The document provides an overview of quail production and management. It discusses the different breeds of quails found in the Philippines that are used for meat, egg, and pet production. The Japanese quail breeds are recommended for egg production. Selection of stock, housing, lighting, and layer management are also covered. Proper cultural management practices like providing fresh water, light stimulation for egg production, regular culling of unproductive birds, and daily removal of waste are important to maximize production efficiency in a quail business.

1. Quail Production
and Management

2. Overview
Not many people know that quail raising is
one profitable business. Those who have
ventured on it are usually hobbyists and not
particular on income generation.
In fact, all the popular breeds used for egg and
meat commercial production are just sub-
varieties of the Coturnix specie, which is
capable of producing eggs throughout the year.
Learning the different breeds of quail in the
Philippines and how to run the business is the
key.

3. Objectives
At the end of this module, you will able to:
1. identify the different breeds of quails found in the Philippines; and
2. enumerate the proper steps in starting a quail raising business.

4. Quail Breeds
The quail, scientifically known as (Cutornix cutornix), has many breeds and with
that, the quail has different uses/functions for humans such as the following:
Used as pets -- usually for hobbyists, this blue quail has striking colors and
distinct feather structure.
For meat production -- bob white quails and brown quails
For egg production -- Japanese quail (Japanese Seattle and Japanese Taiwan)

10. Selection of Stocks
It is recommended to start with quail pullets about 30-
35 days old. Some pointers in selecting quails are:
Body confirmation
the feathers should be tidy and neat
avoid buying those with streaks of black or white
feathers - these could be signs of inbreeding.
Choose bird with uniform size
 a mature (60 days old) Japanese quail weighs an
average of 120 grams, while a pullet (30-35 days old)
would only average 100 grams.
a mature American quail weighs at an average of 220
grams while the pullet 200 grams.

11. Record the parents stock
size of eggs
laying efficiency - a 65% average laying
efficiency within 300 days laying period is
desirable
growth rate/body weight
Tip: For beginners, it is recommended to
start with Japanese Seattle breeds
because of its charasteristic as a heavy
egg producer.

12. Price of Stocks
The price of quail ranges from PHP 8.00 for a chick to PHP 35.00 for a pullet.
The stocks are commonly available in the provinces of Bulacan and Quezon.
For quail egg production, it is good to start with pullet aging 30-35 days old. At
the age of 36-60 days old, female pullet start laying eggs and continuously lay
one egg daily.
They lay about 300 eggs in their first year of life. After that they produce about
150 to 175 eggs in second year. Eggs production gradually decrease after their
first year of laying period.

13. Size of Flock
The size of the initial stock totally
depends on the financial capacity of the
raiser. However, it is not advisable to start
big.
Quails are easy to raise but as a beginner
you shoud first get the necessary
experience before going into large scale.
Quails multiply rapidly and therefore
expansion will not be a problem. For
business purposes, a beginner can start
with 1,000 pullets.

14. HOUSING
One of the important things to consider to be successful in quail raising is to
practice the proper cultural management.
Cultural management practices determine the extent of the potential
performance of quail.
In this module, all the needed inputs, recommendations and appropriate
technologies are discussed from location, housing and equipment, layer
management, feeding management up to record keeping.

15. Location
It's important to house quail in a protective environment as their size and grounded
nature make them easy and preferred targets for predators.
It is also recommended that the farm should be located in a quiet place (Quails are
easily startled by noise which results to stress.
Startled quails tend to fly upward, which may cause hitting their heads on the cage's
ceiling and eventually die due to broken skulls.
If noise is unavoidable, it is advised to place a radio or music near the cage to
accustom the birds to noise.), with access to clean water, well-ventilated (Quail's
temperature is high.

16. Enough and proper ventilation will be needed for them to lay eggs comfortably.
Quails are proven to be more productive when cultured in areas with temperature
ranging from 31oC to 35oC.
Draft or "sumpit na hangin" is the number one stree to quails and should be
avoided from brooding even till they lay, immediately put wind breaker or curtain if
you counter this.
Use clear plastics as much as wind breaker or curtains to cover laying houses.
Always monitor the comfort of the quails especially during cold season, the
temperature as much as possible to be maintain at 70-80oF) and with an appropriate
area for proper waste disposal.

