeds are less common in the Russian Federation. The leader among the popular ones is the Pharaoh variety. It became the basis for the development of other selective lines. The coloring of the plumage is similar to that of a wild quail: white and brown spots are combined into a bizarre pattern. These birds are quite heavy: males weigh up to 200 g, females weigh up to 300 g. They produce fewer eggs (no more than 220 per year), but each of them is larger and heavier (up to 16 g).

How to set up a house for quails

This bird, even at home, is kept exclusively in a cage. Quails are placed in a dry, well-ventilated and fairly warm room. It is not necessary to build a permanent shed - an oversized homemade house made from leftover building materials is quite suitable. The area norm is 5 cubic meters. m per 1 kg of live weight during the warm period and 1.5 cubic meters. m in winter. When organizing ventilation, make sure that there are no drafts in the room. External sign This is the loss of feathers in birds.

Quails are kept in both natural and artificial light. The best option would be a combination of both methods. It is best to keep quail breeding buildings with 17-18 hours of daylight all year round. An alternative is an intermittent daily regime: 18 hours of light, 2 hours of darkness, 2 hours of light, 2 hours of darkness. The more lighting, the more eggs the quail will lay. Theoretically, you can leave the lamp on around the clock, but then the price for excess eggs will be the intensive aging of the birds.

Attention! It is not advisable to have too bright lighting in the cage. It can cause anxiety, aggression and reduced bird productivity.

The ease of arranging housing for quails suggested to Russians the idea of ​​keeping this bird in apartments. The cage is installed on the balcony. To breed quails, consider winter insulation and an air circulation system. The latter must be arranged with special care, because standard ventilation can deliver an unpleasant smell of wet droppings to a neighboring home. In an apartment, a quail cage will have to be cleaned almost daily.

Advice. Before settling birds on the balcony, poultry farmers advise practicing in the fresh air in the summer.

Formation of the parent herd

The procedure is important for those who want to receive maximum amount eggs from his quails. On average, there should be 3-4 times fewer males in one cage than females. On initial stage herd formation looks like this:

• Quails live in one cage for up to 3 weeks;
• after this period they are separated by gender. The optimal age for breeding work is 3-6 months. (males) and 3-8 months. (females).

Advice. To increase the hatchability rate of chicks, it is necessary to reduce the number of matings in the laying hen and increase the protein and vitamin content in the feed.

Once formed, it will be difficult to artificially change the staff of this group. Its optimal composition: 2 males and 6 female quails. It will not be possible to replant males within 24 hours after the formation of a family; females - later than after 1 month. If you select an active male, with his help it will be possible to form several families, housing him with laying hens for a short period of time. The density of parent stock is 30% lower than standard.

If egg production begins to decline, replace the male in the group. At first, the hens will treat him aggressively and may even peck at him. But with careful care during this period, the quails get used to each other after a while. Herd productivity is restored. The parent group should be completely changed only when egg production drops by more than half.

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Quail is a whimsical animal by nature - creating the wrong conditions has a negative impact on bird breeding. You need to learn how to keep quails at home before buying them. This will ensure the correct approach to poultry management and will give the desired results.

Requirements for premises for keeping quails at home

The hatching of quails begins with the arrangement special conditions. It is necessary to create a microclimate in which the bird would feel as comfortable as possible. How to keep laying quails at home and what should you pay attention to?

Birds can be placed in a variety of places:

• country house;
• a private house;
• apartment balcony.

With the correct arrangement of each of the above proposals, breeding quails will not be difficult.

There are strict requirements for the premises, especially regarding temperature conditions. The air temperature of the place where the birds will live should not exceed 22 °C and not be less than 19 °C. This range has been proven to be the most effective for animal breeding. Its violation threatens a decline in egg production and the death of birds.

If indoors temperature regime changes due to weather conditions, then autonomous insulation is installed - in winter you can reach the required thermometer mark. This option is much better than moving the birds to another place. Sudden changes in conditions can negatively affect quail.

When she finds herself in a large room with holes and passages, she will definitely begin to explore them. Accordingly, there is a high probability of losing the bird or injuring it. Special cells are considered the best option.

