Authors : Joelia Nasaka, John Bosco Nizeyi, Sam Okello and Constantine Bakyusa Katongole
Abstract: The early 2010’s witnessed increased interest in quail farming in urban areas of Uganda; particularly in regard to quail eggs which were claimed to have better health benefits compared to chicken eggs. However, being a new venture in Uganda’s poultry industry, there is a paucity of information on quail feeding management practices. Therefore, this study identified and characterized the feeding management practices used in quail farming in Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso Districts. A total of 90 quail farmers were interviewed using structured questionnaires. Among, the cited quail species kept, Japanese quail (73.3%) was the most commonly kept species and flock size was generally small (between 100 and 500 birds). Almost all the respondents (94.4%) used commercially-mixed quail feeds as opposed to home-mixed feeds (5.6%). The most probable non-conventional protein feed resources cited in the feeding of quails were all plant protein sources, namely cocoyam, sweet potato, cassava, Amaranthus, Brassica oleracea (traditionally known as Sukuma wiki) and Hoslundia opposita (locally known as Kamunye) leaves. About 13% of the respondents continued with the starter diet beyond the recommended 4 weeks of age. Over 35% of the respondents offered the grower diet to quail chicks while 34.5% continued with the grower diet to the laying stage. Nearly 40% of the respondents offered the layer diets to chicks and growing quails. Thus, results of the present study revealed the existence of some inappropriate feeding practices which may translate into inadequate dietary nutrient supply, consequently reducing the performance of quails.
Joelia Nasaka, John Bosco Nizeyi, Sam Okello and Constantine Bakyusa Katongole, 2017. Characterization of Feeding Management Practices of Quails in Urban Areas of Uganda. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 16: 92-100.