Japanese Quail Rearing Management PDF

# Japanese Quail Rearing Management ## **Prof.Dr. Heba Basha** ### **Brown color Japanese quail (Coturnix Coturnix Japonica)** - A picture of three Japanese quails. Two of them are brown with black spots and the one on the right is white. ### **Normal data on Japanese quail** - One-day-old 6-8...

# Japanese Quail Rearing Management ## **Prof.Dr. Heba Basha** ### **Brown color Japanese quail (Coturnix Coturnix Japonica)** - A picture of three Japanese quails. Two of them are brown with black spots and the one on the right is white. ### **Normal data on Japanese quail** - One-day-old 6-8 g - Adult male 100-130 g - Adult female 120-160 g - Egg weight 9-10 g - Egg number/100 days 80-90 - Age at sexual maturity 38-42 days of age - Life span Max: 7 years in male Mean: 3-4 years ### **Taxonomy of Japanese quail** - Order: Galiformes - Genus: Coturnix - Species: japonica. - The scientific designation for Japanese quail is Coturnix japonica, different from the common quail (Coturnix coturnix), the first record of wild Japanese quail. ### **Why I rear Japanese quail?** 1. Japanese quail rearing does not require specially designed housing as they can be comfortably reared even in vacant rooms meant for human habitation. 2. The required floor space is much less, and the capital requirement therefore is much less. 3. The quail are ready for the market as table birds at five weeks of age. 4. Quail also start laying from the seventh week (42 days). 5. Japanese quail are comparatively more resistant to diseases than chickens and do not normally require any vaccination. 6. Because of their smaller body size, the quail consume less feed. 7. Japanese quail farming can be undertaken with less capital investment and little skill, and the returns will be realized earlier. 8. They Produce a greater volume of eggs per unit of body weight and less time. ### **Obstacles can face rearing Japanese quail** 1. Odor is objectionable (reduced by proper ventilation) 2. More feed is wasted if feeders are overfilled or improperly constructed. (Adult quail consumes 14-18 g/day, (no feed wastage 3. After approximately eight months, there is a rapid decline in reproductive efficiency, although eggs and sperms are still produced. 4. Shell damages occur more frequently. 5. Most strains have colored eggshells that are difficult to candle in embryological studies. 6. Fertility and hatchability percentages are lower (fertility is low at first, but by 50 days of age, the fertility reach 90%) 7. They are more susceptible to drafts and damp conditions, having a poor homoeothermic mechanism during early life. 8. More easily excited by sudden noise and changes from dark to light - A picture of four quail eggs in a hand. Some of the eggs are speckled with black and white spots and one egg is solid, light green. ### **Stages of life cycle** - A diagram of the Japanese quail life cycle: - Quail egg (10-12 g) - Incubation (17 days) - Day-old chick (7-9 g) - Growing (2 weeks) - Brooding (4 weeks) - First ovulation (42 days, 120 g) - Full maturity (50 days, 140 g) ### **Sexing of Japanese quail** - Sexing at day old: by cloacal (vent) examination, but the accuracy reach about 90%. - A picture of a male quail with text "MALE", "CORKSCREW PENIS" - A picture of a female quail with text "FEMALE", "GENITAL EMINENCE" ### **Male quail** - A picture of a male quail with text “that is a male, that’s how you tell” - Foamy substance from the cloacal gland - Brown or cinnamon colored feathers on the upper throat - The voice of the male (5 to 6 weeks old) as aloud ### **Female quail** - A picture of a female quail with text “this way” - Elongated cloacal opening - Light brown tan feathers with black speckling on the throat ### **Egg Pigmentation and Patterns** - Coturnix eggs are characterized by a variety of color patterns ranging from dark brown, blue, and white to buff, each heavily mottled with black, brown, and blue. - The egg shell pigments of the coturnix egg were found to be porphyrin and biliverdin. - While, porphyrin alone seems responsible for the slight pigmentation of eggs in the white-shell mutant. - A picture of four quail eggs in a hand. Some of the eggs are speckled with black and white spots and one egg is solid, light green. ### **Quail Egg vs. Chicken Egg Nutritional Facts** | Nutrition Facts | Quail Egg | Chicken Egg | |---|---|---| | Serving Size | 1 egg (9g) | 1 egg (50g) | | Calories | 14 | 78 | | Total Fat | 1g | 5g | | Saturated Fat | 0.3g | 1.6g | | Trans Fat | 0g | 0g | | Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.1g | 0.7g | | Monounsaturated Fat | 0.4g | 2g | | Cholesterol | 76mg | 211mg | | Potassium | 12mg | 63mg | | Sodium | 13mg | 70mg | | Total Carbohydrate | 0g | 0.6g | | Dietary Fiber | 0g | 0g | | Sugars | 0g | 0.6g | | Protein | 1.2g | 6g | | Iron | 1% | 3% | | Vitamin D | 1% | 11% | | Vitamin B12 | 1% | 10% | | Vitamin A | 5% | | | Vitamin B6 | 5% | | | Magnesium | 1% | | | Calcium | | 26% | **Note**: The Daily Value percentages on the table are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. ### **Chicken Egg vs. Quail Egg** - Quail eggs contain 13% proteins compared to 11% in chicken eggs - In addition, quail eggs provide 5 times as much iron