When choosing a room, you need to give preference to one that has ventilation. Constant air circulation will ensure comfort for the quail. But it is necessary to avoid drafts, as they have a bad effect on the health of the bird. Air humidity also plays a role. The owners recommend sticking to the 60-70% mark.

Which cells should you give preference to?

When choosing a cell, pay attention to several indicators:

• - height;
• - coating;
• - presence of feeders.

When choosing a cage, it is better to give preference to those whose height will be no more than 25 cm. Given the high activity of birds, it is advisable to cover the “ceiling” with fabric materials. When playing, birds often jump and can get injured on a hard surface. To avoid this, the entire cage is covered with mesh around the inner perimeter.

This is what quail cages look like

There are also special requirements for the floor. You can lay it:

• - sand;
• - paper.

The second option is more practical. Quail breeding is accompanied by mandatory daily litter removal. It is much easier to replace paper than sand, therefore, most owners prefer to use newspapers and old wallpaper. The bottom wall of the cage should have a slope. This will ensure that the eggs can be collected in a specially designated place.

When using paper covering, it is important to set aside a special place for sand. After all, before breeding birds, you should familiarize yourself with their natural needs. Birds require feather cleaning. It is provided precisely with the help of sand. Therefore, a special container is placed in the cages once a week.

There are also places for food and water special place location. It is advisable to install them on opposite walls. The feeder is attached to the outside of the housing. This ensures cleanliness in the cage and allows you to control the amount of food eaten.

When choosing housing material for quails, it is better to give preference to:

• - wood;
• - galvanized mesh.

The cells can be arranged in several tiers. Keeping laying quails in this way is convenient because it saves free space.

Specifics of caring for young quails

Depending on their age, birds have special needs. It is important to take into account the recommendations of specialists in the early stages of bird development. To get healthy offspring, you need to choose eggs no older than 10 days. Therefore, when purchasing, you should check with the seller how long ago they were collected.

Quails are raised in an incubator. Birds living in a cage are not able to hatch their offspring on their own. Before breeding birds, they buy special equipment for hatching eggs.

Incubator for quail eggs

They are designed for the birth cycle of birds - 17 days. Keeping quails in an incubator at home no longer makes sense, because if the chick is not born, it means the egg is not suitable for hatching. The active hatching phase lasts about 6 hours. Juveniles are particularly active, noisy and have a great appetite.

After pecking from an egg, the quail should be given time to dry. Then the babies are placed in special boxes with additional heating and food. It is better to purchase them in specialized stores. You can make it yourself using a regular box and a heating pad.

Box in heated

Temperature conditions will vary depending on the age of the bird. In the first week of life, it is recommended to set the heating pad to 35°C. Over the next seven days, the level gradually decreases to 30°C.

Lighting for the first two weeks is only around the clock. The light should fall evenly across the entire box. In the subsequent period, until the young animals reach 1.5 months, the following scheme is used:

• one hour of light, three darks;
• an hour of darkness, three hours of light.

The schedules are constantly being combined. Then the light is left on for 12 hours a day. It is recommended to use this schedule before transferring the bird to an adult cage.

Specifics of caring for adult quails

About how to grow correctly big birds there are many recommendations. The first and main thing is that for every four females there should be one male. Therefore, when placing quails in a cage, you should definitely follow this rule, because egg production directly depends on it. After reaching sexual maturity, it is recommended to house them separately.

It is important to maintain cell lighting. Daylight hours for quail are 17 hours a day. Decrease of this period threatens to reduce egg laying. Important characteristics are:

• temperature range is not less than 16 ° C and not more than 25 ° C;
• air humidity no more than 50%.

Feeding quails at home is carried out 3 times for 24 hours. Each adult is provided with 30g of food. It is better to give preference:

• sprouted grain;
• greens, previously chopped into small pieces;
• vegetables;
• sunflower seeds.

The feeding process is very important!

Once every 14 days, the birds are given boiled fish. Chalk and small stones are added to the food.

Features of care in winter and summer

• in winter, birds require additional insulation and stable temperature control;
• shortening the day in winter should not affect the illumination of the premises where quail live;
• in summer it is important not to exceed the temperature regime, using localized rooms with additional lighting;
• it is worth eliminating any drafts, because they kill the bird;
• transporting birds between seasons is undesirable because it affects egg production.

