·       Japanese Quail (Coturnix Coturnix Var Japonica) Are The Domesticated Farm Bred Variety Of Quails. These Are The Smallest Avian Species Farmed For Meat And Egg Production. Quail Probably The Smallest Avian Species Used For Production Of Table Eggs And Meat. Because Of Prolific Egg Production And Meat Yield, It Attains The Status Of Viable Commercial Poultry Enterprises. Quail Has Unique Qualities Of Hardiness And Adaptability To Diversified Agroclimatic Condition. Several Attributes Of This Species Making It Ideal For Rural Poultry Production For Creation Of Rural Employment For Solving Gender Issue In Employment And To Provide Supplemental Income And Protein Requirement To Rural Farmers.

·       Quails Are Ground Loving Birds With Little Homing Instincts, But Also Highly Susceptible To Predation. Therefore These Need Confinement Rearing In Enclosures Or Deep Litter Pens. Under The Scheme Of Government Of India ‘Assistance To State Poultry Farms’ (ASPF) Some Farms Have Been Assisted For Japanese Quail Stock Production In The Country. Central Poultry Development Organization (Western Region), Mumbai Also Maintains Japanese Quails. First Raised By CARI, Itanagar As Experimental Poultry Birds And Subsequently Improved Germplasm And Technical Knowhow Was Supplied To A Franchise For Commercial Exploitation In The Country.

·       Quail Probably The Smallest Avian Species Used For Production Of Table Eggs And Meat. Because Of Prolific Egg Production And Meat Yield, It Attains The Status Of Viable Commercial Poultry Enterprises. Quail Has Unique Qualities Of Hardiness And Adaptability To Diversified Agro- Climatic Condition. Several Attributes Of This Species Making It Ideal For Rural Poultry Production For Creation Of Rural Employment For Solving Gender Issue In Employment And To Provide Supplemental Income And Protein Requirement To Rural Farmers.

SALIENT FEATURES OF JAPANESE QUAIL

·       Low Space Requirement (5 – 6 Adult Quails Can Be Reared In One Sq. Ft.)

·       Short Generation Interval (3 – 4 Generations In A Year)

·       Fast Growth (170 – 190 Gm Body Weight At 5th Week)

·       Low Feed Consumption (550 – 600 Gm Of Feed / Bird Up To 5th Week)

·       Early Maturity (Egg Production Starts At 6 – 7 Weeks Of Age)

·       High Rate Of Egg Laying (280 Eggs In A Year / Bird)