Mary Allen
You can read a lot on the internet and in books about the keeping and group composition of Japanese laying quail. But do these suggestions correspond to the natural needs of the animals?
Between the 11th and 14th centuries, the Japanese began capturing wild Japanese quail and keeping them as ornamental birds. They were very popular because of their singing. From the 20th century, however, they became more and more appreciated as poultry. Accordingly, they were bred for high egg production. For a number of years, laying quails have also been in vogue among pedigree poultry lovers and, thanks to their comparatively small space requirements, are now kept and bred very frequently.
The parent form of the Japanese laying quail is the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). It occurs from Japan to south-eastern Russia and in northern Mongolia. As a migratory bird, it winters in Vietnam, Korea, and the southern regions of Japan. In Europe, one knows the European quail, which overwinters in Africa. However, this is only kept as an ornamental bird.
The natural habitat of Japanese quail is grassy landscapes with few trees and bushes. After hibernating in southern areas, the roosters return to the breeding areas first and immediately stake out their territories. Then the hens follow. They move into one of these territories and look for a suitable breeding niche. The well-camouflaged eggs are laid in a small depression in the ground. The birds choose partially dead grass as nesting material. The chicks are precocial and are led by the hen. They are ready to fly after just 19 days. A strong pair bond only occurs during the breeding season. And in groups, quail find themselves only for bird migration.
If the animals gather in the wild only for the flight to the winter quarters, the question arises as to what that means for keeping them in captivity. There are a variety of recommendations on the Internet and in many books. During the breeding phase, only breeding pairs or small groups of one cock and two hens should be kept. This leads to less stress and has a positive impact on fertilization. Another advantage of keeping a pair is the simplified parentage control. In this way, each young animal can be clearly assigned to its parents. This is essential for serious breeding management.
The Crux of Group Housing
Keeping one rooster with four to five hens does not correspond to natural group size and disputes arise. This can result in an animal being injured or even pecked to death in extreme cases. Even outside of the breeding phase, laying quail should therefore be kept in pairs. However, the animals are usually calmer over the winter and can sometimes live in small groups if there is enough space, whereby there can never be more than one rooster in a group.
In commercial forms of husbandry, keeping them in pairs is unprofitable, which is why the laying quail are always kept in large groups, mostly in boxes or in barn housing. For reasons of hygiene and control, there are usually hardly any hiding places. As is often the case with factory farming, stress is programmed under these conditions. So it is quite possible that the animals no longer completely molt or run non-stop along the walls of the housing.
Laying quail can be kept in aviaries and stables. As a rule of thumb, you should count on two to three animals per square meter. One of the most important aspects of keeping these small gallinaceous birds is the structure of the housing. As in nature, the animals need a lot of places to retreat. The easiest way to do this is with fir branches. They stay fresh for a long time, are hardly eaten by the quail, and are usually a good privacy screen. Robust grasses and non-toxic reed species can also be integrated very well, especially in aviaries. However, it is important that the hiding places are not only attached to the edges of the accommodation but are distributed over the entire area.
Planer and hemp shavings as well as straw crumbs can be used as bedding. It is advisable not to paint the stall walls too lightly, as the animals do not like bright light. Nevertheless, natural daylight and partial solar radiation are essential for vital animals. Furthermore, quail like to bathe in the sand. However, one should not offer the sand bath continuously, as it loses its attraction after a short time. Ideally, the sand bath should be offered one or two days a week. So the attraction remains. If you keep them in a stable, you can sometimes moisten the sand a little more. The moisture has a positive effect on the plumage structure.
You cannot feed laying quail with normal chicken feed. This does not have as many nutrients, for example, crude proteins, that a quail needs to grow and lay. There is now very good quail feed that is specially tailored to the needs of the animals. From time to time you can also offer green fodder and seeds as well as insects to the birds. It is important that only small amounts are served.
Precocious Show Poultry
If you have put together the right breeding partners, you can start collecting the hatching eggs after two to three days. As with breeding other poultry, the eggs should be stored point-down in a cool place. You should turn them in at least once a day. Eggs that are older than 14 days are no longer suitable for incubation since the hatching rate then drops.
The rearing of the animals is no more difficult than that of chickens. Here too, however, it is important that the animals receive suitable quail chick feed. The animals are sexually mature after just six to eight weeks. However, the animals should only be used for breeding from the age of ten to twelve weeks. Then they are fully grown and the egg size is also stable from this age.
The Japanese laying quail has been recognized as a breed for three years. According to the breed poultry standard for Europe, they can be exhibited in five colors: wild and yellow-wild, brown and silver-wild, and white.