A commercial quail farm has grown up in Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali. Mahabubul Alam Naim, a former student of Dhaka University, began rearing quail at home largely as a hobby.

Within just nine months he saw a profit, and went on to set up a farm named Nur Jahan Livestock and Agro at his own home in the Sikdar Road area of the municipal town. Besides quail, the farm keeps native ducks, chickens and pigeons, and he farms pangas fish in his own pond. But because quail proved profitable, he built the farm on a commercial scale.

According to experts, Bangladesh's climate suits quail rearing. Quail meat and eggs are as nutritious as chicken meat and eggs. The quail is a domesticated bird whose original home is Japan; it later became popular in many countries, including Bangladesh.

"Just nine months ago I bought 600 quail chicks from a farm in Narsingdi. Many people said then that the chicks would not survive, and it hurt to hear that. When they started to grow I was overjoyed. As the chicks grew, so did my dreams, and when they began laying eggs my hardship was over," Naim said.

He said buying the chicks cost him Tk 50,000 in total. The farm now has 1,200 quail that lay an average of 800 eggs a day, which he sells at the local market for Tk 2 each, giving a daily income of Tk 1,600. At the end of the month, he said, his income from quail eggs comes to Tk 50,000.

Naim said demand for quail eggs and meat is rising day by day. A quail farm can be set up with little capital, and because the birds are small they need little space: 10 to 12 quail can be kept in the space for one chicken. The birds hardly suffer from disease. A quail usually starts laying at six to seven weeks old and lays 320 eggs in 365 days.

According to his family, Naim completed his master's at Dhaka University and then worked on a project at an international NGO, after which he became unemployed. Some time later he bought two quail at the market as a hobby and started rearing them. At one point it struck him that rearing the birds on a larger scale could make him self-reliant, and that was how his journey began. His monthly income is now Tk 50,000.

Local resident Forkanul Islam said many people have been inspired by Naim's quail farming. Because the eggs and meat are nutritious, many local people take them home to eat, and the price is very low. In his view, unemployed young people could create jobs for themselves by setting up quail farms.

Md Kamruzzaman, a doctor at Kalapara hospital, said quail eggs and meat are rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, and quail eggs are very good for health.

Kalapara upazila livestock officer Md Habibur Rahman said Naim sometimes comes to him for advice about the farm, and the office helps him. Quail can be reared with little capital in a small space, and the meat and eggs are tasty and nutritious, which is why more people are becoming interested in quail rearing.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.