Economics of chick production in pure bred Japanese quail breeders under cage and deep litter systems of rearing

A study was conducted to assess the comparative economics of chick production in pure bred Japanese quail breeders under deep litter and cage systems of management. Per cent hen day chick production was significantly higher from cage rearing of Japanese quail parents than deep litter rearing (34.07 ± 2.05 vs 31.05 2.55). Age effect was found to be significant on per cent hen day chick production. The highest number of 45.27 ± 1.16 chicks per 100 parents was obtained during 17–20 weeks and the lowest of 17.87 ± 3.49 during 9–12 weeks. Feed cost (Rs) required to produce 100 day old Japanese quail chicks was found to be significantly lower for deep litter reared breeders compared to cage reared breeders (176.08 ± 6.84 vs 208.11 ± 10.46) and the cost was the cheapest during 1720 weeks (154.18 ± 2.21) and the highest (229.49 ± 12.32) during 29–32 weeks and such influence of age was highly significant.