It's better to keep quails all year round in one room where the temperature is controlled and there is artificial light.

The profitability of raising quail at home

• cells with a total area of ​​1 m2;
• 25 juveniles.

This will allow you to have about 22 eggs per day. When placed in an incubator, the number of quails will double within three weeks. There is enough space in the cages for new offspring. Consequently, already through the floor there is an increase in heads by 6 times, taking into account the installation of additional cells. The number of eggs will reach more than 120 eggs per day.

To increase egg laying, round-the-clock lighting is used. But the negative factor is that the bird’s lifespan is reduced by almost half.

Video

Businessmen involved in poultry farming claim that five years ago, quail breeding was a very profitable business. There were no problems with the sale of products, since there was no competition. Now the offer has increased and before starting a business you need to conduct a detailed analysis and find out “whether the game is worth the candle.”

For big money needed

• significant volumes of poultry,
• low cost of your eggs,
• knowledge of the presence of competitors in your region,
• is there a demand for your products,
• how much do competitors sell,
• how much buyers can give for the product.

You can breed quails only if you like the bird itself. You need to love this little bird, admire it, then you can start a business, then all the troubles and difficulties will not be a burden.

But if business is not your strong point, then you can still try. Why? Because quail eggs belong to dietary products. They are simply necessary for children, pregnant women and men of a certain age.

What are the benefits of quail eggs?

Unlike chicken eggs quails are not susceptible to salmonellosis and are superior in variety and quantity useful substances. They have

• amino acids,
• vitamins of various groups,
• mineral compounds (calcium, phosphorus, copper).

But you have to be careful when following a diet. Quail eggs are high in calories. One piece contains 168 kcal. They are said to be good to eat if you are suffering from

• bronchial asthma,
• diabetes mellitus,
• atherosclerosis,
• obesity.

What are the benefits of quail meat?

It surpasses chicken and rabbit meat in dietary, taste and nutritional qualities. Useful for pregnant women, weakened children, and elderly people. Can be used in therapeutic nutrition patients with diseases

• hearts,
• kidney,
• joints,
• liver.

Quail breeds

Quails, like chickens, are divided into two directions:

• meat,
• egg.

Quails hatch very quickly. 17 days after laying, they already begin to hatch. After 40 days they are already laying eggs. Of all poultry, they are the fastest to mature.

The following breeds of quail are especially popular in homesteads.

If you live in a village and decide to try raising quails for yourself, then first you need to prepare their place of residence.

Cells

Quail is a game animal and is difficult to domesticate. Therefore, it is not suitable for pasture walking. She lives in cages.

Quails are very shy. They are irritated by sharp sounds, bright lights, and do not like to be disturbed. Also, no bird likes drafts. Because of all this, they may stop rushing or begin to peck at each other. Therefore, you need to choose the most closed cage possible.

You can buy a cage or make it yourself. The walls (except the front) in the cage should be made of fiberboard, plywood or plastic. But the bottom and front are mesh. Moreover, a coarse mesh is placed in front so that the quail can stick its head through, peck food and drink water.

A mesh with small cells is placed on the bottom, and a tray is installed under the mesh. Through the cells, the litter will fall onto the pallet. It is important what material it will be made from. Stainless steel or galvanized iron is bad. They will last a year, and then they need to be replaced. Since iron is corroded by droppings and it becomes inconvenient to remove waste from it.

Some people cover metal pallets with newspapers, but this does not protect them from corrosion. The best option- this is polycarbonate. True, such material is too expensive for a novice poultry farmer. Many people use old pieces of linoleum to collect droppings. It turns out no worse than polycarbonate.

In addition, the bottom should be designed in such a way that the eggs from it roll well into the tray for collecting eggs. Then they will remain clean, and the bird will not have time to peck them. But quails need such cages from the age of two months, that is, when they are already laying eggs. Small chicks are placed in a brooder.

As for feeders and drinkers, it is better to place them outside the cages. Then the cage will be clean and dry, and water will not get into the litter trays. For this reason, many people refuse nipple drinkers in cages. With them it turns out that there seems to be no open water, but the bird drinks, shakes its head and splashes fly in all directions. As a result, water still ends up in the pans.

