Aussies don’t quail at game farming
QUAIL are the smallest species of game bird farmed in Australia.
Found in the wild in Europe, Asia, America and Australia, commercial strains are farmed for meat and eggs worldwide.
Quails are considered separately from the other game birds because they are often farmed independently of these species owing to different management requirements.
The most common species of quail used in commercial enterprises is the Japanese quail (Corturnix Corturnix japonica).
Australian quail are among some of the best meat-producing quail in the world, able to achieve an average live weight of about 240 grams at five weeks of age.
The natural reported weight of this species outside of production units is 100 to 160grams.
The quail farming industry began in Australia about the early 1970s.
Game Farm, the largest producer of quail in the country today, began operation in 1975.
Based on an average production of 280 eggs per hen per year, 70% hatchability and a breeding ratio of three hens to one male, the responding farms produce approximately 3.55 million birds annually.
In 2003, RIRDC estimated the number of quail produced annually to be 6.5 million.
