How to Raise Quail for More Egg Production? Key Points of Feeding and Management Techniques
Quail (the general term for birds of the genus Coturnix in the family Phasianidae) generally refers to the genus Coturnix; they are small and plump in build, mostly rather dull in plumage color, and usually males and females differ little.So what are the feeding and management techniques for quail? How do you raise them for more egg production?
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What are the feeding and management techniques for quail?
1. Feeding and management: Quail feed can be divided into two major categories, plant-based and animal-based. Plant-based feeds include: corn, wheat, broken rice, rice bran, wheat bran, peanut cake, soybean cake, qingcai (leafy greens), etc. Animal-based feeds include fish meal, inorganic salts, etc.
The following points should be noted in mixing feed:
(1) Mix feed according to the different growth stages of quail. According to the experience of the Beijing Breeding Quail Farm. The feed formula for 1 to 35 days of age is: soybean cake 25%, fish meal 15%, bran 4.5%, bone meal 1.5%. The feed formula for mature quail is: corn 55.5%, soybean cake 22%, fish meal 14%, bone meal 2%, sophora flower powder 6.5%.
(2) Feed diversity. Animal and plant feeds should be appropriately combined, and the feed should be kept relatively stable, not changed too drastically, because quail are highly sensitive to feed changes. The self-feeding method should combine dry and wet; each mixed batch of feed should not be used for too long, so as to avoid spoilage that affects the growth and development of the quail or causes poisoning and death.
(3) Whether raising quail at home or professionally, a certain quail house is needed. Its form and structure vary; it must be economical and practical, adapted to local conditions and using local materials, and also meet the needs of the quail's growth, development and reproduction. Quail houses can be divided by raising volume into three types: small, medium and large. A small house can raise. 500--800 birds, suitable for household raising; the front is 3.6 m wide and 1.8 m long, with a front height of 2.4 m and a rear height of 2.1 m. The interior is divided into two rooms, large and small; the large room is 2.7 m wide and 1.8 m long, used as the rearing room, and the remaining small room is used for storing tools and feed. The roof can be covered with zinc-coated iron sheet. Asbestos tiles or clay tiles, with two ventilation holes, and windows on all four sides; four six-tier rearing cages can be placed inside the quail house for raising. A medium house can raise 1,000 to 3,000 birds, suitable for rural specialized households; the front is 5.4 m wide and 3.6 m long, with 6.6 sq m for a feed room and 13.2 sq m as the rearing room; indoors there are a work room, fattening room, brooding room, breeding quail room and incubation room, all with windows and ventilation holes. Large quail farms generally raise more than 5,000 birds. Their structure is similar to that of medium houses, but the area is larger.
2. Breeding. Select high-quality quail with strong disease resistance to keep as breeding stock. Female quail should be chosen with a large abdominal cavity volume and strong egg-laying ability, and male quail should be chosen with a larger body type and fully extended claws, which are favorable for mating and reproduction. The male-to-female ratio should be 1:2 or 3. Breeding eggs should be selected for bright color, obvious spots and medium size; such eggs have a high hatchability rate. Domesticated quail have lost the habit of incubating eggs, so two forms are used when hatching quail.
(1) Natural incubation. Use a hen to incubate quail eggs, but only 7 to 8 eggs can be incubated each time.
(2) When using a hen to incubate eggs, choose a hen of moderate body size so that it incubates 20 to 30 eggs; the young quail must be taken away immediately after hatching, so that 3 to 4 clutches can be incubated consecutively.
(3) Artificial incubation. There are many types, including jar incubation, bucket incubation, flat-box or upright-box incubation, etc. In bucket incubation, the bucket is lined with several layers of paper, heated paddy rice is put into gunny sacks as a heat source, and the breeding eggs are also packed in gunny sacks, with one layer of eggs and one layer of paddy rice placed into the bucket; the incubation manager must strictly master the incubation rules to obtain a high hatchability rate. The flat-box incubation method is generally suitable for small and medium quail farms; its structure is simple and easy to make and operate. The box is 157 cm high, 96 cm long and 80 cm wide, with 5X5 cm wooden strips used as the surrounding frame, and two layers of fiberboard on the four sides and the door, with glass fiber sandwiched in between to provide insulation. The flat box is divided into upper and lower layers; the upper layer is the egg incubation room and the lower layer is the heat source room, separated by a 0.3 cm thick iron plate. The heat source room has a fire door and is heated with charcoal, kerosene or a 500W electric furnace. In the incubation room there are a thermometer, egg baskets and an egg-turning rack. The incubation room should be kept at 20 to 24°C and a relative humidity of 60 to 65%, to help increase the hatchability rate. After the third day of incubation, turn the eggs twice a day, cooling them for a few minutes each time. After incubating for 11 days, candle the eggs; if the egg is red or black and light cannot pass through, it is a normally developing egg. After incubating for 15 days, put the eggs into the chick egg tray. Generally after 17 days of incubation, the fertilized eggs develop into young quail; 1 to 2 hours after the young quail hatch, once the down is dry, take them out and put them into the brooding room for rearing.
Recently, homemade electric incubators have been widely used at home and abroad. Their outer shell and the flat-box incubator structure have been improved; the heat source uses power, heated by electric furnace wire, with an electronic relay connected to an electric contact thermometer to automatically control the temperature. The homemade electric incubator is convenient to operate and works very well.
How do you raise quail for more egg production?
Besides being determined by their breed, the egg-laying rate of quail is also closely related to the following feeding and management factors.
1. The quail's constitution and age in days
In production, quail that are strong, disease-free, have a good appetite and were born in the current year should be selected for raising. The lifespan of quail is generally two years; female quail begin laying at 35 to 45 days of age, and the egg-laying rate declines after 10 months of age. Therefore, quail over 1 year old should be culled as early as possible and sold as meat quail after short-term fattening.
2. Nutritional supply for quail
After female quail begin laying, their appetite is strong, and the annual egg production is more than 300 eggs, so sufficient high-quality feed must be provided, especially attention should be paid to supplementing calcium and phosphorus in the daily ration. In production, compound feed should be fed, and whole grains should be fed as little as possible or not at all; the crude protein in the compound feed should generally account for about 28% of the feed. Formula: corn 48%, cakes and meals 33%, light fish meal 6%, dried grass powder 5%, shell powder 5%, bone meal 3%, plus 0.3% multi-vitamin additive.
3. Rearing environment
Quail are timid and easily startled, so a quiet rearing environment should be created for them. In addition, how many eggs quail lay is also related to the ambient temperature and humidity. When the ambient temperature is below 15°C, the egg-laying rate of female quail declines noticeably. According to measurements, the suitable egg-laying temperature for quail is 18°C to 25°C. To make quail lay more eggs, the humidity in the house should be controlled at 50% to 60%, and sufficient clean drinking water and chopped green, succulent feed should be provided.
4. Light
Light has a great influence on the egg-laying rate of quail; they must be guaranteed 15 hours of light per day. Because quail like red light, when natural light is insufficient it is best to supplement with red fluorescent light.