In our country, quail breeding began relatively recently - twenty years ago. Around the beginning of the 2000s there was a real boom in this bird. From the TV screens, from the pages of magazines and newspapers, praises literally poured about their “magical” qualities. They say that their eggs are healing, and the meat is hypoallergenic and in general is a panacea for all diseases. The then marketers, albeit ineptly, but still zombied ordinary people, so the army of bird fans was put together an impressive.
The next wave swept a few years later, when farmers began to seriously engage in quail breeding and invested in poultry farms. Frantic marketers went even further, "discovering" new qualities of birds. It turns out that their eggs do not go out due to the fact that the body temperature of the quail female is much higher than the chicken, and they do not get salmonellosis, also for some mystical reason.
Quail Myths
These, of course, are myths, and real scientific facts (data of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences) say the following. Eggs of almost all quail breeds do not rot out for a more than prosaic reason: due to their light weight, they simply do not have time to deteriorate and dry before harmful bacteria get into them.
As for salmonellosis, this is an extremely tricky move by marketers and the arrogant deception of the buyer. All quail breeds can become infected with the disease, and equally with chickens. So do not completely trust the advertising promising the golden mountains.
Thanks to such myths, hundreds of specialized farms were opened and millions of rubles were spent on the best quail breeds. Yes, marketers have enriched themselves with sellers, but even a simple farmer was not at a loss, selling products to the same zombie consumers.
Despite all the myths and attempts to idealize the individual with the help of dishonest advertising, in fact, the quail is a truly unique bird. We will talk about this in our article.
So, we present to your attention the popular breed of quail with a photo and description. We will analyze the pros and cons of the bird, as well as the feasibility of breeding one or another species.
Japanese quail
The Japanese breed of quail (photo below) is a small motley colored specimen with wings unsuitable for flight. The bird has a barely noticeable tail and an elongated body. Males got a richer color and a brown breast, while females have a less attractive color and a light chest.
The weight of adults does not exceed the mark of 130 grams, so the bird seems small and fragile. She is not suitable for the meat reserve, but gives a lot of eggs - in this she has no equal. The annual egg production of a female varies within 300 eggs. In the official description of the quail breeds, the Japanese individual is considered unpretentious in content, but this is true only for the southern regions of our country. If you do not properly equip the habitat, then the already puny bird starts to get sick and badly rush. Nevertheless, the specimen is resistant to a number of dangerous and quail- specific diseases.
Manchurian Golden Quail
This very beautiful breed of quail is somewhat reminiscent of the previous "Japanese", but unlike them, the golden quail has a more expressive yellowish color and a large skeleton. The bird is unique, therefore it is very popular among domestic farmers.
Females can boast not only good egg production, but also good meat performance. In addition, the cross-breeding of Manchurian quail meat breeds with other individuals gives very interesting and really useful results. Young growth in this case gains weight very quickly and grows noticeably larger.
In one year, the bird can lay up to 220 eggs, and much larger than the usual sizes of quail. If other individuals give eggs 10-12 grams, then the Manchu female is about 16-18 grams. This is not surprising, because the bird is growing rapidly and gaining its average weight of 300 grams, which is twice the rate of Japanese quail. Males differ in more modest weight - only 200 grams.
Pharaoh
Whatever breed of quail you take, all this is the work of a long and careful selection. One of the most successful examples is the meat breed Pharaoh, which was born thanks to the efforts of American breeders.
The appearance of the bird turned out to be almost identical to wild individuals, but the Pharaoh significantly gained weight. Like the Manchurian breed of quail, they quickly gain weight, and in adulthood, females weigh about 300 grams, and males weigh no more than 250.
Egg production in poultry at an average level is about 220 eggs, and quite large (16 g). The practicality of this species for breeding has been officially confirmed by experts from Europe and Russia. American breeders did not stop there and continue to develop the individual: they are introducing new lines of the Pharaoh.