18. Commensurately, the cost of putting up a cage is less. The materials commonly
used in making quail cages are:
plywood
¼ inch chicken wire
1” x 1” lumber to serve as framework
For every stage in the quail’s life, space requirement varies. This is true as in the
case of the other fowls and even livestock animals. The following will help guide
the raiser in determining the space required for quails

19. For every stage in the quail’s life, space requirement varies. This is true as in the
case of the other fowls and even livestock animals. The following will help guide
the raiser in determining the space required for quails:
For layered quail, long-narrow type with size of 12 ft.width x 24 ft. length x 1ft.
high cage can house 850-1,000 layers.
The flooring and all sides are made of chicken wire with 5cm aperture while the
top or cover should be chicken wire too with 2cm aperture to prevent the birds
from flying.
 The quail has a tendency to fly upwards if the top of the cage is made of coconut
husk wall paneling (lawanit) this may cause head injuries. Providing too much space
will encourage too much movement thereby increasing the risk of injuries.

23. Light Management
The primary action of light is the stimulation of the secretion of hormones that activate
the ovary and initiates ovulation.
Laying quails require 16 hours of continuous light. Artificial lights can be provided either
before day breaks, in the evening or can be splitted.
Providing light during night is not advisable because it is expensive and will habituate the
quails to constant light
Even male quails are influenced by natural or artificial lights in production of semen.
Interior walls of the laying house should be white or light colored to reflect the light
provided and reduce dark spots in the house

24. Any sudden decrease in hours of light per
day will cause decline in egg production.
Light stimulates bird activity, thus less
cannibalism occurs with birds grown in
darkout housing.
Use transparent curtain as much as
possible to allow light to come in even
when it rains so as to privide light.
Switch on the lights especially during
dark days so as to provide light
continuously.

25. Layer Management
On the average, quail start laying after 45 days from hatching. The production
cycle lasts for 300-320 days and within this period the laying efficiency should be
maintained at 65%. Some of the major consideration when managing layers are:
1.Water
Like any other bird, quail needs a lot of fresh and clean water all the time,
especially for layers since water is essential for egg development. Whenever
possible, flowing water should be maintained except when there is supply
problem in which case water should be replaced three times daily and the
watering trough must be cleaned everyday.

26. 2.Culling
Sick, abnormal, defective and unprofitable or unproductive birds affect profitability of
raising quails and should be culled.
There are two options on culling, continuous or one time culling for table egg quails. Male
should be culled as this is also unproductive
Continuous or regular interval culling will keep egg production at optimum level but
produces stress. Birds subjected to regular culling routine can be used to minimize its
impact.
One time culling reduces stress but could be expensive as unproductive quails do not add
value

27. 3.Removal of Wastes
Because of the high protein content of the quail feeds, quail manure has high
ammonia content which will cause discomfort for the birds if not removed daily.
Removal of the manure can be facilitated by placing a manure receptacle or
receiver under the cage.
The common ways of handling manure from the cages are use of polyethylene
plastic sheets; use of polprophylene bags; and use of plywood or hardiflex.
Manure can be dispose by stocking in the manure barn to be sold to vegetable
grower or fishpond owner, disposal of manure and clean or soak sacks on riverbanks
and streams as fish feeds and dumping into drainage system going to river stream.
Biosecurity is very important as handling waste disposal as bacteria, virus, parasites
are present.

28. 4.Light
Laying quails may be given extra light up to midnight. This will allow the birds to consume
the feed in the trough. Furthermore, the weaker birds in the group will have enough time to
eat after the dominant ones have eaten their share.
5.Mixing of Male Bird
It is not advisable to mix male birds in the laying cage except when fertile eggs are to be
produced. If there is an intention of producing fertile eggs for future replacement, the male
should be kept in separate cage and should only be mixed with the layers at the time fertile
eggs are to be produced at a ratio of 1:6.

29. 6.Salt Level
Quail birds are very sensitive to high
salt level in the feeds. The optimum
level of this mineral should be kept at 7
% and in no case be more than 1 %.
The major cause of failure in quail
raising is the faulty feeding practice
employed by the raiser.
Most of our quail raisers today feed
commercial chicken feeds to quails.
This is an erroneous practice and it
should be corrected. The protein
requirements of chicken and quails are
different and as such the use of chicken
feeds in quail raising is not advisable.
The comparison of the Crude
protein requirement of the two
birds

30. From the comparison of Crude protein requirement of quail and chicken, we can clearly see
the mark difference in the primary requirement of both birds.
Quail cannot survive on chicken feeds for a long time. If ever they will survive, the mortality
rate will be very high sometimes reaching up to 70% from day old to 45 days.
Moreover, the growth of the birds is very uneven and the survivors will not be efficient
layers. The productive laying period for quails fed with chicken feed do not go beyond six
months.
Another disadvantage of feeding chicken mash to quails is the very occurrence of molting
which affects severely the egg production.

