The subtleties of caring for quails at home
Caring for quails at home, subject to all the necessary requirements for it, allows you to get tasty products on a private farm that compete with chicken eggs and meat.
Quail care at home
The subtleties of correct dilution
Keeping quails at home and caring for them is not difficult even for beginners in this business. For full-fledged cultivation within a small farm, numbering up to 50 birds, a room with a cage of 1 sq. m, which you can do with your own hands. Nevertheless, there are a number of subtleties that should be considered when caring for quails in a household, so that they produce eggs and become a source of meat from them.
Among the main factors that affect the well-being of birds in a confined space:
- appropriate temperature conditions,
- sufficient illumination,
- comfortable cages with the required dimensions,
- a complete diet that provides all trace elements for the growth and development of birds,
- correct planting density,
- timely cleaning of cells and disinfection of the premises.
Microclimate creation and nutrition
A properly provided microclimate in the premises where the winged ones are kept will create the most favorable conditions for birds.
Premises
Requirements for premises when caring for quails at home are similar to those for keeping other poultry. First of all, this is the absence of drafts and good ventilation.
In the absence of effective ventilation in rooms where quails are kept, a persistent, difficult to remove specific smell begins to appear.
To keep quails at home, it is important to ensure that these birds, which are shy by nature, are free from annoying external factors, such as noises, loud sounds and sudden movements.
Temperature
A more suitable temperature regime for quails will be one that is in the range of 18-25 ° C. At excessively high temperatures, birds under the influence of stuffiness, if this is also supplemented by a close planting, will begin to molt.
In the absence of stationary heating systems in the premises where the growing and care of quails is carried out, they must resort to the help of portable heating systems.
A decrease in temperature below the limit of 8 ° C will entail the death of individuals.
Lighting
The illumination of the room with newborn quails involves the use of additional artificial light sources around the clock.
The use of bright light sources adversely affects the ability of the quail representatives to run. Contrasting white lamps lead to stressful situations, as a result of which they begin to peck at each other.
For young animals from two weeks of age, the duration of daylight hours should be at least 17 hours.
Stern
Quails are able to feed and gain weight quickly on feed intended for regular chickens, matched to the age of the bird. It is worth paying attention to crushed grain, which is often used by poultry houses as the main diet.
On average, during oviposition, a quail eats 20-30 g of feed, for a male the daily volume is about 18-20 g. In counting on 1 head, feed costs are slightly more than 1 kg for birds from the first moment of birth to adulthood. For grown poultry, the feed volume is within 10 kg.
If you want to increase the egg production rates of domestic quails, choose ready-made feeds with protein content of at least 20-21%.
Among the main components in the menu stand out:
- millet and corn,
- bone flour,
- boiled vegetables (potatoes, carrots, beets),
- fresh herbs (nettles, dandelions, cucumber peels, cabbage foliage, spurge.
In order to ensure the normal functioning of the digestive system, sand is mixed into the feed.
Arrangement of cells
It is desirable that the cages in which the quails will live are light and fairly spacious, regardless of the fact that a small bird is able to live in a dense bunch. As noted earlier, close planting creates stuffiness in the cages and overheating of the body of birds, which leads to loss of plumage.
Do not plant more than 6 layers per 1 sq. m of area, otherwise egg production rates are lost.
Among the main points that you should pay attention to when making cells with your own hands, the following are noted:
- the material from which the bird residence will be made can be wood or galvanized metal, for example, steel,
- feeders and drinkers should be located on the outside of the cages so that they are accessible for quails,
- the distances between the bars of the cage should be calculated so that only the bird's head can go through the bars,
- the height is taken with the expectation of avoiding injuries to birds during jumping, which is usually at least 20 cm, often the ceiling of the cage is covered with soft nets,
- as a rule, the floor of the cages is made at an angle so that the eggs laid by the birds roll into a special tray and do not choke on the quails.
Feeding features
A balanced diet when caring for quails at home implies regular feeding with complete feed, which gives the birds health and ensures their stable egg production. The quality of the eggshell may indicate that you are feeding your quails properly. A strong shell is a sign of adequate nutrition.
A constant deviation from stability in quail feeding will certainly affect the number of eggs laid. However, you should not exceed the norms set for quails, otherwise these birds prone to overeating begin to accumulate unnecessary fat and stop laying eggs.
Many farmers prefer to prepare feed with their own hands, but some opt for ready-made compound feed for quails, purchasing for chicks or grown broilers.
The condition of the birds based on the results of the selected feeding ration can be evidenced by their droppings. Hard with a bloom will indicate the digestibility of the food consumed by the digestive system of birds. With liquid droppings, you can think about the quality of the food. In this case, they often resort to rice broths, which, when chilled, are fed to the birds until the stool is completely normalized. For preventive purposes, once a month, quails are watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
The subtleties of caring for chicks
When raising newborn quail chicks, you need to follow some rules that are slightly different from caring for adult quails.
Incubator
First of all, the rearing of chicks in an incubator is carried out when the quails refuse to incubate the laid eggs.
Unlike wild quails, domesticated individuals rarely hatch eggs on their own.
It should be remembered that the hatchability rate of the young generation also depends on the number of laid eggs. On average, the incubation batch should be at least 50 eggs, removed no later than a week after laying. The incubation period is up to 2.5 weeks, and an average of 6 hours is given for active artificial hatching of chickens. You can see how it looks in the video.
In the incubator, during the period of active hatching of young animals, quail eggs are no longer than 10-12. The chicks that appeared after this time do not differ in vitality and most often die.
Care of hatched chicks
The rearing of hatched young stock takes place separately from adult birds in specially equipped cages - brooders. They are available in specialized stores, but you can also make them yourself.
When self-manufacturing brooders, plywood, plastic, cardboard, wood or metal are taken as material. How to do it, you can watch the video.
Initially, for newborn quails, a high temperature is provided, reaching 35 ° C, which, when they reach the age of one month, decreases to 22-25 ° C.
From the first day after birth, quail chicks feed on their own. At the same time, they are equipped with feeders with lower edges, and it is recommended to use vacuum devices for drinking. Chicks' menu consists of eggs, cottage cheese, chopped fresh herbs. Some farmers prefer ready-made feed intended for chicks instead of natural food.
Conclusion to the main livestock
Young chicks go to the bulk of adult quails when they are at least 2 weeks old.
It is most advisable to separate birds by sex when they are already a month old.
Properly provided nutrition allows them to gain weight quickly. It should be remembered that, despite living among adult birds, young animals require only warm boiled water in the drinkers.