Quail Farming Project Report, Cost and Profit Analysis
Introduction to Quail Farming Project Report
Quail is a small game bird mostly found in the European and North African regions of the world. This bird is considered to nest on the ground and is noticed for its stocky structure and short legs. The bird has a varied plumage and is often raised for its eggs and meat. It is believed that Japanese people started farming the birds and revealed the domestic raising methods to the entire world. Now, many countries do commercial Quail farming business for meat and egg production. The meat and eggs of Quail are tasty and nutritious when compared to poultry eggs that is the reason for its great demand. This business is considered easy and flexible and profitable. It requires less capital investment and labour. Almost any type of weather condition is suitable for Quail farming and the most important fact is it can be raised along with other birds successfully, but with a little risk factor. This Quail farming project report describes the farming methods and requirements, at the end of the report one can find the cost of starting a Quail business farm and the profit associated with it.
Advantages of Quail Farming
Some benefits associated with Quail farming are:
Small birds so need less space
Low feed cost
Less occurrence of diseases and less hardy
Grow faster and gain maturity within weeks
Can lay eggs at 6 to 7 weeks of age
Eggs hatch in 16 to 18 days
Meat and egg taste good and are rich in nutrition
Small investment
Less labour
Easy to start a commercial farm
Quail farming is less risky
Great demand for meat
Food conversion rate is good
Low cost of birds
General characteristics of a Quails
Characteristics of Quail Birds.
Some general characteristic features of the Quail bird are given here. The appearance may differ for different species.
Small size with weight of adult birds being 150-200 g and weight of the egg being 7 to 15 g.
Female bird can start laying eggs in 6 or 7 weeks after birth and the frequency is one egg a day.
Average eggs that can be laid by the bird in the first year is around 300.
Egg production decreases after the first year of laying.
Meat is tasty and nutritious and contains low fat.
Eggs can be of different colours.
The bird doesn’t incubate the eggs.
Read: Broiler Chicken Farming Project Report.
Quail Farming Project Report – Quail breeds
For commercial and profitable business, there are 18 different species of Quail available and like the poultry breeds, they are also divided into egg type and meat type. Among so many species three most important species are:
The common Quail
Wild variety
Height is 16-18 cm and weighs 70-135 g
Migrates from Europe to Africa
Can be farmed under non-conventional framework
The Japanese Quail
Native to Japan
Plumage is mottled grey with brown speckles
A female bird is larger than the male
Can produce 300 eggs in a year
Average egg weight 180 g when 50 days old
The king Quail
Measures 12-14 cm and weighs 40 g
Raised as decorative bird
The throat of male bird has delineated black and white pattern
The Plumage of female bird is striped and is brown or wheat in colour
The color of the bird may be tawny, white, silver, brown, black etc.
Some popular layer Quail breeds are:
Tuxedo
Pharaoh
British range
English white
Manchurian golden
Broiler breeds of Quail are:
Bobwhite
White breasted
Quail Farming Project Report – Life cycle of a Quail
From the egg to a grown up Quail there are many stages of growth which have to be taken care of during the rearing process. The different stages of Quail are described here:
Quail Farming Project Report – Incubation
Optimum laying is observed when light is provided for 18 hours.
Eggs that are smooth with a matt shell should be incubated.
Eggs which are 10 days old should not be incubated.
Before incubation eggs can be stored at 15˚C.
The incubation period is for 16 to 18 days.
Static hatching chambers or incubator with static ventilation is best suited for this purpose.
Temperature for incubation should be around 38.5-39˚C with a humidity of 55-60% for 14 days. The humidity can be increased to 70% after the 14th
The eggs should be turned every single day.
The eggs are fragile during the first 3 days, so the incubator should not be disturbed.
Quail Farming Project Report – Hatching
85-90% of the fertilized eggs hatch on the 16th or 18th
Deformity rate is estimated to be 10% due to consanguinity.
The hatching incubator should not be opened until 15th
The day old chicks weigh around 5-6 g.
They should remain in the incubator for 24 hours for drying.
No feed is required during this period.
Quail Farming Project Report – Growing
Growth appears fast during the beginning days and feathers on the 3rd day.
Overcrowding should be avoided.
Quails of different ages are separately raised.
The temperature of the brooder should be around 38-40˚C.
After 3 days the temperature of the brooder should be reduced by 1˚C.
Feeder length should be around 120 cm and waterer should be 40 cm.
Huddling is an indication of low temperature in the brooder.
Quail Farming Project Report – Fattening
Three weeks after the growing period the Quails are placed in a proper housing system and are raised there until seventh week.
Birds of the same age are housed together.
Small Quail farms use newspapers or metal trays under the cage for disposal of waste.
Bedding material in the Quail farm can be replaced before the next batch of hatching begins.
The mortality rate during fattening is 10%.
The birds with good fattening ability are used as breeders.
Quail Farming Project Report – Slaughter
When the Quails attain 45-50 days and gain 160-180 g weight they are strangulated.
The parts are plucked and the skin is removed for selling it in the market.