and potassium. - A picture of a small quail, a larger chick, and a single quail egg next to a larger chicken egg ### **Housing systems of Japanese quails** - **Aviary**: Used for ornamental purpose, where males and females reared together in enriched environment There are two types of aviary design Indoor and outdoor aviaries. - A picture of a quail aviary with the text “BackYard Quail Aviary” - **Floor systems**: There are two types of floor rearing systems: - Conventional litter systems - Deep litter system - A picture of a room with a lot of Japanese quail with text “Conventional litter systems” - A picture of a room with a smaller number of Japanese quail with text “Deep litter system” - 6 quails can be reared in 900 cm² of floor space. - After 2 weeks, Quails can be reared in cages - **Cage system:** - Each unit is about 180 cm in length and 30 cm in width, and subdivided into 6 subunits. - To save space, the cages can be arranged up to 6 tiers high. - There can be 4 to 5 cages in a row. - The bottom of the cage is fixed with removable metal plates to clean the bird droppings. - Long narrow feed troughs are placed in front of the cages. - Water troughs are placed at the back of the cages. - A picture of a cage system with a tier system. - **Brooding:** - Battery Brooding - Floor Brooding - A picture of a multi-tier cage system for young quail with the text “Battery Brooding” - A picture of a room with a lot of young quail with the text “Brooder” ### **What to feed Quails?** - Broiler Pre starter 25-28% protein followed by starter ration 20-22% is recommended during the first 5 weeks for coturnix. can be used. - The dietary requirements for birds nearing maturity are similar except that calcium and phosphorus levels must be increased. ### **Water** - At first two weeks add marbles or small stones to avoid drowning of chicks in the waterers. - A picture of a dish of water with marbles in it and a picture of baby quail drinking water. ### **Warming** - Quail chicks are very sensitive to temperature. And absence of adequate temperature leads to clustering of young chicks and causes high mortality rate. - Recommended warmth should be provided for the first 3-4 weeks of age for which heat lamps or gas, electric heaters needs to be used. - A picture of young quail under a heat lamp. ### **Feeding** | Life stage of quail | Protein needs | Minerals needs | Type of feeding program recommended | |---|---|---|---| | First 6 weeks | 25%-28% | 1.0% calcium | A good quality commercial starter ration for turkey's | | Laying and breeding diets | 24% | 2.5%-3.0% calcium | Chicken starter mash or crumbles plus calcium source | ### **Light** | Age | Light per day | Light intensity | |---|---|---| | 1-7 days | 24 hours | 2-5 ft. candles | | 8-40 days | Natural or 8 hours | 1/2 to 2 ft. candles | | 41 days on | 16 hours | 1/2 to 2 ft. candles | ### **Breeding (Mating)** - Single male with two or three females (1:2-3) will generally give high fertility. - When quail are kept in colony cages, (1:3) is sufficient and reduces fighting among males. - In individual cages ratio of (1:2) or Pair matings (1:1) in cages also give good fertility. Fertility decreases markedly in older birds. - Ratio of mating on floor reach (1:4-5) with fertility about (89%). ### **Egg production** - Egg collection and cleaning - Egg storage ### **Egg Incubation** | Incubation environment | | |---|---| | Incubation period | 17 days (14 days in incubator and 3 day in hatcher) | | Temperature | 37.4 to 37.9°C with average (37.7°C) in incubator but decreased to 37.2°C in the hatcher. | | Relative humidity | 60 to 65% up to 16 days then raised to avery high level 90% (wet-bulb temperature = 34°C). | | Turning | - Frequency | Mechanically one time / Hour <br> Manually at least 3 times per day or odd no of times (3, 5, 7, etc...) | - Angle | ±45° | - Axis | Through the vertical axis | - Start and end of turning | From the 2nd day up to day 14th | - Ventilation | Normal level of O2 is 21% <br> If O2 decreased by 1% below 18% lead to decrease hatchability by 4-5%. <br> High levels of Co2 inside incubator have extreme damage effect on embryos. | ### **Egg production** - Egg characteristics - Morphology of quail egg is extremely variable - White, dark or light brown, blue speckled to blue violet - Egg weight is 10 g - 7% of hens B.Wt - Quail hen produce 300 eggs/ year - Sometimes we can not apply egg candling - A picture of many quail eggs of different varieties. One is a white, unspotted egg. ### **Comparison for various characteristics of Coturnix with Leghorn Chickens and Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys.** | Characteristics | Quail | Chicken | Turkey | |---|---|---|---| | Body weight at hatch, (grams) | 7 | 40 | 59 | | Body weight at sexual maturity (kg) | - Males | 0.105 | 1.50 | 10 | - Females | 0.115 | 1.45 | 6.8 | | Full adult body weight (kg) | - Males | 0.111 | 2.30 | 15.4 | - Females | 0.130 | 1.70 | 8.4 | | Average age at first egg (weeks) | 6.0 | 23 | 33 | | Egg Wt. during maximum production (g) | 10 | 56 | 85 | | Egg Wt. as a percentage of adult female B. Wt. (%) | 7.0 | 3.2 | 1.0 | | Kg of feed per Kg of egg at maximum lay | 3.0 | 3.0 | 5.5 | | Maximum rate of lay (%) | 70- 90 | 70- 80 | 55- 65 |