In Japan and China, quails are considered a symbol of wealth and longevity. In Russia, these birds are bred because of the healing properties that their eggs are endowed with. Moreover, quail eggs are a real dietary delicacy that pushes people to breed these birds at home.
Instructions
Step 1
Quails are the smallest and fastest maturing agricultural birds belonging to the pheasant family and the chicken order. The ease of caring for them allows people to keep these birds both in villages and in cities. If you care for the quails correctly, then one female will bring up to 300 eggs per year.
Step 2
Quails lay eggs almost every day, but to maintain such a high egg production, a number of conditions must be met: it is necessary to observe optimal temperature and light conditions, and also feed the birds only with balanced food, which must include protein. But in general, breeding and keeping quails will not require huge costs and will not take much time.
Step 3
Quails are kept in specially made cages, one wall of which must be made of net. Keeping these birds at home requires a person to follow certain rules. Firstly, once a day, quails need to change the diaper under the bottom of their cage. Secondly, adult birds need to be fed 2-3 times a day. Thirdly, you should carefully monitor the condition of the water in their drinker: it should always be present there and be clean.
Step 4
These birds are kept at a certain temperature regime: the air must be warmed up to + 20 ° C. The illumination of their cage should be at least 14 hours a day, but it should be borne in mind that this type of bird does not like too bright light. Birds should be fed with wet or dry compound feed with the addition of boiled liver twice a week. For keeping at home and for breeding, the Japanese quail breed is best suited. This is the most popular breed of these birds, bred for several generations.
Step 5
Keeping quails at home is complicated by the fact that females rarely incubate eggs in captivity. That is why it is necessary to purchase an incubator for chicks. Usually, by means of an incubator, quail eggs are incubated for about 17 days. Youngsters that have reached the age of 1 month are placed in breeding cages, dividing them according to gender.
Step 6
Since most quail breeds are meat-eating, usually young male quails are fattened for meat (if there are extra individuals), and female quails are left in order to get a new batch of delicious dietary eggs. Without any doubt, the benefits of keeping and breeding quails at home are obvious: one adult female eats only 25 g of feed per day.
