Uncovering The Gold: How To Start Quail Farming In Kenya

When I wrote The Million-Dollar Poultry Farming Secret Kenyans Haven’t Discovered Yet, I had no idea that the article would be such an eye opener for people keen on poultry farming in Kenya. The response I got was unbelievable! Within a few hours of posting the article, the page views hit an all-time high of 2000 plus, and my email inbox was bursting with all sorts of comments, questions and enquiries. The article was obviously done for poultry farmers in Kenya but I was surprised to receive emails from people as far as Australia, some of whom did not hesitate to call when I replied to their mails and gave them my phone number. It was overwhelming!

Main question: how to start the quail farming business

Now most of those who responded were people already doing poultry farming in Kenya but had developed a keen interest in the quail business, after discovering the many advantages of quail farming over the kind of poultry farming that most Kenyans have been practicing. Most of them wanted to know how they could start quail farming on their farms (interestingly, very few were concerned about the market for quails and quail eggs; it is so obvious that this market is far from being satisfied.) So, here, I have put together an overview of what you generally require to start quail farming in Kenya. A more comprehensive material will be available later and, of course, I will be releasing chunks of it as they get ready, on this blog. So don’t forget to bookmark it and return for more information.

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.

Well, there you have it. As I said, this is only an overview of what you would require in order to start quail farming. Remember to bookmark this blog so that you do not miss the detailed pieces of information on this business that I will be releasing regularly.

It’s so nice to see that you are interested in poultry farming in Kenya. I can only wish you success and if you have any question or suggestion, please feel free to leave us a comment below. SUCCESS. 

The Million-Dollar Poultry Farming Secret Kenyans Haven’t Discovered Yet

When we talk about successful poultry farmers in Kenya, our minds are most probably on the likes of Nelson Muguku and Geoffrey Kago, the farmers that have made millions of shillings from chicken rearing. Well, their poultry business models are worth emulating. But did you know that there is a poultry farming secret that can make you a millionaire (and I seriously mean a millionaire?) Here’s the secret; Quails.

What on earth are quails?

Do you remember the birds that God sent to the people of Israel in the bible story of Exodus 16? They are called quails. They are small birds that weigh about 500 grams when mature. They are predominantly wild birds but have been domesticated and are being reared just like ordinary chicken, but with extremely high returns.

Where are the millions in quail rearing?

Poultry farming in Kenya did not include rearing of quails until recently, when a few farmers discovered how profitable this type of birds is. Let us compare it with the ordinary business of chicken keeping:

A mature chicken consumes an average of 150 grams of feed in a day while a mature quail consumes an average of 20 grams. While chickens require vaccination and regular medication, quails hardly require any medication owing to the naturally strong immune system. The cost of keeping quails is thus far much lower than that of keeping chickens.

On average, chicken eggs incubate for about 21 days and a hen reaches production age after about 5 months. On the other hand, quail eggs take about 16 days to hatch and after just 6 weeks, the bird is ready to start producing eggs and can be slaughtered giving the poultry farmer quick returns.

Quail meat and eggs is gold!

While the average poultry farmer in Kenya earns about KSh.280 per kilo of chicken meat, those who have discovered the million-dollar secret of quail farming make KSh.500 per bird which weighs only half a kilo. And if you think that is the best deal so far, wait for this… For each egg a chicken farmer in Kenya sells, he gets KSh.10 on average. Guess how much a quail egg goes for; 20 shillings! And if you are diligent enough to search for market from the many tourists thronging our country, there is no mentioning the exorbitant price for which you can sell your quail eggs, which many tourists are really looking for. The demand for quail meat and eggs is so high that the production is way too far from meeting half that demand.

I am convinced that rather than the traditional poultry farming, quail keeping is the business that we need to get into for quick returns. I am thankful to the investors who had faith in my projections and came in to see to the success of my venture in Narok and the many that have consulted me for technical support as they start their ventures. If you want to give it a try, email me at enthiga@gmail.com and let's meet at the millionaire's club.