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OCR for page 147
11
Quail
Native to Asia and Europe, quaill (Coturrlix coturnix2)
have been farmed since ancient times, especially in
the Far East. They reproduce rapidly and their rate of l'
egg production is remarkable. They are also robust,
disease resistant, and easy to keep, requiring only J
simple cages and equipment and little space. Yet they
are not well known around the world and deserve wider testing.
Quail are so precocious that they can lay eggs when hardly more
than 5 weeks old. It is said that about 20 of them are sufficient to keep
an average family in eggs year-round. Quail eggs are very popular in
Japan, where they are packed in thin plastic cases and sold fresh in
many food stores. They are also boiled, shelled, and either canned or
boxed like chicken eggs. Quail eggs are excellent as hors d'oeuvres
and they also are used to make mayonnaise, cakes, and other prepared
foods.
In France, Italy, the United States, and some countries in Latin
America (Brazil and Chile, for example) as well as throughout Asia,
it is the meat that is consumed. It is particularly delicious when
charcoal broiled. One company in Spain annually processes 20 million
quail for meat.
Many of the domesticated strains seem to have originated in China,
and migrating Chinese carried them throughout Asia. Today, millions
of domestic quail are reared in Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan,
Hong Kong, Indochina, Philippines, and Malaysia, as well as in Brazil
and Chile.
~ This chapter concerns coturnix quail, the quail of commerce. Biologically speaking,
quail is a general term that includes many different species and subspecies.
2 Recently the suggestion has been made that Japanese quail be reclassified from a
subspecies of Coturnix coturnix to a separate species, Coturnix japonica.
147
OCR for page 148
MICROLIVESTOCK
A quail in the hand. (Rodale Press)
Commercial production is carried out, as in the chicken industry, in
specialized units involving hatcheries, farms, and factories that process
eggs and meat. However, quail have outstanding potential for village
and "backyard" production as well. It is this aspect that deserves
greater attention.
AREA OF POTENTIAL USE
Worldwide.
APPEARANCE AND SIZE
Quail come in various sizes. The smaller types are used for egg
production, whereas the larger ones are better for meat. Adult females
of improved meat strains may weigh up to 500 g.
OCR for page 149
QUAIL
149
There are several color varieties. However, mature females are
characterized by a tan-colored throat and breast, with black spots on
the breast. Mature males. which are slightly smaller than females,
have rusty-brown throats and breasts. An mature males have a bulbous
structure, known as the foam gland, located at the upper edge of the
vent.
In the United States, the Pharaoh strain is the bird of choice fo
commercial production. Other available strains tend to be bred more
for fancy than for food.
Quail eggs are mottled brown? out some strains have been selected
for white shells. These eggs are often preferred by consumers and are
easier to candle (the process of holding eggs up to a light to check for
interior quality and stage of incubation). Art average egg weighs
10 g about 8 percent of the female's body weight. (By comparison,
a chicken egg weighs about 3 percent of the hen's body weight.) Quail
chicks weigh merely 5~ g when hatched and are normally covered in
yellowish down with brown stripes.
DISTRIBUT10N
The ancestral wild species is widely distributed over much of Europe
and Asia as well as parts of North Africa. Although domestic quail
are now available almost everywhere, Japan is probably the world
leader in commercial production; quail farms are common throughout
its central and southern regions.
STATUS
Not endangered.
c,
The natural distribution of the quail (Coturnix coturnix). The subspecies identified are:
(1) European quail (C. c. coturnix); (2) Ussuri quail (C. c. ussuriensis); (3) Japanese
quail (C. c. japonica); (4) African quail (C. c. africana). Only the Japanese quail is now
widely used in domesticated form.
OCR for page 150
150
HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT
MICROLIVESTOCK
Quail are hardy birds that, within reasonable limits, can adapt to
many different environments. However, they prefer temperate cli-
mates; the northern limit of their winter habitat is around 38°N.
BIOLOGY
A quail's diet in the wild consists of insects, grain, and various other
seeds. To thrive and reproduce efficiently in captivity, it needs feeds
that are relatively high in protein.
The females mature at about 5~ weeks of age and usually come
into full egg production by the age of 50 days. With proper care, they
will lay 20~300 eggs per year, but at that rate they age quickly. The
life span under domestic conditions can be up to 5 years. However,
second-year egg production is normally less than half the first year's,
and fertility and hatchability fall sharply after birds reach 6 months of
age, even though egg and sperm production continue. Thus, the
commercial life is only about a year.
