Almost every market segment is interesting in its own way to one or another entrepreneur. Thus, today we can identify very few industries that were developed by someone. However, as practice shows, such segments still exist. But here it is worth mentioning that they are being developed not because they bring small profits, but because entrepreneurs do not know the basics of a particular business. After all, most businessmen are engaged in business that quickly brings in money. No one is interested in long-term projects. Only a seasoned businessman of the old school can see them.
Indeed, such industries are characterized by a long period of “swinging”. In other words, they will not immediately bring profit, since promoting such a segment requires spending a certain amount of time, and not every person has enough time. Another characteristic feature is the sales market. It can be small or very large. This kind of instability scares people away.
All of the above features characterize unfamiliar business sectors. One such industry is quail farming. Research by some experienced entrepreneurs has shown that the segment is not fully developed in other countries of the world. A visit to European, American, Japanese and Chinese farms showed that the quail breeding business exists in the form of some small or medium-sized businesses. Therefore, creating a large enterprise that will specialize in growing quails is a primary task for any entrepreneur who wants to “plunge” into this area of business. But before? Instead of selling a factory, it’s worth thinking about a small enterprise from which you can begin the thorny path to the stars. In the process of creating this enterprise, you need to create a business plan for breeding quails in order to take into account all the nuances, investments and other characteristic features of the business.
Market Description
As sad as it may sound, the domestic market does not bring in the required amount of profit. There are a lot of factors to blame for this. First of all, you need to consider the number of quail eggs produced per day. In Russia, this figure does not exceed 350,000 units, while in Japan, the same figure is 7,000,000 units, and in China – 70,000,000 units. All these exorbitant sums were never even dreamed of by the domestic market. The second point is the demand for this product. Quails and quail eggs are exotic products. Therefore, many people are simply afraid to purchase them.
All these factors have a rather negative impact on the popularity of this business. The payback period is very long, as is the amount of investment required. Therefore, an experienced and established market player can “play” in quail breeding. Smaller entrepreneurs cannot afford to promote such a business. As mentioned earlier, quail farming is a long-term project, so it requires maximum patience and time.
As for demand, according to many luminaries modern business, this negative factor can be overcome through marketing operations, which must be carried out by specialists in their field. Statistics prove this fact. Already after the first “volleys” towards the consumer, the demand for quail eggs increased several times. Therefore, the problem of consumption is no longer a problem at all.
What sells better: quail or eggs?
Quails are comparable to chickens because they exist in different types. Quails come in meat and egg varieties. The first species appears to be quite large individuals, weighing up to 300 grams, but when it comes to laying eggs, they lag very far behind their direct relatives. Egg quails weigh an order of magnitude less, however, they are capable of producing about 350 eggs annually. Thus, the first species is used as food, and the second exclusively for laying eggs.
For domestic restaurants, quail carcasses are of absolutely no value. They are too large for one serving, so cooking them is not profitable. But almost everyone willingly buys eggs, from restaurants to ordinary traders. Quail eggs are so popular due to their extremely beneficial properties. They contain a ton of nutrients, making them an excellent dietary food. The Japanese also developed another property of quail eggs. After World War II, quail eggs were proven to have a positive effect on the health of people who were exposed to radiation. And this is not the entire list of the positive aspects that quail eggs provide to those who consume them.
Just a couple of years ago, quail were something amazing on the modern market. But now it is a perfectly acceptable product. Moreover, many people began to breed these birds right on their farms along with other poultry. The entire Internet is practically filled with information about diets using quail eggs and other wonderful properties of this product. This all indicates that the domestic market is quite ready to accept this segment, so you should not be afraid to develop it.
The process of promoting the business of raising quails at home is quite long, but this does not mean that there are absolutely no positive aspects in it. Although an entrepreneur with sufficient funds should start such a business, a novice businessman can also try. The main thing is that he is not too lazy to study the market and draw up a competent business plan for quail breeding.
As for the advantages, several can be distinguished from the entire array. Firstly, quail breeding is characterized by high turnover. This factor develops due to the rapid growth of the chicks, which will subsequently produce about 280 eggs. If you initially purchase no more than 500 chicks, then by the end of the year their number will increase ten or even fifteen times, depending on care and maintenance.
Secondly, a characteristic feature of the business is the compactness of production. This is due to the small size of the bird in question. About a hundred quails can fit in an area of 0.5 square meters. As we understand, such compactness allows us to concentrate huge volumes of production in small spaces.
Thirdly, quails are not picky when it comes to caring for them. Two people can handle this task quite well. The main condition is to maintain the temperature in the room at +18 and give the quails special food. It is very difficult to find ready-made food, since it is practically not available on the domestic market. But there is still a way out of the situation. You can make the food yourself, you just need to add certain ingredients, namely:
- 30% wheat
- 25% corn
- 5% barley
And all this needs to be mixed with ground shell, fish meal and cake (sunflower).
So, at this stage of the business plan, we can highlight the main elements necessary for breeding quails:
- To develop your own farm, which will amount to 1000 birds, you will need about $1000.
- $2,000 will be required to provide special blocks, which will consist of 12 cells.
- A small household incubator will cost $200.
- You need to spend $200 on food every month.
- The lighting and climate control system will cost $100, and this amount includes its installation.
But the income can please the owner of a small business:
- Selling eggs will bring in $800 per month.
- Sales of quail meat will bring in $300 per month.
- Thus, net income will be $900.
The payback period for the farm will be 5 months.
These numbers are quite attractive. They will increase as the farm grows. The larger the farm, the greater the profit itself.
Nuances of the quail business
In general, the business of raising quails at home can bring a stable income if it is properly organized. Keeping quails is not difficult; everything depends solely on the process of care itself, which needs to be organized. All subsequent actions will be related exclusively to marketing. A quail is a quail. They will lay eggs and increase their numbers. But the advertisement will not appear on its own. Therefore, the products need to be promoted on the market. Then there will be clients, and if there are clients, there will be profits.
Many experts in the field of quail farming advise starting an enterprise with several hundred heads. This will allow you to reduce large costs at the very beginning of your activity.
Conclusion
The process of breeding quails is a whole science that takes years to learn. Therefore, many entrepreneurs do not want to engage in this business because they do not want to waste their time. But taking into account all the characteristic features of this business, we can conclude that it is capable of generating large profits if you put all your efforts into its development.
