Category Archives: Quail – Health

HATCHING COTURNIX COTURNIX QUAILS

The following hatching conditions I have found over the years are giving the best hatching and survival rates for Coturnix coturnix quails

I collect eggs for up to 3 days, depending on how many I want to incubate, then class them for hatching.

1. Do not clean or wash the eggs at all

2. Remove any odd colours and shapes of eggs

3. Candle all eggs for fine cracks and discard cracked eggs

4. Weigh the eggs and only incubate eggs that are between 12 and 15 grams. Smaller eggs result in weaker chicks, while larger eggs (15 g plus) is not preferred since it becomes too large for the hens. The incidence of double yolks are not always detectable and is more frequent in larger eggs. I select hens for about 280 – 300 g body mass and do not breed from larger birds. This is the most economical bird and eggs size.

5. Incubators are set at 37.7 Celsius and 45 degrees Humidity. Hatchers are set at 37.5 C and 80 % Humidity. I monitor and adjust incubators and hatchers for both these two parameters with independent monitors as incubator measuring and displays are not always that accurate, even with my commercial, sophisticated and well proven machines. Notice the independent thermometers and wet bulb thermometers through the front windows of the machines. Preheat incubators and hatchers for a couple of hours before setting.

I am always trying to simulate nature during incubation and hatching and therefore keep the inside of the machines dark, as if under a hen. Furthermore there are some research published lately suggesting to have better hatching results if the incubators and hatchers are switched off for about 30 minutes every day, again simulating the hen getting up to eat. I have not tried it, but will experiment with this soon.

Keep hatchers and incubators in an environment as close as possible to the setting parameters. Also avoid fluctuations in conditions and make sure there are no drafts, but it should be very well ventilated.

6. Coturnix coturnix eggs are incubated for 14 days (37.7 Celsius and 45 degrees Humidity) while automatically turned every 2 hours. Then they go into the hatcher (37.5 C and 80 % Humidity) until hatching at about 17 days. I leave the chicks undisturbed for 24 – 36 hours after the first chick hatched and then move all the hatched chicks to the brooders and stop hatching. I do not assist any chicks that struggle to hatch, or still in the eggs.

HATCHING TIMES

I use the same incubation and hatching parameters for many other species as well. All are moved to the hatchers 3 days prior to hatching and are just left in the incubators until 3 days before hatching, whatever time that may be.

Pheasants 24 Days (21 + 3)

Partridge 23 Days (20 + 3)

Bob White Quail 23 Days (20 + 3)

Californian Quail 22 Days (19 + 3)

Coturnix coturnix 17 Days (14 + 3)

Coturnix coturnix QUAILS are not miniature PHEASANTS

Today I was called by an acquaintance who also “breeds quails” and was informed that he has lost over 150 quails this season dying mysteriously from whatever. My first question, as a animal nutritionist, was what he feeds the birds. I was appalled to hear that he gives them a commercial “Game and Quail Crumble” (A name invented by the reseller as the manufacturers does not even call it that) and supplements it with kibbled corn, peas and some “other seeds” and every so often they get some dog roll. This manufacturer also claims their product to be good for all stages of game birds, which is IMPOSSIBLE.

The mistake that many people make is to think that quails are just small pheasants. The feed companies that manufacture pheasant feeds, because there is a reasonable industry breeding and rearing pheasants for the hunting industry, want to jump onto the wagon and claim their feed is also good for quails as well, which is just not true. New Zealand is one of the few, if not only, developed countries in the world that does not have any animal feed regulations and / or legislation relating to feed analyses. This means the manufacturers can mix anything and claim anything and do not have to disclose any content nor analyses. It Is therefore difficult for anybody to comment on any feed, as very little is disclosed and no regulatory body oversee this industry

A quail hen of 220 g average body mass can lay up to 300 eggs of 11 g average (5 % of body mass), in a season. A total egg mass of 3,300 g, or 15 times the quail’s body mass

A pheasant hen of 1,300 g average can lay up to 80 eggs of 32 g average (2.4 % of body mass), in a season. A total egg mass of 2,560 g or 1.97 times the pheasant’s body mass

Quails are 760% more efficient egg producers than pheasants and they recommend feeding them the same?

So are there many other physiological and production differences between these two species of animals

I am an experienced and well qualified animal nutritionist who has been involved at all levels of animal nutrition in many countries of the world, and seldom, if ever, have I heard such misrepresentation of any animal feed.

If you want your QUAILS to be healthy, happy and efficient producers, feed them a series of well formulated QUAIL FEEDS that is specifically manufactured for every different stage of life and production

221 / 221 Egg Production

 

My Coturnix coturnix breeding program provides me with lots of joy, satisfaction and brain food in my immediate and small environment where myself and Mrs BYF have an almost self sustainable lifestyle.

The scientist in me dictates to measure, interpret and use the facts to improve my own efforts.

