JAPANESE quail birds thrive well in small cages and are inexpensive to keep. They are affected by common poultry diseases but are fairly disease resistant. Japanese quail matures in about six to eight weeks and is usually in full egg production by 50 days of age. With proper care, hens should lay 280 eggs in their first year of lay. Life expectancy is only two to 20 years.The adult male quail weighs about 100 to140 grammes, while the females are slightly heavier, weighing from 120 to 160 grammes. ' The females are characterised by light tan feathers with black speckling on the throat and upper breast. ' The males have rusty brown throat and breast feathers. Males also have a cloacal gland, a bulbous structure on the upper edge of the vent that secretes a white, foamy material. This unique gland can be used to assess the reproductive fitness of the males.Japanese quail eggs are a mottled brown colour and are often covered with a light blue, chalky material. Each hen appears to lay eggs with a characteristic shell pattern or colour.Some strains lay only white eggs. The average egg weighs about 10 grammes, about eight per cent of the bodyweight of the quail hen. Young chicks weigh six to seven grammes when hatched and are brownish with yellow stripes.Breeding : Research indicates that grouping a single male with two or three females will generally give high fertility. When quails are kept in colony pens, one male to three females is sufficient and reduces fighting among males. Pair matings in individual cages also give good fertility. Fertility decreases markedly in older birds.Eggs should be collected several times a day and stored at a temperature of 15C; Cracked eggs hatch very poorly. Best results are obtained when eggs are held no longer than one week before setting.A dirty incubator or hatchery area is a major source of contamination and disease. Soiled eggs can best be cleaned with fine sandpaper or other abrasives ' eggs to be incubated should not be washed. Incubation and hatching The incubation period for quail is 17'18 days. Normal incubating temperature is between 38.C -39.9C Do not open the incubator more frequently than is needed to turn the eggs, and do not leave it opened for long periods of time. The eggs must be turned by hand at least three times a day. Our locally fabricated incubator is also available on request.Natural incubation : Japanese quail eggs can be set under a domestic hen. Any chicken eggs should be removed from the nest.Brooding and care of young birds Newly hatched quail chicks are small, and proper brooding temperatures for young quail are very important. They need supplementary heat for about one to two weeks after hatching.The best guide for adjusting the temperature is chick behaviour. Chicks that crowd near the heat source and seem cold indicate the temperature is too low. When the chicks tend to settle just outside the hottest area, the temperature is about right. Failure to provide adequate heat during the early days of the brooding period invariably results in increased mortality.Housing and equipment Quails are frequently housed in rooms similar to garages. However, such rooms need to be well ventilated and must provide protection from cats, rodents and predatory birds.Housing should be designed to ensure comfort for the birds, to make food and water readily accessible and to permit easy and effective sanitation.Nutrition A good quality, fresh, feed for poultry birds or turkey are suitable food for quails. For the first four weeks, quails should be fed with starters mash and from five weeks with layers mashFor further reading, visiten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Quail.
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