Raising quails in on a large scale suggests a slightly different approach to organizing their feeding. Since each bird (we take the Japanese quail as a basis) consumes about 30 g of feed daily, then if there are a thousand birds, about 30 kg of feed will have to be spent daily. In this regard, it is necessary to have decent stocks of feed and purchase them on time.
Feed must be balanced, with sufficient amounts of vitamins and microelements to maintain high egg production. In the warm season, birds should be fed chopped fresh grass and juicy root vegetables daily. In winter, the lack of nutrients is compensated for by sprouted stalks of wheat or millet, and wet mash is diluted with hay dust, bone meal or fish meal. Feeders should always contain crushed shells, gravel and chalk. Without these substances, the rate of egg production will be greatly reduced.
Feeding quails should be done at the same hours. Violation of this principle leads to a certain stressful state and corresponding negative consequences.
Sales of products
Growing quails as a business involves selling eggs and meat. As noted above, product sales are the main problem for any business. Despite the fact that competition in this segment is not yet very tough, it is very difficult to find serious counterparties for sales. This is due, first of all, to the fact that the population is reluctant to buy quail eggs. As a rule, suppliers of quail eggs are private entrepreneurs or small firms who simply do not have the money to advertise their product well.
The first purchase of eggs is usually made by friends and acquaintances. Then, through word of mouth, the product can be sold to friends of friends. The disadvantages of a business with such a sales system are limited scale and a gradual loss of customer interest (friends won’t constantly come to you for a package of eggs if you can also buy them in a store for overpaying just a few rubles).
Therefore, if there are several thousand quails, you need to find more serious channels - shops or supermarkets. You should not be particularly happy if you manage to come to an agreement with the owner of a small store - it is likely that sales volumes will be scanty and cooperation will have to be stopped.
An agreement with a supermarket for the supply of eggs is a very profitable option for business. But to do this, you need to find weighty arguments in favor of your product (convince the administration of a chain or a certain supermarket that you are the best supplier of these products), and also get a number of permitting documents from government agencies, confirming the quality and safety of products.
If you are not ready to formalize all the documents related to the business, run through authorities and obtain the necessary permits, then the first sales system will be more appropriate.
Sales of quail meat
When drawing up a business plan for quail breeding, it is necessary to take into account all the nuances and little things that can affect profitability. For example, in the second year of life, quails’ egg production drops sharply, so it is unprofitable to keep such a bird any longer. Naturally, it goes for meat. To quickly process carcasses, you need to purchase a feather-removing centrifuge. Manually removing feathers from miniature quails is a very boring and time-consuming task, but a centrifuge will do this in a few minutes, and simultaneously process a dozen carcasses.
As a rule, it is extremely difficult to organize the sale of quail meat through stores, but finding sales in restaurants, kebab shops or other similar establishments is quite possible. At the same time, one must take into account the paradox that the meat breed of quail Pharaoh is not the most best option for restaurants. A large carcass (about 300 g) is not suitable for a standard portion, and it is not customary to divide it in half. Therefore, Japanese quails, which are the best in egg production, are also better sold for meat.
Profitability calculation
Quail breeding as a business has another specific feature - high profitability. The very fact that a bird at two months of age is already capable of procreation means a very high speed with which the quail population can be increased.
Here is a table with approximate costs:
As you can see, it is quite possible to meet the amount of up to 50 thousand rubles to start doing business. In addition, the main part of the costs falls on the initial purchases of expensive equipment and young animals, which will no longer need to be purchased in the future. If we consider that a female Japanese quail lays about 300 eggs annually, then her total income will be:
If we assume that in a herd of 600 heads half are chickens, then the annual income from them will be 300 * 575 = 172,500 rubles. Males will go only for meat: 300 * 95 = 28,500 rubles. That is, the herd can generate income in the amount of 201,000 rubles. At the same time, it has not yet been taken into account that they will give birth to several offspring in a year, that is, the profitability of the business will increase even more.
Naturally, such calculations are very conditional, since business rarely develops as smoothly as on paper. All sorts of problems with inspection and control authorities, possible loss of poultry and similar unfavorable factors can significantly correct such estimates for the worse. In any case, such calculations are necessary to draw up a business plan for raising quails.
It is believed that a herd of 600 heads can be served by one person, a livestock of 1200 pieces. - two people, etc. The best option– make quail breeding a home (family) business. Before you start doing this business, you need to draw up a business plan for quail, which should take into account the realities of a certain area: the cost of feed, heating costs, prices for eggs and quail meat.
The response to the quail business is mostly positive. Those who have found distribution channels feel quite at ease. But raising quails as a business means not only income, but also constant care for the birds, the absence of weekends and vacations as such, and an endless problem with sales. In this regard, quail breeding is suitable for patient people who are ready to sacrifice their free time throughout the existence of such a business.
Quail is a royal bird. However, these days such luxury is available to almost everyone. The well-known value of this chicken breed lies in its dietary low-allegene meat and the legendary benefits of quail eggs. Modern conditions make it possible to breed quails in almost industrial quantities and at affordable prices. The population's craze for a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition is the very chance to profitably sell a necessary and useful product. Familiarize yourself with the theory and move on to the practice of breeding these birds for business. There is no doubt - the benefits are obvious!
Business concept
The quail business is young and quite promising. The occupation of these birds involves raising them either for meat or for the purpose of hatching eggs. You will need enthusiasm and initial financial investment. But don't let this worry you - the return will please you. Do not doubt the profitability - poultry farmers claim a figure of 200% per year. These are the golden birds.
Before getting to the heart of the matter, let’s consider the advantages of the quail business and possible risks.
Advantages of a quail business:
Business models
All cultivated species of quail are conventionally divided according to their specificity:
- meat breeds;
- egg breeds.
Breeding birds for meat
Meat quail breeds are popular among poultry farmers. In 2.5–3 months, with proper care, they gain enough weight for slaughter. On average, females gain 330 grams, males - 300 grams. But egg production is rather weak (only 150 eggs per year).
Individuals are taken for fattening from 30 days of age. This group includes males, culled females, specially raised young animals and birds that have passed the productive stage of egg production.
