Chinese painted quail in nature and in captivity
Chinese painted quail, which is part of the pheasant family, is often found under the name Blue Quail. It got its second name due to its unique color.
Chinese painted quail
Descriptive characteristics
Among the representatives of the order of chicken-like Chinese painted quail, its size is distinguished. He is the smallest among them, growing in length no more than 14 cm and gaining weight in the range of only 45 to 70 g.
Females and males of painted quails differ in the pronounced sexual dimorphism inherent in these birds, having the following anatomical features in the description, which can be clearly seen in the photo:
- The plumage on the crown and occipital part of males is colored red with a brown tinge, the nape is bordered by a black stripe, the feather on the side of the head and in the neck area is gray, from the beginning of the beak up to the eye there is a white stripe, under which there is a black stripe connecting the chin and throat, at the same time framing a white beard, in front of this black stripe forms a wide spot.
- Females stand out in plumage from males with a chest of red with a brown tint and a white neck, the top of the feather is painted in a sandy shade, the bottom of the body is light reddish, diluted with black stripes.
Common anatomical features in the external characteristics of painted birds are a black beak and orange paws.
Wild quails rarely disagree on the color of their plumage. In captivity, among the Chinese painted quails, species with color variations of the feather were bred, among which there are white, silver, brown and pink representatives.
Habitat and places of residence
Today, Chinese painted quails are in China, birds can be found in African territory. The distribution of birds covers Ethiopia and Zambia, passes through the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, affects the Asian peninsula of Hindustan. Their nests were recorded within the borders of Burma and Thailand, on the Pacific island of Taiwan and Kalimantan, in the Philippines and Java islands, in Australia and Pacific New Guinea. On such a large area of distribution in the Afro-Asian direction, painted individuals formed 10 of their subspecies, each of which chose its own habitat for itself.
Originally painted birds from China were kept as decorative birds in their small homeland. They were even carried with them as pets right in the pockets of their clothes, warming their hands about them in the winter cold. In Europe, the blue pet appeared at the very end of the 18th century; it is still popular for keeping among decorative poultry.
As a place of residence, quail from China prefer flat and mountainous areas, where there are dense and rather humid meadow spaces. In these places they make paths that look like long grassy tunnels.On the territory of Africa, Chinese quail can be found in small numbers, where it settles in mountain ranges at an altitude of approximately 1.8 km above sea level.
During the period of their unstable migratory movements, quails from China have to adapt to the rainy seasons, often starting the nesting process in bad weather. For example, quail nests that live in the region of Nigeria begin to build upon arrival at the nesting site, when active rains begin.
Breeding process
The Chinese quail belongs to monogamous representatives, keeping their pairs for the mating season and reproduction throughout their life. The period in males begins with a high-pitched three-syllable sound they make in the form of a whistle.
Only the female is involved in the construction of the nest in the described species of birds. For one egg-laying, it usually carries from 4 to 10 eggs, in rare cases, the egg-laying of a quail has up to 12-14 eggs. At the same time, the color of the eggshell can vary and be of different shades of yellow and brown. Sometimes the eggshell is covered with contrasting bright specks of dark brown, almost black, color.
As well as the process of building a nest, so the incubation of chicks falls solely on the female Chinese quail. The role of the male in raising chicks is reduced to the protection and protection of the nest.
Incubation of chicks takes on average 2-2.5 weeks. Newborn quails the size of a large bumblebee leave the nest on the first day of their independent life. Their diet is no different from that of adult birds. Already after 14-18 weeks, young animals become sexually mature and completely independent.
A Chinese quail may have more than one brood per year. Their number directly depends on the quality of the feed ration and with sufficient adequate nutrition, hatching and rearing of chicks can follow one after the other.
Keeping in captivity
Accustomed to the wild, Chinese quail can live in a poultry house, but sufficient housing should be provided for the Chinese quail so that the birds can lay eggs and reproduce.
Premises
Regardless of the fact that Chinese painted quail are small in size, do not underestimate the area required for their maintenance. The most optimal sizes, allowing them to be kept comfortably, will be the base of cages and aviaries 2 * 2 meters, since quails do not keep in pairs, but prefer to live in groups.
When keeping quails indoors, perches-additives and additional branches are not required, since these birds fly extremely rarely, preferring to move more on the ground.
Stern
Egg and seeds, such as millet and poppy seeds, are suitable for feeding in the process of keeping young Chinese quails. An adult bird feeds on insects and worms; they need to include grain, herbs and mineral supplements in their diet.
Quails artificially bred during incubation are trained to feed by imitating pecking by tapping a match next to the food, as the quail teaches in natural conditions. How this happens can be seen in the video.