What are the costs and profits of quail farming?

The quail, also known as the quail bird, the Wan quail, the running quail, etc., is a migratory bird of the genus Coturnix in the family Phasianidae. Although farming in China started relatively late, it has developed rapidly. Because it has the characteristics of high egg production, fast growth, early maturity, strong reproductive capacity, and being easy to raise, it has gradually developed into the most economical poultry. Below, let us take a look at the costs and profits of quail farming!

Quail farming costs

1. Fixed investment

① Stocking density of 60—70 birds/sq m (calculated on 6 tiers); raising 10,000 quails occupies a floor area of 1.5*1.5*30=67.5 sq m (the actual area will be larger than this figure).

② It is estimated that 10,000 quails require 30 sets of cages; calculated at 250 yuan/set, the total is 7500 yuan.

2. Farming investment

① Preliminary investment budget: quail chicks 0.6/bird + starter feed 1.7×0.35 yuan/bird + growing feed 1.6×0.75 yuan/bird + early mortality 0.2 yuan = 2.6 yuan/bird×10000=26,000 yuan.

② Laying-period investment: in one laying cycle (10-12 months), each quail uses 15 jin of feed; at an average of 1.36 yuan per jin, that totals 20.4 yuan/bird, plus 0.5 yuan/bird for medicine; laying cost (20.4+0.5)×10000×91%=190,000 yuan.

③ Other input costs: coal 1200 yuan + water 200 yuan + electricity 300 yuan + labor 2000 yuan = 3700 yuan.

Quail farming profits

1. Quails have strong disease resistance and consume little feed. They begin laying at around 40 days of age, with an average egg weight of 12-3 g, a feed-to-egg ratio of 2.5:1 to 2.7:1, and adult quails reaching about 150 g. The average annual laying rate reaches 85-90%. Feed costs are low, the space required is small, results come quickly, and they are easy to manage and easy to raise.

2. Each adult quail consumes 4 qian of feed, and feeding efficiency is high. Under cage-rearing conditions, about 400 birds can be raised per 3 sq m (calculated on 6-tier cages). Raising 1000 quails, they begin laying at around 40 days of age, producing about 20 jin of eggs per day on average, 850-900 eggs per day, with a daily profit of about 25 yuan. The sale of manure can cover workers' wages, and 1 person can manage about 10,000 birds.

Advantages of quail farming

1. Low input: quail farming does not require a large area, and they can be raised in front of or behind a house. Even for large-scale quail farms, the land and buildings occupied are much less than for other poultry. Because multi-tier cage equipment is used indoors and stocking density is high, the investment in buildings, facilities, and capital is much lower than for other poultry. The labor requirements are not very high either, and no heavy physical labor is needed. In addition, domestic quails have strong adaptability and disease resistance, and spending on disease-prevention drugs is also very low.

2. High output: whether egg-type or meat-type domestic quails, they mature in 40-50 days and begin producing products. Meat-type quails can reach 220 g at 42 days of age while consuming only 700 g of feed; egg-type quails lay about 270 eggs per year, with a total weight of 3000 g, which is 20 times their body weight.

3. Fast capital turnover: because quails have a short rearing cycle and require little capital investment, the working capital per bird does not exceed 1.6 yuan, so compared with other poultry, capital turnover is much faster.

4. Low risk: because quail farming has the above three advantages, it is not easy to incur economic losses in operation, and there is no need to bear too much risk.

It can thus be seen that quail is a farming project with a small investment scale, high output value, fast capital turnover, and high economic benefit.