About quail

Quail

Quail ordinary (genus Coturnix coturnix) - bird pheasant family, the order of chicken. It is the smallest representative unit of chicken. The length of the body 16 - 20 cm, weight - 80 - 150 g.
Color of feathers - brown - brown, mottled with white and strokes. In males, crop and color around the eyes - red, female - lighter. This is clearly seen in this photo - it is left to the male cock, right - the chicken-a female.

Quail ordinary common in Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia: Russia lives in the Black Sea to Lake Baikal. Is the object of the hunt. Growing in fields, meadows, plains and mountains. The birds are very shy and observe them in nature is very difficult. They nest in open areas with well-developed herbaceous cover. As a rule, the nest - a small depression in the ground - finds and settles herself female. She incubates the eggs and protects the chicks first few days after the withdrawal. In one clutch is from 8 to 24 mottled, yellow-brown eggs, weighing 10 - '12 The chicks hatch after 17 - 18 days and once dry off, so immediately start to peck feed. They grow very quickly. Two weeks later they find pen cover and are beginning to try to fly from place namesti, but to one and a half or two months are completely independent older birds. Perhaps the only common quail migratory bird among hens. With the onset of cold weather flies south.
In addition to the ordinary quail, also called European, lives in Russia and dumb, or Japanese quail (Coturnix Japonica). It was cultivated in Japan at the end of XIX, early XX century and is a major bird on quail farms.
At the present time is obtained by breeding several breeds of Japanese quail: marble, Pharaoh, etc., which are bred to produce eggs and meat, both at home and on an industrial scale.
The live weight of male quail about 110 g, females 150, the Japanese quail begin to lay eggs at the age of 50 - 60 days (for comparison - the hens begin to lay no earlier than 180 - 210 days). Every year for quail can lay up to 300 and more delicious and healthy egg mass g of each of which 10 - 14.
Production of quail eggs are cheaper chicken and quail farming is the most cost-effective poultry. The female quail in live weight 125 g egg 250 - 300 eggs in the egg mass is 20 - 24 times greater than the birds (chickens to 8 times). In addition, the quail are "suppliers" of high-quality meat, which is considered a dietary product. No wonder the dishes in Russia quail were considered royal meal.
For breeding of domestic breeds quail in many countries since the mid XX century. Perepelovodcheskie created specialized farm (the farm), where profitability is quite high. Derive even specialized breed of Japanese quail of different directions - in egg production and broiler (meat). Quail broiler lines quickly reach masses up to 200 - 250 g, whereas the mass of birds in egg production form is rarely more than 150 - 180 g.
Quail eggs for many nutrients exceed the chicken. Five quail eggs by weight equal to one chicken contained 5 times more potassium, 4.5 times - iron, 2.5 times - vitamins B1 and B2. Significantly greater in the eggs of quail of vitamin A, niacin, phosphorus, copper, cobalt, and other limiting amino acids. In quail egg in more protein than other precocial birds. For example, in chickens in the egg hold 55.8% of the protein in quail - 60%.
Most precocial birds egg shell is more than 10% of the total mass of eggs, quail - only 7.2%. The shell of quail eggs pigmented, very fragile, but has a strong and resilient podskorlupnuyu film. Stained quail egg shell varies from very dark, yellowish - brown to pure white. The density of quail eggs smaller than that of chicken eggs, which is obviously due to the smaller relative weight of the shell.
Quail eggs are a concentrated set of necessary human biological substances that are the real health vials. In the literature there is evidence that in ancient times, eggs and meat quails were used in eastern medicine. This was one of the reasons for the domestication and breeding quail in Japan. Even in the time of the pharaohs in Egypt quail meat attributed medicinal properties. In Japan and are now using the raw quail eggs in mixture with orange juice for the treatment of asthma.
Quail eggs are a valuable food, which can be recommended in the diet of children and adults in a number of diseases. They do not cause allergic phenomena even for those people that eggs are contraindicated.
In Central Asia, it is believed that quail to bring wealth and prosperity to the house where he was kept in a cage. In addition, the quail is valued for its beautiful songs. In the old days, in the province of Kursk even kept domestic quail and songbirds for their songs, they are not valued below Kursk nightingales.