Description of the quail breed Pharaoh
The Pharaoh quail as a new breed was bred thanks to the long work of breeders. The progenitors of birds are Japanese quails. The selection was based only on a certain characteristic of the main breed - size, while the infusion of someone else's blood was not made.
Quail Pharaoh
The origin of the bird breed
According to the official version, the Pharaohs were created specifically by order of culinary specialists who were unhappy with the fact that the birds had too small a carcass. But there is another theory of the origin of the breed: some believe that this is the merit of the beloved American gigantomania, thanks to which not only a new species of quail appeared, but also larger varieties of other animals used for food.
Due to selection based solely on body size, such indicators as fertility and egg production have significantly decreased in birds. In addition, Pharaoh quails have become very picky about the size of the cage and the conditions of detention. Despite the fact that these birds in question fly worse, they can still be attributed to a group that is bred not only for meat, but also for eggs.
Characteristic features of the breed
Quails of the Pharaoh breed are dark birds with a dense stocky body and wings close to the body. These birds stand out favorably against the background of their relatives. Looking at the photo, where the Japanese and the Pharaoh are standing next to each other, you can easily determine where which bird is, since they differ only in size.
But in appearance, the individual standing alone in the photo cannot be accurately named the breed, therefore, having bought young Pharaohs on the market, you can be unpleasantly surprised when their growth stops after reaching 150 g of weight. To prevent this from happening, when buying eggs or young animals from an incubator, you must choose a trusted seller.
Having bought a Japanese breed instead of the desired one, you can not get upset: yes, the meat yield will turn out to be 2 times less, but these birds are undemanding to care and will give much more eggs. In addition, the survival rate of youngsters among the Japanese is higher than that of the Pharaohs. In addition, restaurants are more willing and more expensive to buy small quail carcasses, explaining this by the fact that a client, when ordering a quail, wants to see the whole bird on a plate, and it is very difficult to eat 300-500 g of meat at a time.
An average quail of the Pharaoh breed weighs 300 g (females are always slightly larger than males). For a year, she is able to lay 200-250 eggs, this is slightly less than the Japanese laying hen gives, but the larger the bird, the larger its eggs (the difference in weight sometimes reaches 15 g). Pharaohs begin to rush at the 7th week of life.
The size of the eggs depends on the diet of the quail. Some farmers add broiler feed to their pets, it really has a beneficial effect on the height and width of the quail egg, but you can experiment with additives only when you plan to get eggs for food purposes. The elements that make up the boiler feed negatively affect the bird's body, and large eggs are not suitable for an incubator.
Bird breeding
If you are planning to seriously engage in bird breeding, it is better to choose French fattening Pharaohs for these purposes. This is the largest quail breed. In exceptional cases, the weight of an adult can reach half a kilogram. On average, the French Pharaohs weigh 400 g.
The cons of the French Pharaohs are:
- Dark plumage - plucked carcasses are darker than usual, which is why dishes prepared from this meat do not look very appetizing.
- Low egg production and high requirements for care and maintenance.
But even a detailed description of the shortcomings is not at all capable of overshadowing all the advantages of the breed. Pharaohs are famous all over the world for their:
- early maturity,
- large weight of marketable carcasses,
- large eggs.
Not all Pharaohs are dark in color, for example, the Texas breed of these birds has a bright white plumage. It is very difficult to meet white birds in Russia.
When can you slaughter the Pharaohs?
The ideal time for slaughtering for meat is the beginning of the 7th week of the birds' life. If you overexpose bird cages for longer, feed overruns by more than 1/10 will occur. At the 5th week, quails already stop gaining weight, but their body does not have time to fully form during this time. Due to the thin skin of a bluish tint and a small amount of fat, the carcasses of birds slaughtered at the age of 5 weeks have the second quality category.
The highest degree of fatness deservedly belongs to quail carcasses that have survived to the 6-7th week. They have an excellent appearance, well-developed muscle tissue and a fatty layer where it is needed.