Poultry house

The equipment of the barn where the quail will be housed depends on how many birds you want to keep on your farm. If you are counting on a small number of birds (up to 20), then no special equipment is required.

If there are several hundred birds, then they already need an area of ​​about 30 m2. The poultry house contains cage batteries, a brooder, an incubator is installed separately, and a place is allocated where the feed will be stored and prepared.

Ventilation

The poultry house in which cages with quails will be located must be equipped with supply and exhaust ventilation. Pay attention to where clean air comes from and where exhaust air is discharged. Make sure that the exhausted air is not sucked back in.

It’s better to familiarize yourself with the ventilation system in garages and do something similar at home. The question is important. Since the bird, although small, produces a lot of waste. And the ammonia released does nothing good for you or the quail. It seems that chickens have less discharge than these little birds.

Lighting and heating

All poultry house equipment (incubator, brooder, cage) requires electricity to operate. In addition, the lighting must turn on and off at certain times. If the bird does not have enough lighting, it will lay less eggs. If there is too much, the birds will become aggressive and hurt each other.

The preferred lighting option is lamps infrared radiation. They should burn dimly and for 15 hours. Their task is not only to illuminate the room, but also to support normal temperature in it (from +18 to +20 degrees). Lower or higher is not desirable for the bird.

For the normal well-being of birds and maintaining their productivity in cold weather, it is necessary to alternate periods of lighting. Two hours - dark, three hours - light.

Quails have largely lost the instinct to hatch eggs. None of them are brood hens. Therefore, if you decide to start breeding quails, you will definitely need to buy an incubator. It’s better to buy a good one right away, rather than waste money and nerves on a cheap one. The price for good ones starts from 10,000 rubles. Korean ones are popular, but they are more expensive. Russian Blitz Base incubators are considered quite good and have a reasonable price. They are designed for different quantities eggs

How to propagate?

Naturally, individuals of both sexes are needed for reproduction. A quail family consists of one male and three to four females. This means that if you want to get your fertilized eggs for breeding, then you need to purchase young quails.

Quails are purchased at one or two months of age. At this time, sexual characteristics are already visible and it is possible to distinguish a boy from a girl, but it is extremely difficult to do this without experience. Unscrupulous sellers often deceive. And if you consider that a male costs half as much as a female, then you can get very burned. It’s better not to try to do it yourself without experience.

It is necessary that the seller himself sorts the chicks and gives a guarantee of a refund if the choice is incorrect.

Eggs for incubation must be:

• taken from quail two to ten months old,
• necessarily fertilized,
• weighing from 9 to 11 grams,
• with a shelf life of no more than a week.

The incubation period for quail eggs is 17 days. The chicks hatch together. The entire procedure takes no more than six hours.

Technology of raising young animals

After the chicks dry, they are placed in a brooder, which is heated by an infrared lamp. The first week the temperature is maintained at +35 degrees. After two weeks it is lowered to +30 degrees.

For the first half month of their life, the light in the brooder is on around the clock. Then it burns according to the scheme for up to 45 days

From the age of two months, quails begin laying eggs and are transferred to cages where the light will be on for 17 hours. At the same time, males are also removed. You can leave one male and four females in one cage.

Feeding quails

Quails, like any bird, need balanced food. Poultry farmers involved in quail breeding note that feed DK-52P (Bogdanovich) meets these requirements. It contains 45% corn. Meat and bone meal and crushed oilseed seeds (meal) are added as protein. It contains all the vitamins and microelements necessary for poultry.

Small chicks are fed with crushed boiled eggs, cottage cheese and starter feed for chickens.

Quails should be given warm water boiled water. During the first three days, you can add an antibiotic (usually chloramphenicol) to the water.

At three weeks they can be fed with compound feed intended for adult quails. If it is good, then the bird does not get sick and lays eggs regularly. About 30 grams of feed per bird is required. Based on this value, you can calculate the amount of feed you will need to feed the entire bird.

As you can see, caring for and breeding quails is not very different from raising any other bird. Therefore, if you live in a village, then it will not be difficult for you to try to breed this small bird. And then, who knows, maybe it will turn out to be your life’s work.