32. Record Keeping
Without a proper understanding of record keeping and its current and future implications, the
farm operator will not make it very far in today’s business environment. Records are important
in (animal) farming for the following reasons:
 to keep track all quails
 evaluation of livestock for selection
 control of inbreeding and aid in breeding planning
 aid in selecting animals with the right characteristics for breeding
 to rationalize labor
 aid in finding the effective treatment
 to assess profitability/losses
 improve bargaining power on products and credit/loan access

33. Proper Health Management
Module Overview:
Quail, unlike some other fowl, are not delicate birds. They can be raised in any suitable and
comfortable place in the house. The birds do not easily contract fowl diseases common to
poultry, especially chickens.
Vaccination is not needed and the drugs usually given to chicken do not have to be added to
quail feed or drinking water. However, should any disease outbreak occur, the drugs used for
chicken can be administered.
In this module, let us discuss the proper health management to help us understand and
minimize the occurrence of common pests and diseases in quail raising.

34. Objectives:
At the end of this module, you shall be able to:
1.identify the recommended health maintenance procedures, and
2.enumerate the common pests and diseases and how to control them.
Lessons:
1.Maintaining Health
2.Pests and Diseases Control
3.Common Diseases

35. Though quails are hardy and resistant to diseases, they can still be affected with common
poultry illnesses. Proper sanitation is the primary solution to avoid all health problems.
Regular cleaning and disinfection program should be followed.
Cages and broiler boxes including the incubator and hatchery trays can be cleaned with
strong water, dried under the sun and sprayed with disinfectant.
Birds that appear sick should be quickly separated and immediately take out dead birds.
Vaccination is not needed and the drugs usually given to chicken do not have to be added
to quail feed or drinking water.
However, should any disease outbreak occur, the drugs used for chicken can be used.
Vitamin premix can also be added to the feeds or the drinking water to promote growth
and improve the laying performance.

36. PEST and Disease Control
1.Check the birds regularly for lice or mites. A small dusting box (every time birds are
handled, dust them with an insecticide ) containing sand mixed with an effective insecticide
works well.
2.Sanitation (clean water throughs daily, water jars at each refill, feeders at least once weekly
and maintain a general clean up) is a must throughout your entire program
3.Do not store mixed feed for longer than one month ahead of needs. It may become moldy,
lose quality, and become harmful to the birds, especially if improperly stored.
4.Do not allow your labor to raise fowl of any type. They can transmit diseases (this source of
disease is often overlooked by quail producers ) from their hands to your birds.
5.Keep visitors out of the breeder pens and areas. For some, this may be hard to do, but it
will save you problems in the future.

37. Quail Disesease
This is a bacterial disease. There are two forms
of quail disease:
highly chronic and a moratility rate of 100% is
observed among the infected birds. Quail
disease prevails for a longer period of time.
Symptoms:
Snotty beaks and eyes, lethargy, swollen face,
difficulty breathing, smelly
Medicine:
Streptomycin and bacitracin are administered
in the treatment of quail disease.

38. Colibacillosis
This disease is generally seen in aged quails. It is
caused by a bacterium called Escherichia Coli, which is
a gram negative, rod-shaped bacterium found
normally in the intestine of the bird.
Symptoms:
Difficulty to walk, loss of appetite and epilepsy are
the symptoms of this disease
Medicine:
Chloramphenicol drugs are administered for the
treatment of this disease

39. Staphylococcal Infection
This infection is caused by
Staphylococcal bacteria entering the
body of quails through wounds in the
body. The infected wound will grow
into a blister. Even though this is not an
accute disease, it affects the
productivity of quails.
Medicine:
Antibiotics are administered for the
treatment of this disease.

40. Proteus Syndrome
This is also a bacterial infection
Symptoms:
On post-mortem of infected birds, sores can be seen in respiratory tract, lungs, liver and
kidney
Medicine:
Treatment includes administering 1 gram of fura-zone dissolved in 1 liter water
continuously for 10 days.

41. Aspergillosis
Aspergillosis of brooder pneumonia is a fungal infection seen especially in quail chicks.
This infection is caused by a fungal organism called Aspergillus Fumigatus. These organism
grow readily in wet food, wet litter, wet or rotten wood etc. the chicks get infected by
contaminated food, unclean water and contaminated air.
Symptoms
Major symptoms include sleeplessness, breathing problem, loss of appetite,
convulsions and sometimes results in death
Medicine:
There is no effective treatment of birds affected with brooder pneumonia. Maintaining
high standards of hygiene in the premises, avoiding contaminated food, removing wet
litter immediately and disinfecting the equipments regularly can prevent this disease.