On the entire territory of the post-Soviet space, including in Russia, one can rarely find birds, the description of which fully corresponds to the real Pharaohs. Due to the lack of the initial livestock, so that the bird does not grind under any conditions, breeders have to cross this breed with others with a similar plumage color, for example, with Estonian.
How to properly maintain and feed
The large size of the Pharaohs requires an increased containment area. At least 0.2 square meters should be allocated for 1 bird. m. The height of the cages is at least 30 cm. In the room where the birds live, the temperature of 20 ° C must be constantly maintained. If the air is colder, the quails will bunch together and will constantly strive to get into the center of the pandemonium. Too high a temperature regime will lead to overheating of the birds and damage to the eggs they have laid.
For full growth and development, quails need 17 hours of daylight hours, but in order not to scare the birds, the lighting should be slightly dim. To maintain a small room, 1 light bulb with a power of 60 watts is enough.
The humidity of the air should also be constantly monitored: it should vary in the range from 60 to 70%. The problem with too dry air can always be solved by placing a basin of water next to the cells. The main thing is not to forget to remove it in time, because if the humidity rises to 76%, the livestock will die.
It is imperative to ventilate the room where the birds are kept; in the summer, the volume of air exchange should be 5 m³ / h. In the cold season, air should be 3 times less frequent. You also need to remember that drafts are very dangerous, they can lead to disease, loss of plumage, decreased egg production, and sometimes the livestock begins to die altogether.
What to feed the pharaohs
In order for the birds to gain weight quickly, they should be given the right balanced food, the basis of which should be grain feed. It is advisable to add a handful of oats, millet, corn and millet there. The cereals must first be ground.
In the summer, it is useful for the Pharaohs to give field grass cut into small pieces, mixed with sawdust. It is necessary to carefully check the greens so as not to accidentally feed the pets with poisonous plants. There will be no harm to birds from poisonous herbs, but a person who then eats quail meat may be slightly poisoned.In winter, feeding the birds is useful with millet sprouts, cabbage leaves, grated beets and other vegetables.
Be sure to add ground shells, a little sand, limestone and table salt to the Pharaohs' food every day. The youngsters are fed the first 15 days of life with food with the addition of mashed boiled eggs. The same protein feed is given to brood hens to replenish the nutrients used to produce offspring.
The feeding recommendations described above will be useful if you do not plan to use special compound feed when breeding quail at home. Modern mixtures already contain a well-formulated diet, which contains all the necessary additional feeding.
A certain percentage of the total feed must be made up of crude protein:
- Quails under the age of one month are entitled to about 25%.
- Individuals from 30 to 45 days old need 23%.
- Layers - 22%.
The recommended feeding schedule for birds in winter is as follows:
- 5 a.m. - 1/3 of cereals from the total daily amount,
- 9 am - wet mix
- 3pm - wet mix
- 7 pm - Leftover cereal feed.
It is advisable to feed the birds at the same time every day. In the summer, when the artificial light is replaced by the sun, you can start feeding the Pharaoh quail later. The first meal is at 7 am and the last meal is at 5 pm.
It is not recommended to fill the feeders to the brim, otherwise the birds will scatter half of the feed. To keep the water constantly clean, it must be changed every day. Dirty drinking will quickly turn sour and cause intestinal diseases in the entire livestock.
Breeding tips
Breeding any breed of quail is impossible without observing special rules:
- In order to avoid inbreeding, representatives of different breeds and even herds should not be put in one pair.
- One male can provide offspring of a maximum of 4 females. Ideally, if there are 3 Pharaoh quails for each quail.
- Females between 2 and 8 months of age should be used as layers.
- Hatching hens should be used for breeding for no longer than three months. It is best to take females two months old and replace them after 10 weeks with younger ones.
When taking out hatching eggs, they should only be taken with sterile clean hands, preferably with latex medical gloves. So that microorganisms, bypassing the shell, do not penetrate into the egg, you need to carefully take it not from the sides, but from the sharp and blunt end, and then transfer it to the required place. If you are afraid to make a mistake, you can first watch a video on this topic.
If done correctly, the quails will emerge from the incubator strong and healthy within 17 days.