To get healthy young animals that will later produce high-quality products, you need to pay attention to the features of raising quails. At home, quails have lost the ability to hatch offspring. Therefore, at home it is better to use special incubators or place eggs under another bird (the first option is used most often).

The incubator must meet the following requirements:

1. Automatic egg turning is desirable.
2. The incubator temperature does not go beyond +37°C - +39°C.
3. To breed poultry, you can use a regular chicken incubator, but convert the cells for quail eggs.
4. No less important for healthy young animals is the selection of eggs from which the chicks hatch.
5. Picking up eggs in the incubator correct form, which do not have pigment spots and have a smooth shell (do not use elongated or very round eggs).
6. Choose only clean eggs. If the dirty eggs are of high quality, then wash them in a solution of potassium permanganate and dry them before storing them.
7. Before laying, check the egg for integrity. Eggs with spots inside or multiple yolks, a displaced yolk, or a large air chamber should also not be used.
8. Do not use eggs that have been stored for more than a week in the incubator.
9. The quality of incubation is also affected by temperature and humidity. Microclimate features:
10. The first 15 days - humidity does not exceed 60%, temperature - within +36.6 - +37.7°C.
11. From the 16th day until hatching – humidity is 48% during the hatching period and up to 92% during the hatching period. The period from hatching to hatching can take only 5 hours. Although in rare cases this happens after 2 days.

Types of quails for breeding at home

Those who decide to breed quails at home must decide for themselves which quails are best for beginners to breed? : meat or egg-bearing. Based on this, you can choose one of the most popular quail breeds for breeding at home:

1. Japanese quail. The most popular breed for the purpose of obtaining eggs (1 bird can lay up to 300 eggs per year). They do not require special conditions for their maintenance; they are resistant to diseases. The first eggs begin to be laid after 1.5 months.
2. Pharaoh. One of the best meat breeds. Has gained high popularity among farmers all over the world thanks to speed dial weight up to 300 g, although egg production is low.
3. White Texas quail. Bred for meat. With the right approach to breeding, males grow up to 350 g, and females by 50-70 g. more. Gain weight quickly special conditions no content required.
4. Estonian breed. Popular among lovers of egg-laying breeds. The average number of eggs per year from 1 female is 280 pieces. The first eggs can be obtained after 45 days.
5. Golden Manchurian quail (or Chinese breed). The annual number of eggs is not the best, but the weight of the egg itself is larger than usual and can reach 16 grams. Farmers' attention to this breed is also due to the fact that they are resistant to diseases and do not require special selection of feed and living conditions.

Breeding laying quails at home: video

The conditions for raising laying quails are the same, both when breeding in the country and at home. Those who are not familiar with how to breed laying quails at home , should study these features.

How to breed laying quails in the country

Breeding quails in the country for beginners It won’t be difficult if you approach the work comprehensively. To do this, you should pay attention to the right conditions content and a balanced diet.

Despite the fact that quail eat little food, it should be saturated with essential vitamins and minerals. Be sure to purchase medications in advance to prevent and eliminate the most common diseases that suffer from quail. Complete breeding and growing technology it must be maintained.

Peculiarities

Those who breed quails should know physiological characteristics birds and pay attention to several important factors when breeding them:

1. The greatest productivity of poultry is maintained at a room temperature of +18 - +20°C. At elevated temperatures, females' productivity decreases; low temperatures can cause the death of young animals.
2. Take care of special cages for quails. You can buy them or make them yourself from plywood or metal mesh. Keep in mind that egg breeds require more space.
3. Will take care of proper nutrition poultry: add finely chopped greens, crushed grains, and mineral supplements to the diet.

IMPORTANT! When placing cages, keep in mind that this is a shy bird that does not like extraneous noise or harsh sounds. These are stressful situations for them, which can cause injury or a decrease in egg production.

Rules

Successful raising of quails in a country house or in an apartment depends on a few simple rules:

Breeding quails on a private farm requires the same conditions.

Fattening quails for meat: feed recipe

Feed for poultry raised for meat can be purchased at the store or prepared yourself.

The following components must be thoroughly mixed:

• corn, ground into flour – 0.8 kg;
• barley ground into flour – 0.2 kg;
• wheat ground into flour – 2 kg;
• bone meal – 2 tsp;
• unrefined vegetable oil – 1 tsp;
• salt – 1 tsp.

