What Are the Prospects for Quail Farming? Cost-Benefit and Profit Analysis

Quail meat and eggs are highly nutritious, rich in protein and vitamins, and are an excellent nutritional supplement, known as the animal "ginseng" and a delicacy at banquets. Quail can also be used as a medicinal and ornamental bird; long-term consumption has certain therapeutic effects on arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, neurasthenia, tuberculosis and hepatitis. According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, quail meat can "tonify the five viscera, benefit the middle and continue the qi, strengthen the bones and muscles, withstand cold and heat, and dispel accumulated heat." According to statistics, before 1966, China exported more than 200,000 wild quail abroad each year. After quail rearing was introduced, because quail lay heavily, up to more than 300 eggs a year, and have the characteristics of fast growth, early maturity, strong reproductive capacity and ease of rearing, quail farming developed rapidly in some provinces and cities, and they have now become the most economical poultry. Traditional Chinese medicine theory holds that quail, with feathers and internal organs removed and the meat used fresh, strengthens bones and muscles, stops diarrhea, stops dysentery and relieves cough.






The quail is a highly edible poultry species, providing humans with abundant protein-rich foods, quail meat and quail eggs, which are processed into all kinds of foods and sold on the market; they are among the most popular foods. Quail eggs and meat are nutritious, high in protein and low in cholesterol; quail meat is tender and rich in amino acids, and also has considerable medicinal value. It is unanimously recognized in the Chinese market as a precious food and tonic, known as the animal ginseng. Quail (Figure 7)
Quail have strong disease resistance and consume little feed. They begin laying at around 40 days of age, with an average egg weight of 12 g--13 g, a feed-to-egg ratio of 2.5:1 to 2.7:1, and adult quail weighing 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. Each adult quail consumes 4 qian of feed, and rearing efficiency is high. Under cage-rearing conditions, about 400 birds can be kept per 3 sq m (calculated on a 6-tier cage). Raising 1,000 quail, which lay at around 40 days of age, yields an average of about 20 jin of eggs per day, 850--900 eggs per day, and a daily profit of about 25 yuan; the sale of manure can cover workers' wages, and 1 person can manage about 10,000 birds.