By Muhammad Luqman

Quail farming is gaining popularity in Punjab as rising demand from hotels and restaurants in urban centers such as Lahore, Gujranwala and Multan encourages farmers to establish quail farms in rural and suburban areas across the province.

“Quail meat is considered a luxury food item and is mainly consumed in major urban centers, where people have greater purchasing power. Despite having a nutritional profile comparable to mutton, quail meat costs almost half as much as lamb,” said Dr Faizan Rashid, owner of a quail farm in Pattoki, near Lahore.

Talking to Wealth Pakistan, he said quail meat was selling for Rs1,450 per kilogram, compared with Rs2,400 per kilogram for mutton.

Dr Rashid said establishing a quail farm required less investment than setting up a conventional poultry farm, largely because of the bird’s short production cycle and relatively modest space requirements.

“A room measuring 100 square feet can accommodate up to 1,000 birds,” he said.

He added that the early stages of rearing quail and conventional poultry, including brooding and general management, were broadly similar. Temperature control was essential during the first few days, but quails were generally hardier than conventional poultry in terms of disease resistance.

Unlike conventional poultry, quail do not routinely require vaccination under some farming practices, although disease prevention and veterinary care remain important. Antibiotics may be prescribed for bacterial infections, when necessary, he said.

According to Dr Rashid, feed constitutes the major recurring expense in quail farming. A quail chick costs around Rs17, while a mature bird can fetch between Rs70 and Rs100, depending on its size and market demand.

“Farmers’ earnings from quail farming depend on how efficiently they manage their birds and control production costs,” he said.

A Japanese-breed quail chick weighs around eight to nine grams at birth and can reach approximately 100 grams at maturity, he added.

Dr Rashid said the Avian Research and Training Centre at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, had developed a jumbo quail breed to improve the bird’s size and meat yield.

According to him, the initiative increased egg weight from 9.5 grams to 12 grams and the weight of day-old chicks from 6.5 grams to eight grams.

“The live weight of birds at 28 days of age has increased from 100 grams to 200 grams. Consequently, the dressed weight has increased from 50 grams to 100 grams,” he said.

However, the farmer noted that the jumbo breed had yet to gain widespread acceptance among hotel and restaurant owners, who generally preferred smaller quail for serving customers.

 “The UVAS breed is popular among consumers who purchase the birds and cook them at home,” Dr Rashid said.

According to poultry and aviculture experts, quail farming remains a developing niche in Punjab, with potential for expansion as demand for alternative meat products grows.

“Compact housing, relatively modest land requirements, a short production cycle and early maturity make quail farming an attractive business opportunity,” said Dr Farhan Afzal, director of the Poultry Research Institute, Punjab.

However, he cautioned that uncertain demand, fluctuating prices and limited access to regular buyers remained major constraints on the sector’s growth.

“These potential advantages do not automatically guarantee profitability. Reliable buyers, feed costs, chick quality, mortality rates and farm management practices determine the commercial viability of quail farming,” he said.

Dr Afzal said the Punjab Livestock Department supported the sector primarily through broader poultry research, extension services, training, veterinary diagnostics and regulation, rather than through a dedicated quail-farming assistance programme.

He added that the sector’s main challenge was not simply the birds’ biological potential, but a combination of uncertain markets, production costs, inconsistent stock quality and an underdeveloped value chain.

For quail farming to expand commercially, experts say, farmers need more reliable market linkages, better access to quality breeding stock and effective cost management to ensure sustainable returns.

Credit: INP-WealthPk