livestock

A Magazine for Livestock and Meat Advisory Council & its allied associations
These indigenous birds are productive, producing eggs
said to have twice the nutritional value of hen's ones and
they are quick to market.
C
apital Foods' launched its first clutch were males.
quail feed to a capacity Nevertheless her flock
crowd at the Andy Millar grew but the biggest
Hall in Harare's Exhibition challenge was the
Park on January 30.
feed.
Quail
These indigenous birds are productive, Capital Foods have
producing eggs said to have twice the solved this particular
nutritional value of hen's ones and they problem with a new
are quick to market. Their meat, similar range of balanced
to chicken, is said to give the grey nutrition for the birds
generation the energy to face another at various stages, plus
day: they are certainly a good source of a costing model so
protein.
people can budget
correctly.
Mrs Woloza started farming quail three
years ago. She started with 50 birds It produces a layers'
and said they are easy to breed—but mash that is 24%
hard to sex and three-quarters of her protein. This reduces
to 10% protein after
three to four weeks.
After six or seven
Quail eggs contain twice the goodness of hens' ones.
weeks they move onto a finishing diet “To move from the office to raising
so they no longer lay. The broiler food quail was difficult but thanks to this little
contains 18% protein.
bird, my family manages to eat and to
pay school fees. If we are good to these
“We did not vaccinate and somehow birds, they will look after you.”
they did not die,” Mrs Woloza said.
“We also did not know how long to Capital Foods also launched feed for
incubate the eggs but we managed. roadrunners. With the worldwide move
The biggest question was: 'Who is the to organic food, the price of
market?' I can tell you: we are the r o a d r u n n e r s i s i n c r e a s i n g
market. It is a sweet bird and, like all exponentially, so this is a good market
Quail, an indigenous bird now
meat, it is important to eat it fresh. to investigate as well.
being intensively farmed.
Would-be quail farmers crammed the Andy Millar hall to find out how to raise these wild birds.
Livestock Today April-June 2016 9