Famous meat quail breeds in our country: “Pharaoh”, “American Albinos”, “Texas Giants”. All of them are more demanding in terms of care and maintenance than egg-bearing quails.
Meat breeds of birds are housed in small cages or aviaries. So that the birds gain the required weight within right time You will also have to feed them wisely. If proper care and fattening is organized, tender dietary meat in the planned quantity is guaranteed.
Quail of meat breed - video
Raising quails for eggs
The quail begins to lay eggs from 30–40 days. With proper care, one bird produces up to 25 eggs per month. Increased egg production has been observed in birds kept either at home or on a farm. But when birds are placed in nature, egg production is low: up to 100 eggs per year. The weight of one quail egg is 10 grams.
Quail eggs have a fragile shell. Nature itself took care of the weak chicks, making it easier for them to leave the walls of their first home.
You can expect high egg production from quails for up to 10 months, after which they age and lay much less frequently. Not always, but they can lay eggs until they reach 30 months.
Only female quails can lay eggs without the participation of a male. In this case, the eggs will be unfertilized, and do not expect chicks from them.
At home, birds observe a peculiar egg production schedule. Almost like a work week: 5 days of work, 2 days of rest.
Egg quails are placed in cage batteries, ensuring proper feeding, ventilation, lighting and comfortable temperature.
The most popular egg breeds are: “Japanese quail”, “English black quail”, “Estonian quail”.
Estonian quail - video
Registering a business: a profitable plan
With a far-reaching approach to raising quails, you should start with official registration. For successful sales of goods in large retail chains you will need documents confirming the quality of eggs and carcasses.
Most suitable economic forms for quail business - LLC or individual entrepreneur.
Business forms and required documents - table.
If you plan to sell eggs on the market, you will need to obtain a veterinary certificate.
The consumer of quail eggs or meat must be confident in the excellent quality of the product. To enter a large market, it is not enough to issue a veterinary certificate. A serious wholesale buyer will ask you additional kit documents:
- Certificate of Conformity
- Obtaining an original barcode for products
- Purchasing or independently writing technical specifications (TS).
When using packaging, a certificate of conformity for this very packaging will be useful.
You will have to do microbiological studies of quail eggs, which will be reflected in the corresponding report.
Now you are a thorough seller and can count on excellent sales.
Opening a farm
Selecting a room
The issue of choosing premises must be approached responsibly, whether it is rented or your own. Clearly compare the possibilities of the premises and the requirements for the care and maintenance of quails.
These are the requirements for the premises:
- Comfortable indoor temperature (the norm is 20 °C, but fluctuations of 18–25 °C are acceptable).
- Humidity (at 50–60%).
In dry air, quail eat worse and drink a lot of liquid. At the same time, egg production decreases, deteriorates appearance birds. This condition in quails occurs either in the summer in the heat, or with excessive heating in the room. The conclusion is to humidify the air as much as possible (you can place trays of water on the floor).
- Fresh air. Its receipt should not be through. Quails suffer greatly from drafts, and this will primarily result in large-scale baldness of the birds. Not only is there no aesthetic appearance, it is also accompanied by a decrease in egg production with the likelihood of mortality. By scientific approach in winter, 1.5 cubic meters should be supplied. fresh air per 1 kg of birds, and in summer - 5 cubic meters.
- Lighting. There are no clear requirements for the presence of windows. It's even better if they are absent. For productive keeping of birds, daylight hours last 18 hours a day. Lighting is provided by incandescent lamps (40 W) or dim fluorescent lamps.
With round-the-clock lighting, egg production increases by 85%, but the females quickly wear out and often require replacement. Bright light causes aggression in birds.
- Sufficient area to accommodate quails. For egg-bearing breeds, the following ratio is sufficient: 20 birds per 2.2 square meters. area. For meat breeds, the placement is more dense: 30–40 heads per 3.6 sq. m.
Equipment for quails (maintenance and care)
Bird cages
Cages for keeping quails have clear design requirements. Farmers buy ready-made ones or make them themselves. The second method will be cheaper.
To save space in the room, it is practical to install cell batteries in several tiers.
The cell walls are made of fine mesh, the frame is made of wooden blocks. Mandatory presence of feeders, drinkers, and egg collectors for quail egg breeds.
Only the permitted number of birds are placed in a cage. Anything that is above the norm or below the norm is not conducive to the productive maintenance of livestock.
If you are preparing to keep a flock of 1.5 thousand birds, then you will need 6 six-tier cage batteries (when placing 45 adult birds in one cage).
The top of the cage is also made of mesh to prevent bird strikes.
Every farmer can make his own cells. Their design drawing is simple; inexpensive building materials will be used: plywood, wooden blocks, fine-mesh metal mesh. The cost of one purchased cell battery will cost up to 10 thousand rubles. So consider the benefit.
Incubators for breeding birds
It so happened that domesticated female quails have lost the instinct to hatch offspring. It is impossible to breed quail offspring without the help of an incubator.
The choice of incubator depends primarily on the planned egg capacity. There are household, farm (1–3 thousand eggs) and industrial (up to 50 thousand eggs) on sale.
Important correct selection eggs for incubation. Checking each egg with an ovoscope is encouraged. It is not necessary to buy such a device; you can make it yourself.
It is important to inspect each egg before placing it in the incubator. Here are the main criteria for checking:
- Egg weight (for egg breeds - 10 grams, for meat breeds - 14 grams). Small fluctuations of 1–2 grams are acceptable.
- No cracks or strong roughness.
- Egg color (moderate in variegation and fading).
- Location of the air chamber (the egg is not suitable if the chamber is located at the sharp end of the egg or on the side).
- Number of yolks (one).
- Correct egg shape (eggs of irregular shape are rejected).
Checking quail eggs - video
Buying eggs for incubation
To reproduce the quail population, the farm maintains its own breeding herd. If there is no such herd, then you will have to buy eggs for incubation.
When purchasing eggs for incubation, it is important to be sure of the integrity of the seller. Some egg sellers allow intra-breeding insemination of females, thereby reducing the fertilization rate of eggs to 40%. In this case, the young are born frail and sickly.
Eggs of females older than eight months are consumed exclusively for food; they are not suitable for incubation.
