BREEDING
Your initial breeding stock should be unrelated and from a good, fertile strain. It is advisable to buy one pair off one breeder then buy another pair of unrelated birds off another breeder and swap over the cocks. I would always advise keeping two or three pairs of each species of quail, as you have a better chance of breeding off them. You can then offer unrelated birds if you breed off each pair. Quite often when you buy birds off a breeder, if he hasn't followed this procedure, you may find yourself buying brother and sister. The more common species of quail (Japanese, Italian and Chinese and Bob Whites) can be colony bred. The rarer species are normally kept in pairs or trios. Most quail will lay from March to October in Britain. Birds should slowly be brought into breeding condition by lengthening the daylight and feeding a high protein diet. Once birds receive 12 - 14 hours of light per day and the temperature is over 10 degrees celcius, the birds will then think about breeding. The Japanese, for example, will lay all year round if they have sufficient light, which reflects on their price to buy etc.
A SHORT ARTICLE ON HOW TO BREED QUAIL
You should make sure you start off with unrelated, vigorous birds. If you have related birds, or birds in poor condition, fertility will be poor and the rest of what I say will be irrelevant, as the eggs will be infertile or the chicks too weak to even hatch.
Start out with birds that are unrelated, from a well-known breeder who has quality stock, or buy from a few different sources, not in the same geographical area. This won't be difficult with species such as Chinese Painted or Japanese. Make sure your breeding stock are fed a regular, balanced diet such as millet, chickcrumbs, green food (vegetables), egg food, grit, insects and anything else the birds may find in their aviary. A regular, fresh supply of water is essential. Vitamins may be added to the water once per week if you think this is necessary.
The best stocking density is one male to two or three females. Males can fight if they are in a confined space and may reduce fertility if they continually fight with each other.
Quail can be housed in rabbit hutches, small aviaries or large colony aviaries. Quail must be kept dry at all times.
Once you start getting a regular supply of eggs, pick them up daily, so the eggs don't get soiled or chipped etc. Store them in a cool, dry place, pointy end down, turning gently at least once per day - always make sure your hands are clean. Badly soiled eggs are best thrown away - they can pass on bacteria to the other eggs, contaminate your incubator and ruin your hatch-rates and cause an ongoing problem. You can wash your eggs in egg sanitising solution if you wish. If you keep the bedding and surroundings clean, you won't need wash the eggs.
Place the eggs in the incubator on a weekly basis. Although eggs can be stored for up to 10 days, the longer you keep them, the more the fertility will drop off and your hatch rate will decrease.
Run your incubator for 24 - 48 hours before placing the eggs in it. Check the temperature to the manufacturer's recommendations - it is normally 37.7 degrees celcius. Once you're happy with the running of your incubator, then place the eggs into the required position in the incubator. Ideally, you should have automatic turning, if not, you should turn the eggs 5 times per day, evenly spaced throughout the day. If you can't manage this, a minimum of 3 turns per day should be achieved. Stop turning the eggs 1 - 2 days before hatching is expected. Chinese Painted quail take 16 days to hatch and Japanese quail take 17 - 18 days, depending on the size of eggs. Once you stop turning the eggs, top up the water and leave well alone.
Once hatching commences, leave the chicks until they fully fluff up before placing them in a brooder. Make sure the brooder is up and running the day before hatching commences. You can use a factory-made brooder, such as Happy Chicks, or you could use something as simple as a cardboard box with a lightbulb clipped onto it. If you're not sure if the brooder is at the correct temperature, clip on your light or switch your heat on and watch the chicks..… If they huddle closely together under the heat source or bulb, then they're too cold, the heat needs increasing or the bulb needs lowering. If the chicks are all spread away from the heat and they seem in discomfort, then it is way too hot for them and they're in distress. The heat needs decreasing or the bulb needs raising. If the chicks happily wander back and fore and pick at the food, the temperature is fine. Start with a 100watt bulb, decreasing to a 40watt bulb as the chicks start feathering and getting bigger. The flooring should be non-slip for the first few days - use towelling or corrugated cardboard. Chickcrumbs should be spread on the floor and a small flomatic drinker attached to the side of the box. Make sure the chicks can't get into the water and drown. As the chicks grow, the size of the box or the area they're kept in can be increased and the heat decreased.
These are the basics to incubating and brooding quail. If you have any questions, please e-mail me and i'll be happy to answer them.