Quail lay eggs all year round and the count is higher during February and September. The female bird starts reproducing from week 6, but preferably 8 week old Quail birds are considered to produce fertile eggs. Once eggs are found in the farm, the breeding groups are created. The Quail doesn’t sit on the eggs to incubate them. Therefore the eggs are incubated artificially and it takes around 16-19 days for the eggs to hatch.
Quail Eggs.
Quail Farming Project Report – Housing facilities for Quail Farming
Housing for the Quail birds is an important component of Quail farming business and they can be either housed in cages or in houses built exclusively for these birds. These birds prefer dry climate, but can survive low temperatures as well. A Quail pen can be created with chicken wire and should have smaller mesh size with a top cover. Cage rearing is the most preferable housing system for these birds. Care should be taken to have only one male bird with five female birds in the cage house. Quail birds have a characteristic feature of jumping to a height of 20-30 cm and scratching the earth to find insects. Except during migration or while escaping predators, these birds don’t fly. Farm house should have a special arrangement if these birds were to fly and take big leaps otherwise they would hurt their heads or get injured. Therefore the height of the cage should be properly designed and should range in between 25 cm to 2 m.
Sometimes Quail birds show aggressive behavior and peck other birds in the cage on their head, which results in bleeding from the head. Under such circumstances the birds should be isolated for a day or two until their behavior becomes normal. The most important housing systems for Quail are:
Quail Farming Project Report – Floor system
The house is 2 m high with good ventilation and a big wide door.
It is made of banco or cement and covered with straw, iron or any other material depending on farmer’s resources.
Bedding on the floor is optional, but commonly used bedding materials are 5-10 cm of moss, sawdust or wood shavings.
For brooding 160 birds for 4 weeks the average dimensions of the house should be about 2 m x 1 m x 2 m or same house can be sufficient for 80 adult Quail birds.
If the floor space is large then it can be split into smaller areas such that it can accommodate 6 birds/m² i.e. having one male and 5 female birds.
It is estimated that a floor space of 4 x 8 m can have 8 bird houses of the above mentioned dimensions.
The house should have a place for nests where the birds can lay eggs.
Constructing small boxes with branches on the floor or putting some bricks can facilitate nesting. The minimum dimensions of the box can be about 20 x 20 x 15 cm.
Light should be made available in the house at least for 16-18 hours in a day to ensure proper laying cycles. Places with good sunlight can have buildings exposed to the sun.
Solar lights are most preferred to oil lamps or any other light forms.
Quail Farming Project Report – Cage system
Mostly used in urban and sub-urban areas due to less space available.
Cages should not be multi-floored otherwise it may cause stress in the birds.
Cages should be properly spaced for air circulation and can have one or two floors.
Cages should be placed inside a building to protect the Quail birds from external factors like sun, wind and rain.
Cages are made of white wood and chicken wire.
For wooden construction planks should be used such that they can be replaced upon the damage.
Cages exclusively made of chicken wire are more durable because they are easy to clean and disinfect when compared to wooden cages.
The cage should have a wooden bottom and a horizontal floor with 5˚ inclination.
Chicken wire mesh cages for the Quail chicks should be covered with paper so as not to injure the chicks. For these small baby birds the wire mesh spacing should not be more than 7 mm and for grown up birds the mesh space can be around 1.5 cm.
The minimum dimensions of the cage are 1 x 0.5 x 0.5 or 2 x 0. 5 x 0.5 such that it can accommodate 40 laying birds, 80 brooder birds for 4 weeks or 20 adult species.
The cage can be created with a sand bath of dimensions 30 x 35 cm so as to make the Quail less aggressive. Sand bath and nesting box can be preferably attached to the outer part of the cage.
Quail Farming Project Report – Feed and water management of Quails
In any kind of livestock farming, feed represents almost 70% of the cost of rearing and Quail also needs good and nutritious food for growth and development. The main food for the Quails is maize, millets and sorghum. The food and water for the Quails should be clean and fresh. The feed should always be stored in a dry, cool place so that it is protected from mites, pests and rodents. Feed older than 2 months should be avoided because there could be a risk of health problems in Quails. Food like lettuce, apple, cabbage, banana, papaya, carrots, rice, cooked pasta, etc. can be provided to the Quails and the feeders should be cleaned thoroughly thereafter. Some other feed ingredients that can be given to the birds are broken wheat, sesame cake, kipper fish, rice bran, broken oyster shell, salt and mineral mix. Each stage of the Quail needs a different quantity of high-protein feed such as:
Starter feed should have 25-28% protein with 1% calcium and 0.5% phosphorous. Also, it should be finely ground before feeding the Quails.
Quails of 5 weeks age are given ground shells or limestone as calcium substitute.
Feeding Quails with insects like termites fly larvae and mealworms can increase the protein and energy content in their feed.
Insufficient food for the Quails can bring violence in their behavior and such behavior is controlled by providing more feed. Care for the food should be taken if the birds are being raised for using them in remedies. Chemical or antibiotics should not be given to such birds.
