# Breeding Jap Quail



## Magpie (Feb 22, 2008)

I've been asked a few times about breeding jap quail (because i like to spout off about it) so I thought I'd do a basic "how to" article. This is not meant to be a complete guide and please, don't pm me for fine details, google is your friend and there are many quail dedicated sites out there.

Firstly, you will need an incubator! Or Two!! They must be bird incubators, reptile incubators are not the same thing. It will need to have airflow, keep a very constant temp : 37.7C usually and maintain the correct humidity. The exact details should come with your particular incubator. An auto turner is well worth the investment or you need to turn the eggs 2-3 times a day for 14 days. Then leave them alone for the final 3 days with hatching occuring on day 17. I have one incubator with a turner and another without, after 14 days they get transfered - using propogation trays - to the other incubator.
















Then you will need a brooder. Again, google it - it's a cage that has a heat source essentially and you could spend $1000 on one or build one out of a cardboard box. Mine is actually my old ackie cage with a heat cord, light globe and thermostat. A cardboard box keeps the heat in for me.












Caging for the adults / grow outs is the next step. I prefer wire based caging, some people hate it but it sure makes cleaning easier. There are minimum standards for the size of caging, but as it's something like 10cmx10cm per quail you should not even approach breaking them IMO.
They need food and water and it's best to locate these outside the cage for ease of refilling and minimum wastage. Quail will dustbathe in their food if they can. Roll out cages are best - the eggs roll out of the front of the cage as they are laid, minimising breakage and making collecting eggs a whole lot easier. If set up properly you bascially never need to handle the quail at all. Quail need 14-16 hours of light per day for egg production, a simple flouro on a timer does the trick for me.











I feed mine turkey grower crumble for the growers and fine layer mash for the adults. If you can source quail feed, do so! Quail will be sexually mature at around 6 weeks, 5 weeks 3 days is my record for a female to start laying and within a week they will be laying one a day. Males will mature earlier, as early as 4 weeks and will need to be seperated or culled at this point.
I recomend getting golden manchurian or Italian quail as they are very good producers of eggs and the easiest to sex. Simply - the male has a brown head, the female doesn't.
If you get a diferent morph, they can be sexed by turning a mature adult upside down and pressing in front of the vent, the males will exude a foamy substance. You will see this in the litter tray once the males are mature. You can run up to 4 females per male. Eggs should be collected daily, stored in a cool area and turned daily until ready to be used. For best results, use eggs less than a week old. I try and set eggs every week, this will not be possible if you only have one incubator.

Male Italian quail





Female with a white behind her





Day old quail are good sized for hatchy carpets, waters etc, 2 weeks old are good for adult stimmies and 5 week olds are good for large morelia. liasis etc. They will end up around 200-300g as adults.

Baby quail


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## Magpie (Feb 23, 2008)

I forgot to mention, evrything I made was built with materials i had laying around, nothing new was used in the construction of the cages or brooder.
Also, you can get your intial start by having fertile eggs express posted to you. I do not do this, but you should be able to find someone who does.


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## GSXR_Boy (Feb 23, 2008)

Some good info there.
Hav been looking at doing this for a while, instead of smelly mice!!


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## kakariki (Feb 23, 2008)

What do you know about the health aspect of these quail? I ask cos we lost all ours the same way & no-one can tell us why. First their heads turn, then they start circling & then they die! All over in 2 days. It has happened in different aviaries, at different ages & to males & female alike.The only common link is that they are all Jap quail. :? We are very confused by it. Any ideas???


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## GSXR_Boy (Feb 24, 2008)

kakariki said:


> First their heads turn, then they start circling & then they die! All over in 2 days. :? We are very confused by it. Any ideas???


 
Call an exorcist!!Quick!!


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## scorps (Aug 10, 2008)

good wright up mags i am thinking of setting up something like this, is their any chance you could show me how you set up the roll out system, thats he only part i cant figure out how to put into my design.


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## ad (Aug 11, 2008)

Some good info there Magpie, thanks for making the effort.
Ive been thinking about Jap Quaill for a while now,
just trying to win the incubator off ebay as cheap as possible! lol
Cheers
Adam


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## CodeRed (Aug 11, 2008)

Great info Mags, you might just have sold me on the idea.

Now for the $64million question ... Do they smell?


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## scorps (Aug 12, 2008)

bump still need plans/idea on roll out egg cage have everything else down to pat just cannot figure this part out


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## =bECS= (Aug 12, 2008)

ad said:


> Some good info there Magpie, thanks for making the effort.
> Ive been thinking about Jap Quaill for a while now,
> just trying to win the incubator off ebay as cheap as possible! lol
> Cheers
> Adam



Just make one, im having good success with my home made



CodeRed said:


> Great info Mags, you might just have sold me on the idea.
> 
> Now for the $64million question ... Do they smell?


No they dont, i clean out my brooder daily, it usually has around 20-30 chicks in it.

Jap Quail are really friendly too, ours are kept in an aviary and practically line up at the door when we go in.


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## CodeRed (Aug 12, 2008)

Do you have to clean them daily?

I am sure if I cleaned my rats daily they wouldnt smell at all, but like most I clean them weekly. 

Another dumb question: Do they survive the heat well? My new rat house is a sauna, and I doubt that it will be suitable for rats/mice in summer. A high temperature tolerant food source would be much better.


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