The maintenance of quails in the warm season is not difficult. However, in the winter season, the birds need special conditions. A comfortable life in the barn during the cold months will not only preserve the health of small birds, but will also delight the owner with new offspring.
Barn Requirements
Before wintering, it is best to keep no more than 50 adults in your house. Such a number of birds guarantees cost savings in space heating, and the dense arrangement of birds helps to warm them naturally. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that the young growth has a lot of fluff that will allow the birds to bask on their own, even on the coldest nights.
The quail will help winter the special barn, which even beginner poultry farmers can equip. The first criterion to adhere to is the size of the building. If the number of individuals in quail families is estimated at hundreds of individuals, then it is necessary to choose a room with an area of at least 30 square meters. m, which can accommodate up to a thousand representatives of the bird flock.
Humidity
Quail are in dire need of high humidity in the place of residence - in a shed for birds it should be maintained at a high level with a minimum amount of water. In cold weather, the best method of maintaining moisture will be the proven method: a rag dampened with plenty of water should be hung or placed next to quail cages. Alternatively, you can put a vessel of water directly to the birds or nearby.
Ideal humidity for birds are marks in the range from 60 to 70 percent. This is due to the fact that the natural habitat of quails is wet and swampy areas.
Humidity in the house, where birds are kept, should not be lower than 50 percent. If the requirement is not met, then the birds begin to drink more, as a result of which they consume less feed. In addition, prolonged drought negatively affects the reproductive function of quail, and therefore complete loss of egg production may occur.
Lighting
Natural lighting is the best lighting. The shed should be equipped with large windows that can provide the birds with enough light and, accordingly, vitamin D. But in the winter season, when the sun pleases infrequently and not for long, help may be required.
An excellent solution when organizing a shed for wintering birds will be the combination of heating and lighting. The best option for this is an infrared lamp. If the problem of heating is not acute, then you can limit yourself to 40 W incandescent lamps or similar diode power up to 5 W. The main condition of the lighting regime is the duration of daylight hours for quail should be at least 15 hours. Ideally, the house should be lit for 17-18 hours.
It is possible to improve the quail egg production by alternating light and dark periods every two hours.
Ventilation
Fresh air is extremely important for any living organism, and quail is no exception. In winter, it is much more difficult to provide oxygen circulation in the house, but, nevertheless, it is necessary.
For young animals, the optimal speed of air movement in the room is from 0.1 to half a meter per second, for adults - from 0.2 to 0.6 meters.
Temperature
Sudden changes in temperature and the presence of drafts have an extremely negative effect on the health of home quail. The first step on the way to a temperature comfortable for birds is a shed without holes and holes.
In addition, the bird cage should be made of solid wood - this will contribute to the preservation of heat in cold Russian winters. As you know, wood is characterized by heat-insulating properties, and, therefore, there will no longer be such an urgent need for auxiliary external heating. Lattice cells cannot boast such an advantage, as a result of which they are not able to retain heat for a long time, and as a result, it is impossible to do without constantly working heaters in the winter season.
In a cold room with drafts of quail, they often begin to pile up and climb each other. Such behavior promises inevitable death to weak birds that find themselves under the flock.
The optimum temperature for keeping birds in winter is 18 degrees Celsius. Fluctuations in any direction will not bring quails any benefit. However, it is important to remember that the temperature in the house and the temperature in the habitat of birds are two different things. Inside a closed cage made of wood, the temperature due to space heating by birds significantly exceeds the total temperature in the barn. Well-feathered three-month-old quails tolerate lower temperatures much better than their older and lacking parts of the feathers of their relatives.
Cell requirements
Cages for wintering quail can be made of any material: stainless steel, galvanized steel, plywood or wood. The main thing is to comply with the physiological needs of quail and provide them with maximum comfort for laying eggs. However, when choosing a future winter residence, consider the following factors:
- In an open cage, birds will inevitably react to everything that happens around. In this regard, the quail are nervous and stop rushing.
- An excess of light is also not good for birds. Too high illumination provokes birds to bend, and also causes increased anxiety, depression and a drop in egg production.
- If at least somewhere in the barn a gap is missed, an open cage gives carte blanche to the drafts.
- Closed cell types reduce the difference in temperature differences day and night, especially if the birds live in a poorly heated room.
- The appearance of chicks in the winter season requires the construction of a strong wood drawer in the barn with doors and bedding (sawdust is the best choice).
- Strengthening the ceiling with foam rubber not only improves thermal insulation, but also helps to reduce bird injuries - some quail can jump to great heights, and inevitably beat against the hard surface of the ceiling without a foam layer.
- When choosing a cage format for wintering, it is better to give preference to one large cage with partitions, allowing to separate males and females as necessary. One large cage, instead of several small ones, will allow birds to warm each other.
How to make a quail cage with your own hands, read here.
Barn Cleaning and Hygiene Procedures
Regardless of the time of year, the responsible poultry breeder needs to remember not only the general recommendations regarding the living conditions, but also that the birds should live clean. To maintain hygiene in the poultry house, disinfecting measures are carried out on a regular basis in the places where the birds stay.