Rules

To saturate the quail’s body with the necessary minerals, the diet should include vegetables and fruits or purée them. Before using products, be sure to wash them and remove rot, if any.

Transfer young animals to a fattening diet gradually over 4-7 days by reducing the previous feed and increasing the amount of new food.

To get tasty, tender meat without an unnecessary unpleasant odor, the main thing is not to feed the bird fish, garlic and onions, or pine needles.

Poultry selected for fattening should be kept in small cages that will limit their movement and accelerate weight gain.

Fattening methods

Feeding poultry for meat does not differ significantly from feeding those intended for producing eggs. Additionally, meat breeds can be added or increased in quantity corn flour and feed fat.

As an option, it is allowed to use broiler feed, which is supplemented with boiled peas (4:1).

Feeding birds for slaughter lasts about a month, after which the bird is ready. When raising this breed of quail, it is necessary to keep females and males separately. Breeding quails in an apartment for beginners requires similar feeding conditions.

IMPORTANT! Is it profitable to raise quails at home? Experienced poultry farmers claim that high profits can be obtained by having at least 5 thousand quails.

Conclusion

Breeding quails requires a lot of attention and effort: you need to take into account the type of bird, adhere to microclimate conditions and make special cages. Proper care is the key to tenderness, juicy meat or excellent income if you raise quails for sale.

Behind Lately the business of growing quails at home is actively gaining momentum. The thing is that no one is involved in growing quail on an industrial scale; this business is given to small businesses and “home” poultry farms.

Quail farming business high profitability and quick payback. To confirm this statement, we provide real facts that a farm with a livestock of 500 animals will pay for itself in just two months. The technology for raising quails is extremely simple, so only two people need to work on the farm. The basis for ensuring business profitability is setting up sales.

There is nothing unusual in this type of homestead farming. Beneficial features quail meat and eggs are widely known, so such products are in great demand, despite the fact that there are not so many supplies to the market. For example, the main advantage of quail eggs is their long shelf life, which is three times longer compared to chicken eggs.

Such a business has a lot of advantages:

• Firstly, this is a high turnover rate, because a quail reaches its productive age within a month after birth, and in a year it can produce about 280 eggs. Beginner poultry farmers are recommended to start by raising 500 birds. Over the course of a year, their number will increase 10 times, which will allow the farm to recoup and return all invested in it cash, already in 2 months, as mentioned above;
• Second positive side This matter is due to the compactness of the equipment. In most cases, quail are kept in cage “batteries”, which allow up to 100 individuals to be kept simultaneously per 0.5 square meter. If one square meter of space is freely available, you can install a battery of 6 cells there, accommodating up to 280 individuals, which will save even more free space;
• The third positive side of such a business is the ease of caring for quail. Entire farms are often farmed by just 2-3 people, so in most cases it is a family business that continues for many generations.

What do quails need?

The success of raising quails depends solely on two the most important conditions- correctly selected composition of the feed mixture and the quality of life of young animals and adults in the poultry house. In many ways, these parameters depend on the type of quail - meat or egg-laying.

In our area, egg-laying breeds are popular, since broilers grow too large and restaurants do not purchase carcasses that are too large for one serving, and dividing them into two is completely inconvenient. That is why it is profitable to raise a Japanese breed “for meat”, which can be slaughtered for sale at the age of 3 months. This breed has positive reviews among novice poultry keepers who mentioned the lack of pickiness and ease of care.

Egg breeds begin to lay eggs as early as two months of age, but after a year their productivity decreases and it is necessary to renew the stock. In addition to meat and eggs, these birds produce droppings, which are considered an excellent fertilizer or, using special technology, are converted into a source of biogas used to heat the premises in which the birds are kept.

Premises and conditions

To arrange the cages in which quail can be raised, one free corner is enough, but this is only if the population does not exceed 100 individuals. A completely different question is when we're talking about about creating your own business to raise such poultry on an industrial scale. In this case, you will have to prepare or build an appropriate room.

It’s great if there is a room in the yard that can simply be converted. This will significantly reduce operating time and financial costs. Firstly, the number of heads that can be placed in an existing building is calculated. Everything is very simple, because to install special equipment: incubators, brooders, cages and cages for 1000 individuals you will need 25 square meters.