Trough for the baby Quails should be half filled with pebbles and marbles so that these birds do not drown in them. Each water trough should be 0.6 cm away from the Quail. If nipple waterers are used then one nipple waterer should serve five Quails. There should be clean and fresh water available for the birds and the waterers should be cleaned regularly. The water should not be too warm otherwise it can cause pathogenic agents to multiply. Water should not contain any particle of the feed in it and it is advised to add a drop of methylene blue to the water once in a week to purify it. Maintaining the feeders and waterers clean is highly essential for good health of the Quails and these should be bleached using sodium hydrochloride in warm water. Disinfectants should be used to clean the feed equipment once in every month to keep the Quails disease free.
Quail Farming Project Report – Health care
Generally the risk behind farming Quail with other poultry birds is that they contract disease from the poultry birds like the avian cholera, variola, new castle’s disease, flu, etc. So, the birds should be treated every 2-3 months with anti-parasitic drug for preventing the occurrence of these diseases. Within 3 weeks of birth the Quail has a risk of aspergillosis caused by fungi in the grains. The symptoms of the disease are shortness of breath due to yellow or green deposits in the trachea. Before administering any medicine the advice of the vet is important. During the growing stages the Quail may suffer from coccidiosis and enteritis and both these diseases can cause death, there increasing the mortality rate of the birds. The symptoms of the diseases are bloody diarrhoea and less appetite. They can be cured by Terramycin. Disinfecting the cages is highly important and all the other Quails should be administered with streptomycin and calcium. Salmonella bacteria can cause diarrhoea, respiratory disorder etc. and can be fatal. The best way to protect the Quails from this disease is vaccinating them properly. Hygiene on the farm can prevent most of the diseases and can lead to better production and profit.
Quail Farming Project Report – Farm management
For good management and productivity of the Quail farm, maintaining a record of farm activities is highly important and necessary. Events such as the birth, death or loss, removals, total egg count, eggs sold and no. of Quails purchased along with their dates should be recorded for reference. There should be a record of treatments, vaccinations and other medical activities with their exact dates. Similarly, the expenditure and income of the farm should also be recorded. If the farm has an incubator then the details associated with it such as eggs hatched, temperature, date etc. should all be noted down separately.
Cost and profit analysis of Quail Farming / Quail Farming Project Report / Economics of Quail Farming
Quail Farm.
The estimation of a small farm with 2000 Quail birds as input every week is considered and the investment is calculated. The output of the farm is considered to be 1800 Quails every week. Therefore, yearly input of Quail chicks is 1, 04,000 and the output marketable Quails are 93,600 after a 10 % mortality rate. The values shown here are just assumptions and should be taken as reference only.
Assumptions of Quail Farming Proejct Report:
Cost of construction per sq ft: Rs 200.
The space required by each bird: 0.15 sq ft.
Cost of day old Quail chick: Rs 10 (may vary depending on the species)
Cost of feed per kg: Rs 20.
Mortality rate: 10%
Feed consumption per bird: 600 g
Land, transport, equipment required (fixed costs)Investment in Rs
300 sq ft area with 10 partitions @ Rs 200/sq ft
6,00,000.00
Equipment for 8000 birds @ Rs 10/bird
80,000.00
Other infrastructure like store room etc.
1,00,000.00
Transport cost
50,000.00
Water for the birds
50,000.00
Total cost8,80,000.00
Stock requirements for one cycle (variable)Investment in Rs
16,000 Quail chicks @ Rs 10/bird
1,60,000.00
Feed for 16,000 chicks @ 600 g/bird and Rs 20 per kg
1,92,000.00
Electricity and other charges
50,000.00
Total expenses4,02,000.00
Expenses for one batch in a week:
Cost of materials and stockinvestment in Rs
2000 Quail chicks @ Rs 10/bird
20,000.00
Feed cost for 2000 chicks
24,000.00
Other miscellaneous charges including labour and medical facility
10,000.00
Total operational cost per batch54,000.00
Therefore the cost for 52 batches of chicks around the year: 28, 08,000.00.
Sale price of Quails: Rs 40/ bird.
Income from the sale of 1800 Quails in a week: Rs 72,000.00.
Income generated per annum from 52 batches: Rs 37, 44,000.00.
The annual profit from the farm is around: 9, 36,000.00.
It is important to note that the project has not discussed anything about the sale of eggs or gunny bags or manure from the farm. These things can be a source of additional income
License and subsidies for Quail Farming Project
Like any other livestock farming business it is important to consult the nearest agriculture or animal husbandry office for details regarding a particular business for the exact amount of subsidy values. But it is believed that NABARD doesn’t give loans or subsidies for Quail farming (check with the firm for exact details).
In India it is considered that Quail farming and sale require a license from the government. There are some conditions laid down for Quail farming business in India so it is advisable to check with the responsible department before investing into this sector. All these conditions have been implemented because Quail belongs to the category of protected species. Some of the conditions laid down for Quail farming are:
Quails should be brought from a licensed trader.
The Quail farm area should be 4.5 to 5 km from forest areas.
Quails should not be raised near water logged areas.
The farm should have sanitation, hygiene and proper maintenance.
The farm should be properly fenced.
The farm holder should have an identity card to start the business and get a license.
