QUAIL FARMING IN INDIA

Pashu Sandesh, 9^th August 2018

Dr. Nethee Deori, Dr. Akshay Kumar, Dr. Jitendra Tanwar, Dr. Deepikesh Joshi

The domesticated variety of Japanese quail was brought in India (Coturnix japonica) was originally brought from California, USA and introduced in India in 1974 and 1976 and subsequently in 1978 from West Germany and 1988 from Korea. Today, India ranks 6^th in the world (Minvielle 2004, INRA) in respect of Japanese quail meat production. Presently India producing 32 million domesticated Japanese quails (FAO 2011). The quail farming in India is gaining popularity due to larger consumer acceptance of its meat and eggs as a table delicacy. Because of low volume, low body weight, short generation interval and high acceptability as a source of egg and meat, the commercial quail farming has occupied a very significant position in several Asian countries like Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Japanese quail is a domesticated species with short generation interval and has high rate of lay. The female quails are heavier than male quails and characterized by long and pointed feathers with black speckles on the throat and upper breast. The males have rusty brown throat and breast feathers. Japanese quails are not only robust disease resistant and easy to beep in small area but are also having many distinct characteristics namely

• High growth rate
• Early sexual maturity
• High egg production
• Efficient converters of feed to eggs compared to chicken

Brooding: Domesticated quails reproduce in all seasons of the year. For optimum fertility one male should be mated to a maximum of three females and parents should be between 10-24 weeks of age. Fertility remains optimum up to 3 days after the sexes are separated. Fertility reduces when they are more than 24 weeks of age. The incubation period in quail is about 17 days. The brooder temperature preferred is 37.8⁰ C initially and can be reduced by about 3⁰ C at every 3-4 days till it reaches 21.2⁰ C by third week of age.

Rearing: Litter or battery system of brooding can be used. It is better to artificially brood the chicks up to 2-3 weeks of age in battery brooder. Cover the floor with corrugated paper or gunny bags to provide better foothold. From 3-6 weeks, each bird requires 150-175 sq. cm floor space in cage system and 200-250 sq. cm under deep litter system. The feeder and water space requirement during this period are 2-3 cm and 1-1.5 cm, respectively. Floor, feeder and water space are increased with increase of age. Continuous light is provided for the first 48 hr and during growing period 12 hr light and 12 hr of darkness may be followed. Japanese quail lay smaller eggs about 10 gm in weight and eggs are multi-colour ranging from dark brown, blue and white to buff. They have equal nutritional value like chicken egg. Quail meat is very tasty and lower in fat than chicken meat. This meat helps to promote body and brain development in children. Chicken starter can be adequate for egg and meat production. Laying hens can be supplied with ad lib calcium in form of limestone or oyster shell.

        Quail egg and meat has huge domestic demand in India. Commercial quail farming business in India has a great profitability. As the quail can be marketed in early age of 5 weeks and they get early sexual maturity hence can start early laying of eggs from the 6-7 weeks of age. The nutritional quality of quail eggs is more as compare to the chicken eggs with a low level of cholesterol. Their egg laying capacity is relatively higher compared to other poultry birds. Hence quail farming can be a beneficial aspect for the farmers. So, they can easily start raising some quails with other birds or setup commercial quail farming in India.

Dr. Nethee Deori¹, Dr. Akshay Kumar^2, , Dr. Jitendra Tanwar³, Dr. Deepikesh Joshi⁴

1. College of Veterinary Science, AAU, Khanapara, Guwahati, Assam 2. Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, College of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, DUVASU, Mathura , Uttar Pradesh, 3. Department of Veterinary Medicine, Ethics and Jurisprudence, College of Veterinary &  Animal Sciences, RAJUVAS, Bikaner, Rajasthan Department of Livestock Production and Management, GBPUAT, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand

Corresponding author: Dr. Akshay Kumar akshay.rajawat@gmail.com