According to all existing livestock standards, it is recommended to equip two rooms - one for raising young animals, the other for keeping adult birds. But this is the personal desire of every poultry farmer. One large room with an area of ​​35 square meters, where you can install everything you need, is also quite suitable.

Immediately discard the shed made of boards; the room must be of good quality - without drafts and with good waterproofing. A brick building would be ideal. There is no need to carry out European renovations with laying tiles and installing platbands, but a minimum of plastered walls and ceilings is necessary.

The floor is formed from cement screed. It is better to glass the windows with frosted, slightly darkened glass, because sunlight this bird does not need it, it can have a detrimental effect on it. Moreover, artificial lighting will be installed in the poultry house, turned on in accordance with the daylight hours. But there is no need to hammer in windows or lay them with bricks, since they are sources fresh air and participate in the ventilation process.

Equipment

Based on the above list necessary equipment mentioned above, wiring must be carried out in this room. It is recommended to connect this room to a separate switch to avoid emergency situations.

Next, the formation of the ventilation system continues by installing a fan that will change the air. Be sure to consider a water supply system, which can be manual or automatic depending on the size of the poultry farm.

You will also need a heating system, because in winter, birds can only be raised at an air temperature of at least +10 degrees Celsius, and this is only provided that cages tightly lined on three sides are used, but for comfortable placement of cage batteries in the room, the temperature must be maintained not lower than +20 degrees Celsius. The heating system can be water, stove or using solid fuel

. The choice will depend on the configuration of the available premises.

Incubators and brooders must be installed in poultry houses. This equipment is necessary for breeding young animals and creating comfortable conditions in the first days of their life.

One of the most important tasks of a poultry farmer is organizing high-quality and timely feeding of quail. In most cases, it is poor quality nutrition that causes a lot of diseases among the livestock. The good news is that quails are not very picky eaters, so there is no strict nutrition plan for them.

It is important to select high-quality and fresh food without harmful impurities. Ready-made ones are not produced on an industrial scale, so poultry farmers prepare them themselves.

The mixture consists of 25% corn, 30% wheat and 5% ground shell and barley. Required condition feeding the mixture is the presence in it large quantity sunflower cake and fish meal, which make up up to 50% of the total feed mass.

If domestic quails are given food in reserve, then this is only possible with dry mixtures. Wet ones should not be in the feeder for more than 2 hours, so as not to turn sour and become a source of food poisoning for the inhabitants of the poultry house. I recommend mixing all liquid food with cereals so that the nutritional mixture has a thinner consistency, otherwise the bird will stain its feathers and clog its nostrils. Experts recommend raising quails on feed for laying hens or broiler breeds. The consumption of the mixture per individual will be equal to one kilogram.

The main condition for intensive growth is regular feeding - 3-4 times a day at the same time, maintaining equal intervals between feedings. Please note that the intensity of egg laying and the quality of domestic eggs will depend on the quantity and quality of food consumed. The bird should receive the largest amount of feed at night so that the grain has time to digest well.

Business from scratch

Domestic quails do not have a brooding instinct, so in order to raise young animals, you will need an incubator. There are many designs of this device - some can automatically turn eggs, while others cannot, and these differences can be listed for a very long time. You can make incubators yourself by covering cardboard boxes soft material. No more than 20 eggs can be grown in one incubator.

By the way, you need to start developing your own quail farm by purchasing eggs, which will subsequently go into the incubator. This issue must be approached as responsibly as possible, since the quality of the first domestic livestock will depend on the choice of source material.

Within a couple of hours after hatching, the chicks are very active, so they need to be kept in a limited area, for example, in cages or boxes with sides at least 20 centimeters high. On larger farms, brooders are used, where the chicks will feel more comfortable.

Many poultry farmers prefer to raise quails due to the fact that their chicks are able to feed themselves from the first hours of life. They are fed a mixture of boiled eggs, cottage cheese, crushed corn with added vitamins and minerals. A week after birth, babies can start feeding greens. In the first days of life, quails should receive prophylactic doses of medications to prevent the development of infectious diseases.

Video “Keeping and breeding quails”

The video shows how to create ideal conditions for keeping and feeding quails.