How to start quail farming: step one

Now this is very important: unlike with ordinary poultry farming in Kenya, you must have a license from Kenya Wildlife Services before you start quail farming. This is because these birds are predominantly wild birds. Initially, application for this license was only done from the KWS headquarters in Nairobi but thanks to the overwhelming applications that KWS got, you can now apply from your regional branch. It should take approximately 2 weeks after application for you to get the license.

Requirements for licensing


KWS requires that you first put up the farm structures and quail cages you intend to use. You will attach photos of the cages while submitting your request form. There are specific standards that you must adhere to while constructing the cages as follows: quails should be kept in cages with a plywood floor. It should be constructed in such a manner that it would be easy to clean the floor. A cage measuring 4*2.5*1.5ft can house a maximum of 50 birds. KWS will come to your farm to inspect this and if you have fulfilled all their requirements, you are given a request form and the license takes about 2 weeks to be processed.

Breeding and feeding
While quails are excellent layers, capable of giving up to 300 eggs per bird in a year, they are poor breeders owing to their small size. Therefore, for a successful quail farming venture, you will need an incubator for breeding the birds. And if you do not want to lose all your chicks, you would better invest in a brooder. Lighting is also very important for the growth of the birds so ensure that they get at least 13 hours of sufficient light every day.

When it comes to feeding, this is where quail farming has the major advantage over other forms of poultry farming ventures in Kenya in respect to cost. Quails will feed on ordinary chicken feed but each bird will consume an average of only 20 grams in a day.