Crosses between the wild and domestic stocks produce fertile
hybrids. Repeated backcrossing to either wild quail or domestic quail
is successful.
BEHAVIOR
Only females hatch the eggs and raise the chicks. Males go off and
court other females when their partners begin the nesting process.
USES
Quail eggs taste like chicken eggs. They are often served hard boiled,
pickled, fried, or scrambled. Because of their size they make attractive
snacks or salad ingredients. They provide an alternative for some
people who are allergic to chicken eggs. On frying, the yolk hardens
before the albumen.
Quail meat is dark and can be prepared in all of the many ways
used for chicken. The two meats are similar in taste, although quail is
slightly gamier.
Because of its hardiness, small size, and short life cycle, quail are
now commonly used as an experimental animal for biological research
and for producing vaccines-especially the vaccine for Newcastle
disease, to which quail are resistant.
OCR for page 151
QUAIL
151
QUAIL IN Jay
o
.=
s
En
In some areas of Japan, quail are widely raised for their
eggs and meat. However, Japanese originally valued the quail
as a songbird. Tradition has it that about 600 years ago people
began to enjoy its rhythmic call. In the feudal age, raising
song quail became particularly popular among Samurai war-
riors. Contests were held to identify the most beautiful quail
song and birds with the best voices were interbred in closed
colonies. Even photostimulation was practiced to induce sing
· · -
ring In winter.
Around 1910, enthusiastic breeders produced the present
domestic Japanese quail from the song quail. It was created
as a food source and became a part of Japanese cuisine.
During World War II it was almost exterminated, but Japanese
quail breeders restored it from the few survivors and from
birds imported from China. The original song quail, however,
were lost. In the 1960s, commercial quail flocks rapidly re-
covered and Japan's quail population again reached its prewar
level of about 2 million birds.
OCR for page 152
152
MICROLIVESTOCK
A QUAIL IN EVERY POT:
A1Y OLD DELICACY FINDS A NEW PUBLIC
For centuries, quail were considered a great delicacy: a dish
that only eminent chefs would cook and diners with an appre-
ciative palate could enjoy. These small migratory birds, which
are found in one variety or another throughout the world, were
available until recently almost exclusively to hunters in the
wild.
But now quail are in danger: in danger of becoming com-
monplace.
In the last few years, quail have gone from being rarefied to
a supennarket specialty item. They are on menus in the most
elegant restaurants and the most casual cafes and bistros.
Why so much interest?
Quail are now available semi-boneless, which makes them
faster and easier to cook' and easier to eat as well. The
breastbones are removed by hand before the birds are pack-
aged and shipped to stores. The bones in the wings and legs
remain.
A stainless-steel V-shaped pin invented and patented by a
restaurant chef who wanted a way to keep quail flat for grilling-
is inserted into the breast. The pin can be left there throughout
cooking and removed just before sensing.
While whole quail might require 45 minutes to cook the
semi-boneless variety can be grilled in less than ~0 minutes,
or pan-roasted, [braised or sauteed in less than 20 minutes.
The flavor of farm-raised quail has also helped bring them
Into the mainstream. Most farm-raised! quail have tender meat
"`ike the dark meat of chicken, whose Savor is enjoyed by many
people.
And at a time when people are searching for foods, specifi
lly animal protein, with low cat and cholesterol, quail Ells the
~ill. The Agriculture Department says that quail skin has about
7 percent fat, about the same as dark nicest of roasted chicken
without the skirt.
Judith Barrett
Adapted ~om The IYew York Times
June 21, 1989
many fanciers and hobbyists have also become interested in raising
this adaptable species as a pet. Science teachers find it an excellent
subject for classroom projects.
OCR for page 153
QUAIL
HUSBANDRY
153
It is necessary to keep quail in battery cages on wire floors because
males secrete a sticky foam (from the foam gland) with their feces; on
a solid Door, this adheres to the feet and collects dung, leading to
crippling and breakage of eggs.
Adult quail can live and produce successfully if they are allowed 80
cm2 of door space per bird. However, for reproduction about twice
that is needed to allow for mating r~tuals.3 If properly mated, high
fertility rates and good egg hatchability can be expected. To obtain
fertile eggs, one male is needed for roughly six females.
Eggs hatch in about 17 days. Chicks require careful attention.
Brooding temperatures of between 31°C and 35°C are needed for the
first week and above 21°C for the second week. From the second week
on, chicks can survive at room temperature. (These temperatures are
similar to those required for common chickens.) In cold climates,
supplemental heat may be needed as well as protection from cool
drafts.