Eggs older than 7 days should not be placed in the incubator due to the high risk of loss of offspring.
Eggs of meat and bark breeds for placing in the incubator are selected by weight:
- for meat breeds 12–16 grams;
- for egg breeds 9–11 grams.
Eggs must be clean. Otherwise, they should be cleaned. Washing is contraindicated! You can gently wipe off the dirt with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, do not wipe it dry, but let it dry.
One should not discount the fact that if the parent stock was not properly maintained, then the offspring will experience all the negative consequences of such care.
In order not to start your business with a bad experience, take care of purchasing high-quality material for incubation.
Feather removal machine
Depending on the volume of the poultry farm, an additional feather removal machine is purchased. This device will reduce time costs and significantly simplify manual labor.
Types of drinkers
For newly hatched chicks up to 20 days of age, nipple drinkers are used. The advantages of these drinkers: high speed water delivery, protection from dirt and spills.
For older birds, special nipple drinkers with a 360-degree rotation angle are suitable. The bird presses the drinking bowl from all sides and receives water.
Vacuum shelves are a plastic bucket with a special ring on it. This ring is the drinking bowl. This type is suitable for keeping quails on the floor.
Microcup drinker. Most often used in automated lines. If the special tongue ends up in water, the supply to the drinker stops.
Recruitment
In such a matter as raising quails, the phrase rings truer than ever: “Personnel decides everything.” And if not everything, then a lot.
A farm can be created by members of the same family. In this case, family members are one team, and everyone is equally interested in the profitability of the common business. All responsibilities are distributed, as far as possible, among the members of such a team.
Otherwise, you have to hire staff to care for the poultry, especially if the farm has more than one thousand birds. Services you will need:
- Bird care workers. One worker can easily look after 1 thousand birds.
It is important that workers are balanced people and treat quail with warmth. When caring for birds, you have to be extremely attentive to any changes in the house and respond to negative factors in a timely manner. The worker will have to use all the senses to notice changes in the life activity of birds: smell, hearing, vision, touch.
- A manager who will try to sell all the products of your poultry farm.
- Accountant. In the process of conducting economic activity Many issues arise with customers and government agencies, which are best left to a specialist to resolve.
And, in general, approach the choice of personnel carefully, because how far your ship will sail depends on them.
Buying birds
If you decide to buy poultry and not eggs for incubation, then you should contact a quail farm. You can not only personally communicate with quail sellers, but also collect the necessary information about their integrity. Based on the experience of experienced poultry farmers, you should not blindly trust the seller in selecting birds for your farm. If you do not understand young quails, then it is better to take someone more experienced to help.
The selection of quails for purchase is done as follows:
- A bird is selected that has laid at least one egg (50 days from birth). The presence of egg production is the first sign that this is a female quail;
- Pay attention to the quails' legs. They should shine, be free of growths and corns;
- if you examine a female, pay attention to the oviduct (it should not fall out);
- in young birds the feathers are smooth, shiny, without bald spots;
- healthy bird activity.
Be sure to ask the seller for advice on how to handle the bird. A caring poultry breeder will definitely help you.
Quail care
Proper care of quails includes the following work:
- Periodically (as the battery becomes heavily soiled), all cell batteries must be thoroughly washed to remove ingrained dirt. To do this, the cells are soaked either in water or a special solution is applied to soak the dirt. Then all the dirt is washed off with a stream of water with strong pressure.
- All drinking bowls, feeders, water supply systems to drinking bowls are disinfected and thoroughly washed (once a month).
- The locations of cell batteries are sanitized (once a month).
- Every day it is worth cleaning the cage trays from droppings and crushed eggs.
- Do a general cleaning of the poultry house once a week.
- Disinfection of cells and incubators can be carried out using a quartz lamp.
Feeding quails
Adequate feeding is the key to the rapid development of birds. Don't try to save money on feeding quails, it's a bad idea. Soon such optimization only leads to irreparable losses.
The food must contain all the necessary components for the growth and development of birds. It is quite possible for a novice farmer to prepare it himself.
First, we will talk about ready-made food. They are considered balanced and save your time.
Half of the purchased feed consists of grains, and the rest is additives taking into account the age of the livestock.
Strictly adhere to the feeding rate for 1 individual according to the instructions for the food. Underfeeding and overfeeding are extremely undesirable.
Ready-made food for early ages should be soaked in water in the first days of life.
Examples of feed for early ages and their composition - table.
Examples of feed for adults and their composition - table.
You can make your own bird food. It will be no different from the purchased one in terms of usefulness and value, and will even surpass it. Quails are not picky eaters, but the value of food cannot be lost in any case.
So, for self-prepared feed, young animals (from 0 to 30 days) will need:
- 770 grams of wheat;
- 300 grams of corn kernels;
- 75 grams of barley.
Mix and crush the grain!
- 1/3 teaspoon vegetable oil;
- 1/3 teaspoon bone meal.
- 1/3 teaspoon salt and MIX EVERYTHING.
This amount of mixture is enough to feed one quail for 1 month. When calculating feed per livestock, you need to multiply each component of the mixture by the number of birds.
To prepare food for adult quails you will need to mix:
- 770 g corn kernels (thoroughly dried);
- 300 grams of wheat;
- 75 grams of dry peas.
Shatter everything!
- 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil;
- 2/3 tablespoon table salt;
- 2/3 tablespoon of chalk;
- 2/3 tablespoon chopped shells.
Mix the mixture thoroughly. The resulting mass is enough to feed one adult for one month. Let's multiply these figures by the number of birds.
You can feed not only 100% ready-made food, but also add additives to the food yourself. For very small chicks - up to 10 days old - you can add chopped grass, low-fat cottage cheese (mash well), yogurt, and an egg.
Young birds are allowed to eat up to 5-6 times a day, older birds 2-3 times.
Week-old quails eat 3–4 grams of feed per day, at one month of age 15–25 grams. Males eat less food than females.
Caring for young animals - video
Quail development cycle from birth to month - video
Preparation for sale
Poultry slaughter
Before slaughtering quails, you should not feed them for 5 hours. But give plenty of drinks.
