"I learned about quail from books as a child, and from then on I dreamed of keeping quail. But the needs of life forced me to work abroad. While I was abroad, I saw several television reports on people who had succeeded with quail farming, and that made me even keener." So said Shamim Al Mamun, a successful quail farmer from Kachua village in Sakhipur upazila of Tangail, telling the story of how he realised his dream.

"I set up a quail farm on 30 decimals of land. The journey began with 500 quail chicks. Now there are about 25,000 quail on my farm, and I have built a quail hatchery," he said.

Speaking at his farm recently, Shamim said that after contacting officials of the upazila livestock department, he learned that quail chicks were available in Bogura. He went there and brought back 500 chicks for Tk 20,000, and looked after them himself. Gradually he grew attached to the birds, and began earning a good monthly income, so he kept increasing their number.

Shamim said he now has about 25,000 quail, of which about 10,000 lay eggs every day, bringing in more than Tk 2 lakh a month.

He said the quail farm has no bad smell, so it is environmentally friendly. People come from different areas every day to see the farm and ask about quail-rearing techniques. Because many have shown interest, he set up a hatchery to produce chicks, and many unemployed young people have become self-reliant by taking chicks from it.

He said quail have no feed of their own, but they can be raised on the chicken feed available on the market. Two kinds of quail are sold: a layer quail starts laying within 42 to 45 days and lays continuously for 18 months, while a broiler quail is ready for sale within 28 days. Quail meat and eggs are very tasty and nutritious.

Shamim, who overcame poverty through quail, said proudly: "I enjoy advising people who come to my farm to take up quail farming. It is a profitable business with little capital. Any small family can live comfortably by farming quail."

Shamim said he began keeping quail in 2012 and in the past five years has received several awards as the district's best farmer. Eight workers now work on his farm every day, and he pays them Tk 12,000 to Tk 15,000 a month.

Speaking of plans to expand the farm, he said people from various districts and upazilas buy his quail eggs and hatchery chicks. Hotel owners in Sylhet, Dhaka, Gazipur, Narsingdi, Mymensingh, Netrokona and Sherpur book broiler quail in advance.

He also supplies meat quail to upmarket shopping malls in Dhaka, using his own transport to deliver eggs, chicks and meat quail on demand, and payment arrives quickly through bKash.

Upazila livestock officer Dr SM Ukil Uddin told Jagonews: "Quail eggs and meat are low in cholesterol, so they are good for health. Quail meat and eggs are even very suitable as a diet for patients. There is no risk in quail farming. They are treated with chicken vaccines."

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