HI
A government license is required to sell commercial Japanese quail considering the jungle variety of the bird, which is a protected species. The Ministry of environment and forests delegated the power to grant such license to the department of Animal husbandry. Entrepreneurs can also contact Central Poultry Development Organisation, Mumbai for issue of licences.
Challenges in quail rearing
Male quails usually make a different sound which is usually disturbing to the human
When rearing the male and female quails together, the male quails peck the other quails and make them blind. At times, death of the quails are also noticed.
At the age of six weeks, female quails usually weigh 175-200 g and the males weigh about 125-150 g
Female quails start laying eggs at 7 weeks of age and continue utpo 22 weeks of age
Usually egg laying happens during the evening time of the day
The quail egg usually weighs about 9-10 g
The breast of the male quail is usually narrow and covered with equally distributed brown and white feathers. But the female quail has a broad breast covered with brown feathers with black dots.
The female and male quails should be separated at the age of four weeks
Sixteen hours of light per day should be available to the egg laying quails
Advantages
Requires minimum floor space
Needs low investment
Quails are comparatively sturdy birds
Can be marketed at an early age ie. five weeks
Early sexual maturity - starts laying eggs in about six to seven weeks of age
High rate of egg laying -280 eggs per year
Quail meat is tastier than chicken and has less fat content. It promotes body and brain development in children.
Nutritionally, the quail eggs are on par with that of chicken eggs. Moreover, they contain less cholesterol.
Quail meat and eggs are a nutritious diet for pregnant and nursing mothers.
REgards
Ashwini