For convenience, it is best to use an automated line to give slaughtered poultry a marketable appearance. In the process of passing through such a line, the bird is decapitated in a certain place in the neck, bled, and heat treated (55 degrees). Next, the limbs are cut off using a special machine.
The feathers are removed from the carcasses in a special centrifugal-type feather removal machine (the feathers are removed up to 97%).
Chilled carcasses are stored at a temperature of 0 - +4 degrees Celsius for up to 4 days, after which they are frozen. To prevent them from sticking together, each one can be wrapped in parchment. Frozen carcasses are stored at a temperature of -18 for up to three months. At the same time, they do not lose their taste properties.
Egg collection
Freshly laid quail eggs are carefully collected in convenient containers (plastic, cardboard) of 10, 12, 14 pieces. Eggs in a plastic container should “breathe” freely. Between each egg there must be partitions. The eggs are laid with the blunt end up.
Collected eggs are stored at a temperature of +2 - +10 for up to 25 days.
Raising quails at home
The smell from the bird is quite pungent, so you should take care of timely replacement of the bedding (paper, clean sand).
If you plan to raise quails at home profitably, then we will talk about cages suitable for farming.
Cages can be placed in outbuildings. Walls and floors are whitened with quicklime to destroy potentially dangerous microbes.
You can use a cell battery to save floor space. The indoor conditions are similar to those for a farm (temperature, humidity, feeding equipment). Quails are fed in a similar way to farming.
It is permissible to keep quails in a home room, on the balcony of an apartment, while creating suitable conditions (sound insulation, thermal insulation, no harsh noise, dim light, no direct sunlight).
A population of 1 thousand birds can easily be looked after by 1 person. You can raise poultry at home to produce eggs and meat.
Now let's look at an example of the economic benefits of raising quails at home.
Overfishing can be done for eggs and meat. We make cages, feeders, and drinking bowls ourselves - it’s more profitable. First, you will try yourself in this business without additional costs, and after receiving your first profit, you may want to improve everything.
You choose what age quails you want to purchase. You can buy birds of different ages so that one species will already lay eggs and begin to pay for your project. Broiler quail will give you the opportunity to eat environmentally friendly dietary meat, as well as provide such a valuable product to relatives, friends, and neighbors (at a profit, of course).
To accommodate 100 quails you will have to allocate 0.5 square meters. m of floor space (using a cell battery of 2–3 tiers).
Initial costs - table.
Monthly expenses - table.
Monthly income, taking into account the fact that all the livestock are egg-bearing - table.
Net profit per month will be 1,790 rubles from 100 birds. Optimal quantity quails in cramped conditions (apartment) 500 - 1 thousand heads.
But for a private farmstead, the scope of the business can be much larger - up to 2.5 thousand quails.
It is unlikely that you will become a large breeder with such a number of birds, but you will earn a comfortable living.
Sales of products
Farmers should establish regular sales of quail eggs for a number of reasons. This product is perishable and requires special storage and transportation conditions.
Well-established sales are a guarantee of your prosperity.
Here are some ways to market your products that you can consider:
- Sale on the market in a specially designated place. Long-term rental is possible for subsequent recognition of your products on the market.
- Sales of eggs through a store, retail chains (possibly wholesale).
- Opening your own website, where you can not only talk about your products, but also find a real wholesale buyer.
- Sale directly from the poultry farm.
- Agreement for the supply of quality products to restaurants, cafes, canteens.
If you are an amateur poultry farmer, then sales can be organized in the same market, through friends and acquaintances. You will be required to provide a veterinary certificate for the products.
Advertising question
- Internet (free/paid advertisement sites);
- newspapers (ads, advertising modules, articles about your poultry farm);
- rental of banners in public places;
- distribution/mailboxes of information leaflets;
- creating your own website with maximum useful information about your products;
- information through social networks;
- leave your notes and comments on forums;
- “Word of mouth” is a win-win option.
A small farm allows you to keep quails almost at home. Don't forget to emphasize this in your advertising!
Costs and income. Calculating profitability
Let's consider an example of expenses and income when keeping 1 thousand heads of quail.
One-time costs - table
Monthly expenses - table.
Monthly income - table.
We begin to receive profits from the end of the first month.
Daily income, taking into account all costs as much as possible, is 1,250 rubles, and this takes into account the hired worker for a population of 1 thousand birds. You can do this kind of work yourself, and then the profit will be higher accordingly. But to develop your own business, you will have to devote a lot of time to advertising and organizational issues (rent retail places, searching for consumers, concluding supply contracts).
The quail business quickly pays for itself, the profitability (taking into account the recoupment of all costs) in 1 year will be 130%.
It is logical that with an increase in the number of animals, with a competent approach, profits will increase proportionately.
Many people, especially those living in villages or dachas, ask the question: “Is it possible to make money from household?. Well, of course, yes, for example, on creating a quail farm. Now in Russia this business is gradually gaining momentum. This is explained by its high liquidity, quick payback and great prospects.
This type of activity is carried out not only by large producers, but also by small farms. Demand for products from quail farms exceeds supply several times. And if the demand is high, then it must be satisfied. Some statistics: Russia produces 350 thousand eggs a year, Japan – 7 million, and China – ten times more.
The only thing that is holding back the development of this area is the passive attitude of many Russian retail chains. However, demand is still growing. If you are a novice entrepreneur, then first you will need to draw up a business plan for a quail farm. And we will help you with this.
Quail farm: profitability
In recent years, this figure has decreased significantly. About 5 years ago it was still possible to talk about 300% profitability, and a year ago about 100%, but now its level is much lower. This is especially true for large manufacturers. Even if the enterprise has its own feed supply, the profitability will be at the level of 30%. For small farms that are not burdened with the costs of veterinary reports, logistics, etc., this figure can vary from 50 to 100%.
Eggs or meat?
In quail breeding, two directions are clearly visible. The first is laying hens, which lay approximately 300 eggs per year. Second - meat direction, or, to be precise, the production of dietary meat. This type of activity is not yet very popular, since most farms focus primarily on selling eggs. If you find it difficult to choose a specific direction, then do two at once.
Where to start?
A business plan for a quail farm must contain the total amount of expenses. For example, if you purchase 500-700 birds, the cost of setting up a farm will be about 8-10 thousand dollars. The main expenses are the manufacture of equipment and the purchase of hatching eggs or adult quails. Thanks to the rapid growth and fertility of birds, their number will increase by about 10 times per year, which will fully recoup the invested capital.
