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Quail

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General

Japanese quail are kept for both meat and egg production. Deep litter and battery cage systems are used, with the latter predominating.
Unimproved strains mature at 6 weeks with a liveweight of 150g and can produce 240 eggs per annum. Improved strains give meat yields of 230g liveweight, but produce fewer eggs. The food conversion ratio is 2.4:1. The meat is sold either fresh, frozen, smoked or vacuum packed.

Please remember that special consideration must be given to the VAT aspects of diversification as the new activity may not be treated the same as the existing farm business from a VAT standpoint.

Market

Eggs:
Considerable quantities are consumed on the continent. In the UK it is a gourmet market and is very limited.

Meat:
France consumes 30,000 tonnes/year, oven-ready. UK consumption is around 75 tonnes/year (ie 10,000 to 12,000 birds/week). UK market is met mainly from home production which is about 10,000 birds/week, with imports at 1,500 birds/week.

Physical Requirements

  • Insulated building which is well ventilated.
  • Lighting for 16 hours/day for all year round egg production.
  • Labour - low for management, although subsequent processing is labour intensive.
  • Processing and packing equipment.

Costs

The following costing information is general and current prices should be sought for budgeting purposes.

Capital Costs

£22 per bird produced for a 500-bird unit, dropping £16 for a 5,000 bird unit. Probably around £4,000 for buildings conversion and equipment for setting up a 200-bird unit. Breeding pair: £4 - £10

Running Costs

Meat:
£15 - £32 per 100 birds.

Preparation:
£9 - £10 per 100 birds.

Eggs:
18 - 25p per dozen.

Returns

Eggs:
80p - £1.20/dozen.

Meat:
Fresh 90p/bird. Frozen 75p/bird.

Constraints

  • Market - UK market is small and about saturated. Potential to increase only with time and effort.
  • Planning controls - Change of use of building for processing.
  • Environmental Health - Processing facilities must meet certain standards. 
  • Rates will be levied on a processing facility.

Training

Seek advice from SAC (Auchincruive).

Grants

Through the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) 2007-2013 funding is now available for rural businesses throughout Scotland for diversification and renewable energy projects. Specifically, support is delivered through Rural Development Contracts – Rural Priorities which was launched in April 2008. For further information about what support is available see the Section on Rural Development Contracts – Rural Priorities.

Further Information

Publications

Keeping Quail. Kate Thear (1987). Price £4.50.
Quail Production. ADAS/MAFF (1981).
"Raising Poultry Successfully" by Will Graves, 1985, Williamson, ISBN 0913589098

Contact

Mr Steven Thomson
SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) Work SAC, King's Buildings, West Mains Road,
Edinburgh
EH9 3JG
TelWork 0131 535 4192

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