42. Candidiasis
This is also a fungal infection caused by
fungal organisms of Candida family.
Soreness can be seen inside the mouth
and respiratory tract of infected bird.
Medicine:
0.05% copper sulphate can be given
through drinking water for 7-10 day

43. Aflatoxicosis
This disease is caused by a fungal organism called
Aflatoxin. These fungal organisms grow readily in
wet and old food. Aflatoxin enters the body of
quail through contaminated food. This disease
affects the liver of quails.
Symptoms:
Loss of appetite and fatigue.
Medicine:
Liver tonics can be given regularly as a preventive
measure
Quails are also affected by salmonella, lice, cholera
and black heads which can easily be treated.

44. Egg Production and
Marketing
Quail raising in the country is promising. This
can be started with a much lower capital
investment compared to raising chicken and
ducks.
It also offers quick financial cycles that lead to
quicker returns.
In the streets, stores, restaurants, hotels, and
bars, quail eggs and meat are in great demand
that marketing is not something to be worried
about. Quail eggs can be sold fresh, boiled,
salted, pickled, or even as balut.
 Quail meat can be served barbecued, fried,
as adobo, ginataan or any dish the way chicken
is prepared. Some reputable bakeries use quail
eggs as an ingredient in baking and in
making leche flan.

45. For small scale/backyard quail raising, this can be placed in a basket and marketed
fresh. For bigger operation, it is advisable to pack eggs in carton boxes with
individual dividers to protect the quality of the eggs. Storing eggs in a cool dry
place where air circulation is good can keep the eggs fresh for a period of seven
days.

46. Poultry farmers have found a new way of making
huge earnings as quail farming has turned into a
goldmine due to increase in demand for the bird,
meat and its eggs. In fact, aside from selling quail
eggs, farm owner can also enjoy additional income
from:
Selling male broiler and culled layer quails
For meat purposes. Broilers are more tender than
stewers. As such, the former are sold at a higher
price. The selling price of these should be based on
the cost of production from day old to 60 days.
Selling feathers
Feathers are great for crafts, decorations, fashion
accessories, fly tying, etc
Selling dungs

47. Tips to Ensure Quality Eggs
Collect eggs twice daily if it is stored in a normal temperature and three times
daily if they are exposed to high temperature.
Store the eggs with the small pointed end down. If eggs are held more than 3
or 4 days before setting, turn them at least twice a day. Tilt to an opposite slant
each time to an approximate 45 angle to prevent yolk from sticking to the shell
membrane.
Transfer eggs to a cool-humid storage area. Temperature of the storage area
should be 55oF with a relative humidity of 75%. Do not use a standard air
conditioner.

48. Benifits of Quail Eggs
Quail eggs are packed with vitamins and minerals. Even with their small size,
their nutritional value is three to four times greater than the chicken eggs.
Quail eggs contain 13 percent proteins compared to 11 percent in chicken
eggs. They also contain 140 percent of vitamin B1 compared to 50 percent in
chicken eggs.
Moreover, quail eggs provide five times as much iron and potassium. Unlike
chicken eggs, quail eggs have not been know to cause allergies or diathesis.
Actually they help fight allergy symptoms due to the ovomucoid protein they
contain. It contains twice as much vitamin A and B2 than the chicken eggs.

49. How to Market Quail Products?
1. Online selling In today’s internet-centered world, the online market place has become
popular to many. If you’re looking for a way to get your own products selling online without
having to build your own website, there are websites that allow you to do so where you can
find your own market and negotiate with your target buyers directly. Practical, easy, and
accessible to many nowadays.
2.Through dealers The dealers are going to take care of the marketing for you. They usually buy
in bulk so, even if you go into large scale operation, you wont have to worry about the market.
But, be sure that the dealers that you will deal with have a reputable character and has the
capacity and the connection to market your eggs properly. Usually they use the "kasal"
method, meaning, that they will be the one to get your eggs from the start of your operation
until you cull your quails. Also it is natural that the prices that are offered by the dealers are a
little bit lower than the prices offered in the market. This is called the dealers price.

50. 3.Direct to the market (palengke) Selling directly to the market may be a better
option when you have a direct access to the marketplace. Since there may be no
dealers in this way, you may sell the eggs at your own selling price.
Selling it on your own There is also another way of selling your eggs direct to
the consumers. Boiled quail eggs and kwek-kwek have been one of the best
selling street foods or local foods in the country nowadays.

51. THANK YOU