It is very important to regularly update the stock, since the productivity of annual quails is halved. To do this, you need to form a parent herd, in which there would be 3-4 females per male. An egg intended for procreation must be taken from a bird that is two to three months old.
If the female is older than 10 months, then her eggs are used for food. Quails older than one year are slaughtered for meat. By the way, young animals are just as profitable to sell as eggs and meat. If you don’t know much about all this yet, then be sure to buy a manual on the topic: “Do-it-yourself quail farm.” It will help you master the basics of this activity.
Room
The location of the premises does not play a significant role for the quail farm. The main thing is to comply with the basic requirements for breeding quails. First of all, it is a year-round temperature of 18-27°C and a humidity of 70%. Quails are very capricious birds: on the one hand, they need fresh air, and on the other, they cannot stand drafts. An automatic ventilation system would be a suitable solution. As for the farm area, to keep 700 birds you will need only 15-20 square meters. m.
In addition, utility rooms will be required: for hatching chambers and incubators, for keeping young animals and chickens (with an area of approximately 5 sq. m.), for the preparation and storage of feed (with an area of 10 sq. m.). The young animals are kept in special cages, and the “newborns” are kept in insulated brooders at a temperature of 25-37°C. If the maintenance regime for quails is violated, they will begin to get sick and die. For example, if the lighting is too strong, birds will simply peck at each other.
Well, I would like to say separately about heating. Oil radiators are quite suitable, but it is better to make a water heating system. Firstly, this will significantly save electricity, and secondly, the air will not be dry. Never use open radiators!
They significantly reduce air humidity, which can result in your quails being left without feathers. If you are planning to create a room from scratch, but do not have the appropriate knowledge, then it is better to contact professionals who know exactly how to build a quail farm. Now there is no shortage of such specialists on the market.
Equipment for quail farm
This is one of the most important points. The main equipment of the farm is cage batteries consisting of 5-6 cells, each of which must have feeders, drinkers and small sides for “catching” eggs.
In such a cage, the floor has a slight slope, and as soon as the quail lays an egg, it immediately rolls down to the side. Such a cage battery can accommodate 250-300 birds. Typically, entrepreneurs make them themselves from reinforcement, metal sheets, plywood and galvanized mesh.
Detailed manufacturing technology can be found in any manual on the topic: “Do-it-yourself quail farm.” But you can also buy a ready-made version. One cell battery of 6 cells costs approximately $200-250. In addition to the cells, you will need a hatching chamber and an incubator. In the latter, the following conditions must be met: automatic egg turning, temperature 37-39°C and humidity in the region of 50-90%. The approximate cost of the incubator is $400-500, but if you have a chicken “mechanical hen”, you can use it.
Feed
The food supply is no less important than equipment and must be included in the business plan of a quail farm. There are many different forms and types of feed on the market, but not all of them contain the required amount of ingredients vital for birds.
You can choose a quality product either on the advice of a specialist or by trial and error. But it is extremely undesirable to feed quails with one compound feed. It is necessary to add ground corn, ground wheat and ground sunflower seeds to it. The cost of feed is $300-400 per ton.
Sales
We have already found out above that a quail farm as a business is a fairly profitable activity. But for it to remain that way, you need to have constant sales channels. Entrepreneurs sell quail eggs to acquaintances and friends, sell them through markets and shops, and also sell wholesale buyers. Bird carcasses are supplied to sanatoriums, kindergartens, restaurants, recreation centers, cafes, etc.
Moreover, with catering and retail outlets quail farmers negotiate directly to minimize losses through intermediaries. But at the same time, it is necessary to work on establishing wholesale sales. Moreover, quail eggs can be stored for up to 30 days at room temperature and up to 60 days in the refrigerator. This main factor attracting wholesalers.
For the same reason, you can consider markets not only in your hometown, but also in nearby settlements. Remember that if products accumulate in warehouses, this does not bring any profit, but only increases storage costs. Therefore, always look for additional distribution channels.
Staff
All pet birds require daily care. This includes collecting eggs, feeding, and cleaning up droppings. In addition, you need to prepare the feed mixture and ensure that the temperature and humidity required for the room are maintained. You also need to monitor the incubator, place the quails in cages and, finally, slaughter and cut up. This takes a lot of time because all processes require human intervention.
Of course, if you have an automated quail farm, such problems will not arise. But at least one person is needed to control it. But in general, to service a farm with a population of 500-700 birds, 2 people will be needed. As a rule, this business is run by families, which is why it is called family. You don't need any special knowledge to work. You can learn basic operations in a couple of days. If you hire someone from outside, then warn him about working even on holidays and weekends (it’s better to hire 2-3 people and let them work on a staggered schedule).
Additional income
Probably everyone has heard the saying that a bad example is contagious. It works great for this type of farming, such as a home quail farm. When you achieve high results in this field, everyone around you will want to have the same. This is how people will come to you: someone will need a feeder, someone a brooder, someone a cage, etc.
By learning to make all the equipment yourself, you will receive an additional source of income. For example, with the appropriate skill, you can make a cell battery (3 cells) in just half a day. Earnings will be approximately 6-7 thousand rubles. The same can be said about drinkers, feeders, brooders and other equipment for a quail farm.
Selling young stock is a second additional source of income. Without exception, all beginning quail breeders need a breeding bird. If you are a successful poultry farmer, then there will be enough people willing to buy quails from you. Well, it would be a good idea to place an appropriate advertisement for sale in newspapers and on the Internet.
The last source of income is the litter. And don't be surprised. A bag of dry, clean bird droppings can cost about 1,000 rubles. This amount will be paid without hesitation by those who understand at least something about organic fertilizers.
Conclusion
In this article, we described the main points that a quail farm business plan should contain. When you compose it, make adjustments depending on your situation. Whether you engage in this type of activity or not is up to you to decide. Just know: to make good money, you have to work hard. We wish you success!
In conditions of the economic crisis and the high cost of “entry” into existing entrepreneurial niches, one of the promising areas for organizing your own business is the quail business. This type of activity has a number of undeniable advantages that allow you to achieve a stable profit within several months:
small size starting capital;
ease of bird care;
minimum area production premises;
low cost of necessary equipment;
high consumer quality of products;
low level of competition.