Before cleaning, bird families are temporarily removed from the cage, and the house itself is thoroughly washed and cleaned:
- The bottom, rods and ceiling of the cage should be washed with soap. To do this, rub a piece of soap (preferably tar) with a damp sponge and clean the cage. You can also use a washcloth, which is wetted in a soapy solution.
- Wash the soap from the cell using a large amount of boiling water.
- Dry well. It is better to use a construction hairdryer for these purposes. Go to the drying of cells with all responsibility. Otherwise, it can become damp in the house, and various microorganisms develop well in damp.
Disinfection barrier
In order to avoid the development of quail diseases indoors in the winter season, when birds are most susceptible to them, the installation of simple disinfection barriers is recommended. Any poultry breeder can do it with his own hands.
To build a disinfection barrier, you will need:
- a box or basin with sides so low that it is impossible to trip over them (as a rule, this is up to 5 cm);
- sawdust, foam rubber or other filler, the main condition is that it should absorb well;
- a piece of burlap the size of a box;
- any disinfectant.
To assemble this simple but effective design, you will need to perform several steps:
- Fill the container with filler so that it covers the bottom for a couple of centimeters.
- It is good to soak with a disinfectant, but so that it does not spill when pressed.
- Cover with burlap.
When the owner of the birds enters the barn, he needs to stand with his feet on the barrier. This action allows you to disinfect shoes and prevent the entry of pathogens into the house.
Winter house disinfection
In addition to washing and disinfecting barriers, quail housing in winter must be periodically treated with disinfectants. For these purposes are used:
- Sodium hydroxide. The solution irrigate the surface at a concentration of 3 liters of solution per 1 square. m barn. Birds must not be allowed in for three hours from the time of treatment.
- Freshly slaked lime. Whitewashing is necessary to cover the walls and ceiling at a concentration of 200 milliliters per 1 square. m. Do not let the birds in until they dry completely.
- Fospar The solution should irrigate the equipment at a concentration of 2 liters of solution per 1 square. Do not let birds in for three hours from the time of processing.
- Formaldehyde. Aerosol process equipment, all surfaces and air in a concentration of 20 milliliters per 1 cubic meter. m of water. Do not let birds in for a day from the moment of processing.
- Ammonia. Aerosol process the entire space of the house at a concentration of 10 milliliters per 1 cubic meter. Birds are not allowed in for 1 hour from the time of processing, the room is well ventilated.
Winter quail feeding
So that the birds do not get sick in winter and continue to rush well, you need to pay attention not only to their conditions of detention, but also to food. It should consist of the following components:
- Compound feed. First of all, quail nutrition should be balanced and rich in vitamins. Therefore, it is recommended to give them feed. Today, there are several types of industrial feed for feeding quails, but you can also use hand-made feed.
- Mixes. If the poultry farmer does not have the opportunity to cook or purchase full-quality high-quality feed, then the birds are given feed mixtures prepared independently. In the composition of feed mixtures, a balance must be maintained between proteins, grain, vitamins and minerals.
The basis of the diet for quail in the winter should be:
- millet;
- sorghum;
- all types of crushed grain (except rye);
- wheat;
- rice and pearl barley.
It is useful to give steamed and crushed quail from leguminous feed:
- peas;
- lentils;
- lupine;
- Beans
- soy.
In winter, quail is in dire need of daily consumption of chopped greens, which can be replaced with grated carrots or a variety of vitamin supplements. Of the variety of greens, quail is most preferred to give:
- tops of carrots, turnips and beets;
- green onions;
- clover;
- nettles;
- cabbage and dandelion leaves;
- alfalfa.
In the absence of fresh grass in the winter, the birds are given dried herbs harvested in the summer. Necessary greens are previously crushed. To do this, you can chop it with a knife or scroll several times in a meat grinder. But in rare cases, they give whole leaves - quail cope well with hanging tops of carrots, turnips and beets.
In winter, it is also useful to feed the quail with chopped cabbage leaves, which contain many vitamins and minerals useful for birds.
About feeding quail more is written here.
Useful tips and tricks
The content of quail in winter has its own subtleties and nuances, which should be remembered:
- Despite the fact that these poultry have a very stable immunity to most avian diseases that spread rapidly in winter, if the flock is disturbed, feathers can fall out, pecks and cannibalism. The causes of these problems, as a rule, are poor-quality food and its deficiency, colds, crowding, fever and dryness in the room.
- The presence of too bright lighting and other annoying factors at any time of the year, and especially in winter, introduces quails into a state of stress, as a result of which laying layers lose their egg production, and males become aggressive and begin to fight.
- In winter, especially in rural areas, electricity outages often occur. In this regard, the poultry breeder should take care of autonomous devices (generators) for supplying heat and light to rooms where quails are kept.
- You should not start growing quails with a large herd of a thousand or more birds. It is better to gain experience in breeding quails with a number of several hundred individuals. Feathered, accustomed to living in the wild, with careful care and an abundance of feed will please the owners with high productivity even in winter.
This video provides some useful recommendations on equipping a quail room for the winter and the rules for keeping these birds in the winter:
Wintering of quail is a serious and responsible process, which can be a test even for an experienced poultry farmer. However, suitable living conditions, food and regular hygiene measures will allow small birds to easily endure harsh Russian winters.