Texas quail
The Texas quail breed was bred on the basis of the Pharaoh and immediately attracted the attention of farmers and poultry farmers around the world. The bird received an expressive white color, so it is sometimes called the White Pharaoh.
An adult female with proper care can gain weight up to 400 grams, and a male up to 350 grams. The specific plumage of white also affected the skin of the bird. Texas quail is especially attractive for connoisseurs of exotic gastronomy, while meat of dark or colorful individuals is less in demand by gourmets.
As for breeding and keeping, the bird is mostly unpretentious, and young growth is gaining weight quickly, even despite moderate nutrition. Texas quails can be found both in the southern strip of Russia and in the middle.
Estonian quail
By prolonged selection of previous species, Estonian quails were bred in Europe. The individuals are distinguished by good egg production and a good indicator of live meat. From its brethren, the bird received excellent endurance and unpretentiousness in the content.
Estonian quails have a rounded skeleton, cut wings, a short neck and a massive back. The coloring of the bird is close to wild breeds, and, unlike other individuals, males look much more expressive than females. One of the notable features of the breed is its early egg productivity. Hardly reaching maturity (about 40 days), Estonian quail females begin to rush in full force.
The birds weigh not so much - only 130 grams, but even with their small mass, a lot (for a given weight) of live and very tasty meat is obtained. Many gourmets prefer to see Estonian quails on their menu.
English black quail
This species was bred in England, where the main breed was the Japanese quail breed. The bird has a dark, and sometimes purely black plumage. This breed quickly spread throughout Europe, and then came to Russia.
Domestic breeders and farmers liked the bird due to their fatness and unpretentiousness to the content. And although some complain about too slow growing up and mediocre instincts of hatching, English quail meat and eggs are valued very highly.
Females, upon reaching maturity, gain about 200 grams of live weight, and males are slightly behind - 160-180 gr. In one year, the bird brings about 280 delicious and delicious eggs. Experts in this area advise fans to start breeding quails with this unpretentious and flexible breed.
Tuxedo Quail
This breed was distinguished by a very interesting and original appearance of individuals. Breeders, crossing birds with white color and black English quail, received an unusual representative of their species.
The dark one above and the light one from below got the corresponding name - tuxedo quail. The top color due to mutations can change, but the bottom always remains unchanged. The bird is bred for two directions - meat and eggs. An adult female gains weight no more than 160 grams, and males even less. But this does not stop the tuxedo quail from bringing up to 280 delicious eggs a year, plus providing gourmets with delicious meat.
Chinese painted quail
If the last individual surprises with its “tuxedo”, then the Chinese quail with rich tints of paint on the neck and back. In addition to the visual component, the bird is also distinguished by attachment to its partner. Other breeds are polygamous in nature, while Chinese painted quail prefers to spend their whole lives with one chosen one. And if the latter dies, then the male or female begin to get very sick and soon they will die.
This feature of the Chinese painted quail gave rise to a lot of legends and legends specific to the Celestial Empire. Such attachment does not affect the breeding of quail in the best way, because in addition to the usual maintenance and care of the bird, you need to be aware of its “personal life”.
Distinctive features of the breed
Despite these features, this breed is unpretentious and calmly refers to other feathered neighbors in the yard. But if the latter try to penetrate their cells or sit on some personal places, then the Chinese quail may rush to defend their space.
As for egg production and meat, here we have a solid middle peasant: 160-170 grams of live weight and about 150 eggs per year. It is also worth noting that a good half of breeders from the Middle Kingdom remove and breed individuals not only for gastronomic interests, but also for decorative ones. In Russia, such a direction is not so in demand, but in China, some consider this breed almost sacred, like a cow in India, and even worship it. Decorative individuals, of course, are much prettier than their meat and egg counterparts, and their color is more pronounced and saturated. The cost of such subspecies sometimes reaches the prices of cars and real estate. So with Chinese quail you can take not only meat and eggs.