The disadvantages of raising quails as a business include:
relative newness of products for Russian market;
the need for regular care and feeding;
increased labor costs when procuring meat relative to larger poultry.
Production of quail eggs in Russian Federation does not exceed 400,000 pieces per day, while in Japan, with a comparable population, daily sales of quail eggs rarely fall below 7,000,000. For most regions, quails remain an exotic curiosity and preference is given to traditional chicken.
Russian consumers are just beginning to get used to the presence of quail eggs and meat on store shelves and on enterprise menus catering. This opens up impressive prospects for quail farming as a business, as neighboring countries show a steady increase in interest from buyers.
Material and production base for poultry breeding
You should not immediately set up a large poultry farm to make sure that the quail business is profitable. It is enough for a novice poultry farmer to acquire a flock of up to 500 birds. Quails reach egg-laying age very quickly, from 5 to 8 weeks from the moment of birth. A herd of 500-600 heads can easily be served by one person with a daily workload of no more than 3-4 hours.
Your own business - what you need to breed quails
To start a quail business, a small area is required, since the birds are as compact as possible. One meter, when placing cages in several levels, can contain up to 300 heads. For housing, it is recommended to use a separate room with an area of about 20 m², in which it will be convenient to care for the livestock, store and prepare feed mixtures.
The initial equipment set will consist of cage batteries, containers for storing feed and eggs, and equipment for cutting carcasses. A business plan for breeding quails should include an incubator for hatching chicks and a special container for young animals (brooder).
Business plan: what and how much it costs
The cost of individual equipment and breeding birds may vary depending on the specific region and seasonality. The size of the initial investment depends on whether cages and special containers are purchased ready-made or made independently. An additional expense item may be registration of a legal entity and rental of premises in the absence of its own premises.
Based on the size of the herd of 500 heads, corresponding to the business plan for breeding quail at home, the material costs at the initial stage of organizing a quail business will be:
cell battery - 8-12 thousand rubles. (at the same time, the cost of the material is 2-3 thousand rubles);
purchase of quail stock - 20 thousand rubles. (the cost of quails for breeding is 40 rubles per chick);
food (for the first time) - about 3 thousand rubles;
small-sized incubator - from 7 to 12 thousand rubles;
brooder for young animals - from 3,500 rubles.
If you have the necessary skills and free time, you can make cages for adults and a brooder yourself, which will significantly reduce initial costs.
A business plan for raising quails should take into account the costs of lighting and maintaining the desired temperature, depending on the time of year and electricity tariffs. For more efficient plucking of slaughtered poultry, it is recommended to purchase a special centrifuge, since manual processing small carcasses can be extremely inconvenient.
Income and main expenses in the manufacture of products
One hen, starting from 2 months of age, produces 250-300 eggs per year. After reaching the age of 8-12 months, the productivity of quails decreases and it is recommended to use them for meat. When slaughtered, one quail carcass yields 200-350 g, depending on the breed.
The profitability of a business is determined by the cost of manufactured products and the speed of sales. It is realistic to sell quail eggs at a price of 1.5-2 rubles. per piece, meat - 60-90 rubles. per carcass. The slaughter of poultry can begin at 8-10 weeks, when their growth ends. Meat breeds reach optimal eviscerated carcass weight at 6 weeks.
It is advisable to assess profitability from the 5th month from the date of acquisition of the first livestock. By this time, laying hens have achieved stable productivity, and excess males can be sold for meat. When using an incubator, the number of birds can be increased several times, so for ease of calculations, a business plan for quail with a herd size of 1000 laying hens and 200-250 males is used.
A thousand quails lay approximately 300,000 eggs per year. In addition, you can additionally obtain at least 4,000 meat carcasses for meat with full reproduction of the productive population. Based on this, you can calculate the approximate revenue from industrial quail breeding with the timely sale of poultry farm products:
egg - 450-600 thousand rubles;
meat - 240-360 thousand rubles;
total: 690-960 thousand rubles per year.
Separate items of income may include:
sale of breeding birds over 1 month old;
sale of poultry manure as a highly effective nitrogen-containing fertilizer;
independent production of cages, drinkers and feeders with their subsequent sale.
Various payments as taxes and fees must be deducted from the amount of revenue, subject to registration of a legal entity or individual entrepreneur(if we regard quail breeding as a business focused on wholesale sales of products).
The main mandatory expenses affecting the profitability of the quail business will be payment for:
poultry feed - 144 thousand rubles;
heating and light - approximately 25 thousand rubles.
Caring for a herd of laying hens of 1000 heads can be carried out by 2 people with part-time work. With such a production volume, it is advisable to use the model family business, when profit and salary are essentially the same thing. Involving a third party labor force is included in the business plan for quail breeding when it becomes justified: when the number of hens increases to 5,000 laying hens or more, and there are reliable sales channels for the products.
Quail breeding - livestock reproduction technology
Quails are unpretentious and capable of keeping as compact as possible. It may seem that raising poultry on an industrial scale is possible even on the balcony of an apartment using boxes, cardboard boxes. This approach is justified only when growing quail as home business mainly for personal use. An area of a mini-farm that is too small will be physically inconvenient for caring for several hundred birds, and excludes the possibility of expanding the quail business at home.
Growing and feeding
Stable productivity of the quail population requires certain housing conditions and regular monitoring of the condition of the birds. Any farm requires constant human control without days off or vacations. A quail poultry farm as a business requires care, which consists of the following:
maintaining optimal level lighting, humidity and air temperature;
creation of conditions for maintenance and reproduction;
ensuring adequate nutrition and clean water;
inspection of livestock, culling of birds with suspected disease or aggressive behavior;
timely cleaning of cells;
egg collection and poultry slaughter.
With a flock size of 500-600 individuals, the quail business requires 2-4 hours a day of care, which one person can do very well. For a flock of 1-2 thousand birds, the efforts of two people will be required, for 5 thousand - three or more.
