Growing quail for beginners

An adult quail lays an egg a day. On average, quails live only about three to four years, but grow much faster than chickens or ducks, returning the investment to the owner in abundance.

Spring is a good time to start a home sparrowhawk. Breeders sell young stock (pedigreed quails for dual MEAT and egg purposes, for example, koturnixes will cost more), but you can always buy cheaper eggs and then hatch chickens in an incubator.

Beginners should focus on the following expenses:

Search the sale for an old dog crate to clear the quail issue. The use of such a cage allows you to move quails outside during the day and indoors at night or with the onset of cold weather. Keeping quails outside in winter is impractical, the birds freeze, the water in the drinkers freezes.

Tighten the top of the cage from the inside with soft material so that frightened quails do not get hurt by crashing into the bars. Quails do not fly long distances, but they can fly much better than chickens. They don't need a run to take off. They easily soar directly into the air, so a precaution certainly does not hurt.

Put straw under the cage, and in the cage - bedding made of pine shavings, small twigs and some greenery. These forest birds like to feel in their natural environment.

Feeding Tip: Quails are inherently sloppy and picky eaters, eating the same size food. Be prepared for the quail to sort the food in the feeder and make a mess. A closed feeder will prevent birds from wasting food. If you have not found food specifically for quails, food for wild ornamental birds will do. Anything with 20-25% crude protein and 1% or less calcium is fine.

Food and water must be served by free choice. Make sure the drinker is suitable for very small birds. If you put a pot or other larger container in a cage, then the quail will begin to swim and even fall asleep in the water, which is dangerous with hypothermia. A jug-shaped drinker will keep the water supply fresh, but will prevent quails, especially chickens, from drowning.

Quails enter the egg-laying period 6-8 weeks after they mature. For eggs, you need to provide 15 hours of light per day per day. Quail meat can be slaughtered at 5 weeks of age, but many people wait up to 12-16 weeks for more yield.

The ability to handle an incubator is the key to the success of a novice quail breeder. There are all kinds of incubators in different price values.

Hatching eggs in an incubator by itself costs very little, even if you manage to get only a fraction of the chickens - buying grown ones will cost a lot more. After you order the first batch of quails, you should reproduce the subsequent livestock on your own.

For breeding, a ratio of 1 male to every 2 females is usually recommended.

Once the quail is feathered, it's pretty easy to tell the difference. Females are slightly larger than males, but males are brighter in color. it will take about 3 weeks before you can visually determine how many males and females you have.

Brooders help keep newly hatched chicks warm until they are large enough. Heat lamps are necessary because without them, the chicks will not grow at their desired rate. The brooders also place the smallest drinkers and feeders that are offered for ornamental birds - when transferred to a cage, you need to put a larger one.