Clean water must be provided at all times, with care taken to prevent
the chicks from drowning in their water troughs. Shallow trays, jar
lids, or pans filled with marbles or stones may be used.
ADVANTAGES
Quail production can be started with little money. These easy-care
birds can be housed in small, simple, inexpensive cages.
As noted, they are resistant to Newcastle disease.
LIMITATIONS
Although generally disease resistant, quail are affected by several
common poultry diseases, including salmonella, cholera, blackhead,
and lice. They also suffer epidemic mortality from "quail disease"
(ulcerative enteritis), which can, however, be controlled with anti-
biotics.
Quail seem to require more protein than chickens, and produce best
when given feed that is fairly high in proteins However, they also
3 Information from H. R. Wilson.
4 A level of 27 percent crude protein and 2,800 kcal ME per kg ration is recommended
up to 3 weeks of age and 24 percent crude protein with the same energy level during a
(5 week growing period. E~ayer quail should be fed 22 percent crude protein and 2,900
kcal ME per kg ration. Information from B. K Shingari.
OCR for page 154
154
MICROLIVESTOCK
Sly OF ONE, IF A DOZED OF THE OTHER
The fact that chickens can be crossed with quail has been
known for some time, but there has been little attempt to
develop the fertile hybrids. plow Malaysia has begun a project
aimed at producing a new poultry bird a cross between a
cockerel and a hen quail. Zainal Abidin bin Mohd Moor, of the
Department of Veterinary Services in Kuala Lumpur, is creating
a strain that produces eggs of good quality and meat with the
flavor of both parents. The new bird is intermediate in size
between chicken and quail, which is convenient because it is
about right for an individual helping.
The crossbreeding is done through artificial insemination.
The progeny exhibit a range of appearances, sizes, and plu-
mage colors, depending on the strains of cockerel and quail
hens used. In the Malaysian research, cockerels have been
local Ayam Kampung Bantam, lIybro, and Golden Comet
hybrids. The quails have been local inbred Japanese quail (IJQ)
and imported meat strain quail (IMSQ).
The trials show that the hybrids derived from the IMSQ flocks
grew faster and bigger than those from the IJQ cross. The best
have been the Ilybro x IMSQ crosses, which weigh 475 g at 10
weeks of age. The best of the IJQ group weighed 290 g during
the same period.
This type of "tropical game hen" might be a way to introduce
hybrid vigor into poultry production.
The researchers who developed the hybrid have named it
the "yamyuh."
OCR for page 155
QUAIL
155
perform satisfactorily when fed rations designed for turkeys. They
have high requirements for vitamin A, which they do not store.
Quail are not suitable as free-ranging "scavengers." They must be
kept confined, which is a major constraint. Unlike chickens or pigeons,
they have no homing instinct and will not remain on a given site; if
released, they will be lost. In addition, since they nest on the ground,
they are highly susceptible to predation; they must be protected,
especially where certain animals, the mongoose for example, are
common.
Artificial incubation is essential. Natural incubation using the female
is futile; the females do not go broody and rarely incubate their eggs.
The shells are extremely thin, but the eggs can be incubated under a
small chicken hen, such as a bantam.5 The eggs are also subject to
minute fractures. However, the shell membrane is extremely tough
and unfertilized eggs are generally unaffected, but the cracks cause
fertilized embryos to dehydrate and die. This is a serious limitation.
Whenever quail husbandry is introduced, artificial incubation should
be included.
RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS
Quail deserve to be included in all poultry research aimed at helping
the Third World. Through its international scientific program, Japan,
in particular, could apply to developing nations its vast experience
with quail farming.
Experiences with quail in the tropics (for example, Japanese farmers
in the Amazon Basin) and in tropical highlands (for instance, in India,
Nepal, or Central Africa) should be collected and assessed to improve
understanding of the environmental limits to Third World quail farming.
Cooperation between commercial and laboratory quail breeders
should be encouraged. Mutants found at the commercial level would
be useful for laboratory work. Conversely, introducing new stocks
could help the farmer. In both cases, more genetic diversity might also
lead to the production of hybrid vigor, and genetic variability would
be conserved.
Sex-linked genes, if they can be found, would be useful to the
commercial quail breeder for the rapid sexing of newly hatched chicks.
This could lead to more efficient production techniques, like those in
the chicken industry.
Although virtually all work to date has been on the Japanese quail,
other species and subspecies warrant research and testing.
5 Information from S. Lukefahr.
OCR for page 156
Representative terms from entire chapter:
quail eggs
