Industrial breeding and rearing technology for Japanese quail

In our country, large-scale facilities have been established with an annual productivity of 700,000–800,000 carcasses and several tens of millions of eggs. As a result of selection work, significant poultry productivity has been achieved and egg-laying lines have been bred. Quail farming as a branch of industrial poultry farming originated in Japan about 20 years ago. Japanese quails have become widespread in various countries around the world. In the USSR, quail breeding is carried out by specialized farms and collective and state farm enterprises, mainly in the Krasnodar Territory and other southern zones of the country.

Japanese quails are very similar to our common quails, but slightly smaller. The live mass of an adult bird reaches 120–140 g. Female quails begin laying at 35–45 days of age and produce 200–250 eggs per year, weighing 19–15 g, with an expenditure of about 5–7 kg of dry compound feed per 1 kg of egg mass. Compared to chicken eggs, quail eggs contain significantly more phosphorus, iron, and vitamins, while the relative mass of the shell is lower.

Quail meat has the taste of game and special gastronomic merits. They are slaughtered for meat at 50–60 days of age. The carcasses weigh 100–112 g, and the pectoral muscle is well-developed.

Quails are kept in cages, with males and females separated, at a ratio of 2–3 females per one male; mating in this case is carried out every 1–2 days. It is possible to keep two females with one male together. With this housing method, egg fertility reaches 75–80%.

For incubation, eggs of regular shape with a smooth shell and specific coloration are used. The hatchability of young stock can exceed 75%. During rearing, good bird viability is observed. Eggs are incubated in standard incubators with the following parameters:

Young quails are kept in cages measuring 145 x 60 x 30 cm, with 50–60 birds per cage. For the first 5–7 days, the metal mesh floor is covered with paper. Initially, the young are fed and watered inside the cages, and subsequently from feeders and drinkers located outside the cages. In the first days, quails can also be reared under electric brooders divided into several sections, and then moved to cages.

Temperature and photoperiod regime for young stock:

• Initially, the air temperature in the cages or under the brooders is maintained at about 35°C; by the age of one month, it is reduced to 20–22°C.
• In the rearing room itself, the air temperature should be 25–27°C during the first week, and 20°C by the age of one month. It is necessary to monitor that there are no temperature fluctuations. Quails are very sensitive to cold and drafts.
• In the first two weeks of rearing, the photoperiod is 23 hours; subsequently, it is reduced by 2 hours each week until it reaches 14 hours.

Day-old chicks are very active and grow rapidly. Within a month, their mass increases more than 15-fold, and by the 30-day mark, they weigh 80–90 g. Given such intensive growth, the young are very demanding regarding feed. They are prepared compound feed enriched with vitamins and trace elements. During the first ten days of rearing, hard-boiled crushed eggs, as well as a small amount of milk or sour milk, can be added to the specified compound feed. From the 3rd–4th day, chopped nettle or grated carrot, cottage cheese, and baker's yeast can also be added. From 15 days of age, it is necessary to start providing gravel. In the first days of rearing, the young are fed 5–6 times a day; from 10 days of age, 4 times.

At 30 days of age, quails are separated by sex. In males, the chest has reddish-brown feathers with gray or black spots, the skin in the cloacal area is pink, and a round-shaped thickening is visible in its upper arch. In females, the plumage on the chest is lighter with round black specks. The skin near the cloaca has a bluish-gray tint. All surplus males at one month of age are separated and fattened for 4–5 weeks in a darkened room, while females are transferred to the parent or commercial flock.

Quails are placed in multi-tiered cages, 3–4 per unit, so that each bird has about 200 cm² of floor space. The temperature in the room for adult quails is maintained at 18–20°C, with a photoperiod of 16–17 hours.

Table 65. Composition of compound feeds for quails (%) (according to N. V. Pigarev and T. A. Stollar)

Quail age Fattening Ingredient 1—30 days |older than 30 days | Compound feed No. 7-1 70 70 — Compound feed No. 5-7 — — 49 Millet — 10 20 Hemp seed — — 5 Soybean meal 15 10 22.5 Dried skim milk 5 2 2.5 Grass meal 5 2 — Shell grit 2 2.8 — Bone meal 1.8 2.0 — Salt 0.2 0.2 — Vitamin premix 0.6 0.6 0.6 Mineral premix 0.4 0.4 0.4 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100 g of compound feed contains (%): crude protein 23.3 20.8 23.8 metabolizable energy, kJ 1213 1201 1297 calcium 2.5 2.8 0.55 phosphorus 1.1 1.1 0.58 sodium 0.5 0.5 0.39 Energy-to-protein ratio 520 577 545 (kJ : crude protein)

Composition of vitamin premix (g per 1 ton of feed)

D3 » » E 25 g B1 2.5 g » PP 20 » B2 6.0 » Molasses 1.4 kg B6 6.0 » Soybean meal up to 6 kg Composition of mineral premix (g per 1 ton of feed)

A specialized farm has been organized at the Beshatugorets broiler factory, designed for the production of 5 million quail eggs. The breeding group is intended to have about 5 thousand females with a corresponding number of males, and the commercial group — 16 thousand layers with an average egg productivity of at least 240 eggs. The flock is replenished 4 times a year.

The continuous production system for Japanese quail allows for organizing a year-round supply of dietary meat and eggs. To achieve this, the poultry is kept in battery cages, with the livestock separated by age and purpose into different facilities. This approach helps minimize poultry stress, reduce mortality, and ensure efficient use of feed at each stage of rearing.

Stages of continuous poultry rearing

1. Keeping young stock in the starter facility until 20 days of age.
2. Transfer of poultry intended for slaughter (primarily males) to the fattening unit until 50 days of age.
3. Placement of replacement females and breeding males in separate halls for the formation of the parent flock.
4. Keeping the adult stock in a separate specialized building.

• Year-round hatching of poultry — about 100 thousand quail
• Rearing period for young stock — up to 20 days
• Fattening period for males for slaughter — up to 50 days