I take many measurements from the quails as they proceed through their life cycle and use these to breed a better bird. Some of the measurements I take are :

  • 3 Week body mass
  • 5 Week body mass
  • 7 week body mass (When I select Breeding Stock)
  • 100 day body mass (Used as mature body weight in my index calculations)
  • Daily egg production
  • Daily egg mass
  • Body conformation
  • Temperament
  • Feather quality
  • Feet quality
  • Beak quality
  • Age
  • Longevity
  • Weight all birds at least once a month, irrespective of age
  • Any possible hereditary defect is an immediate disqualification

I use all these to calculate a weighted index at seven weeks and again revise the index at 100 days

In the past I did these for 4 different breeds i.e. Golden Italian, Pharaoh, Tibetan and Texan White. This was becoming overly complex and limited numbers caused progress to plateau. With limited or no genetic stock of similar quality available in New Zealand, I decided to amalgamate all breeds into a new breed – The Back Yard Farmer Quail (If Coturnix japonica is accepted as a breed, maybe I can apply for Coturnix backyardia  ). I now have four times as many animals to select from with one less selection parameter – colour. The interesting thing is that all Whites have disappeared and very few Tibetans are left as the Italians and Pharaohs take over on merit only. There is a new colour developing, being a dark cross between all the breeds.

I have several spreadsheets that automatically update as I collect data including dates and ages of all birds. The result is that I can provide all parameters and indices for any bird, updated, at any time. I also calculate averages over all parameters.

Some of the results of 5 years of selective breeding are :

  • Increased body mass of about 80 g per bird
  • Increased egg production of about 30 %
  • Calm and contented birds compared to nervous non adaptable birds
  • Drop of hereditary defects from about 20 % of the population to less than 1 % of all birds
  • Increased fecundity
  • Improved feather quality and body confirmation
  • A very contented Back Yard Farmer!

Egg production is monitored on a daily basis and fluctuates from day to day as well as being influenced by the average age of the population. Normally egg productions hovered around 90 – 95 % over the past few months. I have increased breeding numbers to compensate for increased demand and when Corona hit, demand dropped off, resulting in me having MORE replacement females and a younger average female stock.  The average age for all females dropped from the standard 160 – 190 days to about 140 – 150 days, but the most important is that egg production has increased as well, because of the younger stock and fewer low productive females. For the first time ever I have recorded 100 % PRODUCTION for 3 days in a row!!!!!

221 / 221.

I AM HAPPY !!!!

 

 

 

 

 

HOW DO I LOOK AFTER MY QUAILS

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This is an abstract of an answer I provide regularly to some of my Coturnix coturnix friends requesting general advise on quail keeping
“You seem to have a lovely palace for your quail and by the looks of it about 4 X 2 meters or more. That size would be more than adequate for 20 females and about three males. You need about one male per 6 or 7 females to ensure a high rate of fertility in the eggs. If you do not mind to have lower fertility rates in the eggs, you can cut the number of males. If, as in your case, the quails have enough space to stay out of each other’s way, more than one male per cage should not be a problem. See if the males and females have resolved the pecking order (no fighting) and if so, they should all be happy. If you do see fighting or restless birds, try to identify the culprit, which may be dominant or subordinate, whichever will cause interruptions in the pecking order and stability of the group, and remove the bird. If the fighting stops and the group becomes calm, you have done well, if not, try and replace the bird with another bad apple. Sometimes it is possible to stabalise the group by removing individual birds, sometimes not, but it is worth the try. The other alternative, as you mentioned, is to have individual breeding groups of 6 – 7 girls and a boy – this however would not guarantee stability of the group as they may still have issues with each other and destabilise the group and you would be back to square one to try and resolve the domestic violence!  If everything fails to calm the groups, you need to look at OTHER STRESS FACTORS, such as housing, disease and parasites, feed quality, etc. Also remember that temperament is highly hereditary and I select very heavily against this.
Housing needs for Coturnix coturnix is simple – remember they are ground dwellers and would not roost. Hence they need a lot of space to hide from the weather, other birds, have some private time or whatever. They love low growing vegetation and / or hiding spaces in the form of upturned boxes or plants, etc. The cage must be DRY AT ALL TIMES and the quails should be well ventilated, but OUT OF DIRECT DRAFTS. If the cage is dry and sandy, they will find their own dust bathing areas which you could encourage by turning the dry soil over and maybe ad some wood ash or lime to encourage them to bath. It is also a very easy and convenient spot to ad a bit of diatomaceous earth or flea powder to keep them free from external parasites. Furthermore clean and well balanced food and water needs to be available at all times (Ad lib).
Deworming once every three months is advisable
Live meal worms, table scraps (especially protein in the form of meat off cuts (cut into quail bite sizes), etc are always welcome and enjoyable for the birds. Not only does it provide additional nutrients, but it also keeps them occupied and less time to fight with somebody they do not like. Lettuce is a great delicacy for them and the additional vitamins do them well. The question is however at what level do you like your quails to produce at – if you want maximum production and feed a well balanced diet to achieve this, table scraps and other foods should not make up more than about 20 % of their daily requirements. Remember that young Coturnix need about 28 % protein in their diet and the older birds need 22 % protein. If you can provide them with these levels of protein and balance all the other nutrients to compliment the protein, they will be some of the most effective PRODUCTION MACHINES you have ever encountered. That is why I only feed my birds a WELL BALANCED COMPLETE QUAIL FEED and supplement daily with some greens for their enjoyment.”