Quail breeding as a business: reviews, profitability, equipment and business plan

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In Russia, quail has long been considered exclusively royal food. A little later, this bird began to appear on the noble tables, and under the USSR it was the exclusive advantage of the highest party ranks. Today the situation has not changed much. Not every store will be able to buy this game. So the potential for growing quail as a business is really huge.

Profitability

Before you open your own business, you need to thoroughly study all the pros and cons. Quail breeding as a business starting from scratch is no exception. Therefore, it is imperative to calculate the profitability, study all the reviews, and only then begin to collect documentation and equip the sites.

Let's start with eggs: their production is three or four times more profitable than chicken counterparts. Actually, with the right approach, profitability can reach one hundred percent. However, we will proceed from the average and stop at the "golden mean".

Pros

Cultivation of quails in order to obtain meat for profitability is two times lower. ATthe average is twenty or, at the most, twenty-five percent. But there are many other benefits as well. For example, a short production cycle allows you to pay back a quail business, reviews of which are sometimes very useful, in just six months. For reference, it should be noted that, for example, in pig breeding, this indicator is much higher - at least one and a half or even two years.

At the same time, such profitability of quail breeding is due to the fact that birds reach maturity very quickly. And this means that for meat growing, the production cycle lasts from two to three months, moreover, egg production can be achieved at the same time. So quail breeding as a business due to its turnover will develop very quickly. Even as a rough estimate, in six months you can go through as many as three rearing cycles for meat and reach peak egg production.

Features

Quail breeding as a business, according to those who are already engaged in this business, is profitable and not difficult. Especially if you take into account the relevance, short terms of return of costs and, of course, profitability. Many years of experience of professionals indicates that quail breeding will only make sense if the initial number of livestock is six hundred. But in this case, with the favorable growth of birds, their high fertility and proper care, the number of quails per year can be increased by as much as ten times. But this requires certainprerequisites: knowledge of the features of rearing these birds, the complete elimination of any surprises, such as poor-quality feed, infections, etc.

I must say that it is necessary not only to choose a special room, but also to properly equip it: it must have lighting and heating. An important factor for the fertility of these birds is a constant temperature: twenty degrees is considered optimal with a humidity of up to seventy percent. In addition, the room should be well ventilated and free from drafts. All these are very important conditions for such production as quail breeding.

Business plan

Growing this bird at home requires a relatively small investment. At the same time, the lion's share of expenses goes to the purchase of equipment, as well as livestock and hatching eggs. As a premise for an industrial scale, as a rule, small hangars are used. Actually, quails are grown in them. The business plan in this case assumes the following costs for the implementation of the project based on six hundred heads (in rubles):

• in the absence of own premises, the cost of rent (20 sq. m.) - from 10,000;
• acquisition of quails - up to 21,000;
• cell batteries - up to 8,000;
• incubator – 6,500;
• feed - up to 3,000;
• registration of a company - 1,000.

As a result, with an average calculation, you will have to spend about fifty thousand rubles, which, withfavorable circumstances will pay off in half a year.

Necessary conditions for business

Quails must be provided with a dry, warm room. With the correct placement of multi-storey cages on an area of twelve square meters, it will be possible to keep up to a thousand birds. In this case, the following mandatory factors must be present:

• first and foremost: a constant temperature within twenty degrees, since any sudden voltage drop can cause stress in quails and, as a result, the loss of livestock;
• Maintaining optimal humidity and providing ventilation or air conditioning of the room: experts do not advise saving on the latter aspect - it is better to buy a good air conditioner;
• complete absence of drafts;
• soundproofing - Quail is considered a very nervous bird, so sudden and harsh sounds cause him stress, which entails the cessation of egg production and slowing down the rate of weight gain.

Production facilities

Quail breeding as a business has its own nuances. And this is especially true not for home, but for industrial production. If the room in which this bird is supposed to grow is large, then it must be divided into several rooms. In one of them it will be possible to store and prepare the feed mixture, in the other there will be incubators, in the third - chicks will be kept.

Quail breeding equipment

For the maintenance of adult birds, it is best to use cage batteries. They are equipped with feeders and drinkers. As a rule, batteries consist of six cells connected to each other. They are made with a slight slope: this is done for the convenience of collecting eggs.

It will be possible to raise no more than two hundred and fifty chicks in one battery. The cost of this equipment ranges from 2700 to 3300 rubles.

It must be said that if quail breeding as a business is supposed to be carried out at home, then the future businessman, with certain skills, can make a battery feeder on his own. To do this, he will need plywood with metal sheets, welded galvanized mesh and fittings.

For growing chicks, boxes are required, the dimensions of which should be as follows: length and width - sixty-five, and height - twenty-five centimeters. They will need to be equipped with lighting lamps that will simultaneously warm up and maintain the required temperature.

Incubator

Few people know that breeding quails both at home and in industrial conditions leads to the fact that females lose their instinct to incubate eggs. And this means that the future farmer will definitely need an incubator. Artificially supported incubation of eggs involves the use of a space in which there will always be a temperature of 37-39 degrees. An incubator for a small livestock can be made independently. To do this, you need drawings and diagrams. If the future farmer does not have experience in the manufacture of such devices, then he can purchase them in a specialized store. The market value of incubators varies from 3,300 to 6,500 rubles, depending on their size, functionality and the ability to set temperature and humidity conditions.

Sales problem

Actually, the tasks associated with the sale of products are a priority for any business. And quail farming is no exception. Those who do this in a non-industrial environment may initially organize a so-called "home" distribution network for their products. It is as follows. Acquaintances and friends begin to sort out fresh quail eggs, and so orders are gradually formed for another product - for meat.

Cultivation in industrial conditions implies a different scale of sales, and hence profit. As a rule, eggs and quail carcasses are sold by deliveries to markets, supermarkets and smaller food stores, restaurants, boarding houses, kindergartens and schools, as well as many other organizations.

Workforce

If home cultivation requires only one pair of workers, then to ensure uninterrupted and high-quality breeding on a large scale, several people will need to be hired. The duties of such workers include preparing feed mixtures, feeding birds, collecting eggs, cleaning and cleaning premises or a hatchery, temperature control andhumidity.

It is recommended to run such a business alone, without outside help, with a population of up to six hundred birds, then you need to count according to a mathematical progression: up to 1200 quails will require one worker, up to 1800 - two, etc.

Reviews and tips for entrepreneurs

Each novice businessman who does not have sufficient experience in breeding these birds, it is better not to chase excessive turnovers at first. It should be borne in mind that quails are very capricious in keeping birds, so you need to be prepared for the fact that the “first pancake” can only bring losses. Many farmers who have been in this business for more than a year remember how they had to fill cones from their own experience: quails can die, and for a variety of reasons. In addition, they may grow poorly, not gaining sales weight, carry few eggs, etc.

Therefore, the smaller the flock at the beginning, the easier it will be to solve problems of any complexity. That is why, at first, experts advise focusing on the quality and conditions of keeping birds, and not on their quantitative composition.

Besides, small volumes of production do not require solving the issue with the execution of many necessary documents or permits. After all, it is impossible to put large batches of finished products on the market without the appropriate certificates.