Room
A suitable premises is where you should start your quail business. Quails are kept under moderate lighting of 20-30 lux, which is fully provided by 40 W incandescent lamps. With more intense lighting, the birds behave aggressively and begin to peck each other. Daylight hours should last 16-18 hours. The humidity in the room should be at least 65%; in dry air, quails begin to peck out their feathers.
The temperature regime is maintained within the range from 18 to 24°C, special attention should be paid to avoiding drafts. More resistant to diseases than other poultry, quail are extremely sensitive to air currents with high temperature differences.
Housing cages
50-100 individuals can be placed on one square meter of cage space; multi-tier batteries are usually used. The number of floors depends on the convenience of care. The material used for the cage is profile, galvanized mesh and metal sheets. Wooden materials are inconvenient to clean and quickly deteriorate, facilitating the proliferation of harmful microorganisms.
The height of the cages should not exceed 30 cm so that the bird does not jump, injuring its neck and head. The floor of the cage is sloping so that the laid eggs roll into a special chute. Facilities for food and water are placed outside.
Feed
Finding ready-made feed intended only for quails is quite difficult. Typically, the feed manufacturer specifies this type of poultry when selling universal mixtures. To create an optimal ratio of nutrients and beneficial microelements, you can make food for quail. The business plan will only benefit from this.
To produce feed, crushed grain of wheat, barley and corn is required, so it is advisable to purchase a special crusher. It is better to purchase grain in advance at farmers markets at the time of harvest.
In addition to grain, feed mixtures must contain a source of calcium: bone or fish meal, crushed shells, shells. Fine gravel and sand, necessary for the bird’s digestion, are thrown into the feeders. The taste of the product and the profitability of breeding laying quail for eggs as a business depend on the feed. The composition of the feed can be changed depending on the age category.
For birds from 1 to 4 weeks (as a percentage of the total weight of the mixture):
- wheat – 9.6;
- barley – 7;
- corn – 40;
- bone meal – 3;
- fish meal – 5;
- soybean meal – 30;
- dry return – 3;
- salt – 0.4;
- herbal flour - 1.
For 5-6 weeks of age:
- wheat – 25;
- barley – 7;
- corn – 40.5;
- bone meal – 3;
- fish meal – 5;
- Sunflower meal – 9;
- dry return – 3;
- crushed chalk, ground shell - 1;
- salt – 0.5;
- herbal flour – 1
- wheat bran – 5.
For birds over 7 weeks old, including laying birds:
- wheat – 15;
- barley – 7;
- corn – 40;
- sunflower meal – 10;
- soybean meal – 10;
- wheat bran – 5;
- fishmeal – 5;
- crushed chalk, ground shell - 1;
- bone meal – 4;
- herbal flour – 2.4;
- salt – 0.6.
In order to enrich the feed with biologically active substances, you can add special premixes (P1-1, P5-1, P6-1) at a rate of 1:100.
Raising young animals
When kept in compact conditions, the females' instinct to incubate eggs atrophies, so an incubator must be used to hatch new chicks. For fertilization, males are placed in cages at the rate of 2-5 per 10 females. The age of birds most suitable for breeding is 2-7 months.
Before being placed in the incubator, eggs with visible damage, non-standard shapes, sizes and colors are rejected. It is recommended to check the contents of eggs with an ovoscope to select eggs with double yolks, cloudy contents and other defects.
The incubator must maintain a certain temperature and humidity level:
12 days – 37.7°C and 55-60%;
from 12 to 15 days inclusive – 37.2°C and 55%;
from day 16 – 37°C and 70%.
During the first day, the brood should be carefully protected from drafts. The temperature in a special container (brooder cage) should be maintained between 35-37°C during the first week. Then the temperature gradually decreases to 30-32°C during the second week and to 24-26°C during the third. Afterwards, the young animals can be placed in cages with adults.
Breeding quails for meat or eggs, which business to choose?
There are breeds specifically designed both for breeding for meat and for increased egg production. Paradoxically, it is not always advisable to breed only meat breeds.
This applies to the sale of carcasses to catering establishments. A standard portion of poultry meat rarely exceeds 200 g, while the weight of a meat quail carcass is 300 g. It is not profitable for a restaurant or cafe to cut up a carcass, so they are more willing to purchase meat from smaller egg-bearing breeds.
Breeding meat breeds is economically profitable with established sales to retail chains or poultry farms that want to expand the range of products without changing production technology. In these cases, the profit from the sale of quail meat will be significantly lower, because the buyer has to take into account his profit margins from subsequent resale.
It seems most rational to breed not very small egg-bearing breeds and make efforts to sell both eggs and quail meat. The business, in any case, is that laying hens produce eggs, and the birds have to be slaughtered before the age of 1 year, and the resulting eggs and meat need to be put somewhere.
Sales of finished products
Any production constantly faces the problem of selling products. There is no doubt about the ability of quails to consistently produce eggs and meat, but finding a market in modern Russian realities may take quite a lot of time.
Managers of farms that have already achieved significant results in quail breeding advise starting with word of mouth.
At the initial stages of implementing a business plan, you should try offering quail eggs and meat to your friends and relatives. From them, information can go further, subject to setting a price favorable to buyers. This distribution channel cannot be considered truly reliable, but it will help you make a profit while working with other potential buyers, such as wholesale and retail chains and restaurants.
You should not seriously rely on small stores that do not have a developed network. Low purchasing power and insufficient customer traffic will not allow reaching any significant volumes. In this case, you will need to spend your own money on delivery and packaging of products.
When promoting products in retail chains and catering establishments should be brought to potential buyer obvious advantages. 100 g of quail eggs, with comparable volumes of useful microelements, proteins and fats, contain half as much carbohydrates and several times less cholesterol. This makes quail breeding products more useful and suitable for dietary nutrition. In addition, the valuable properties of quail eggs make it possible to remove radionuclides from the human body.
Sale of quail meat and eggs to poultry farms
Establishing connections with major suppliers farm products in the region. In this case, you will have to give up part of the profit, but the farm will be spared the need to receive a larger part permitting documentation. In addition, wholesalers are freed from having to worry about distribution channels.
Large producers of poultry products, as a rule, are interested in expanding their own range for their counterparties, but often do not have the opportunity to create an additional production chain. When working with wholesalers who undertake work with the end consumer, it is necessary to constantly maintain stable supplies in the required volumes.
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