The Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) is a small galliform that naturally occurs in East Asia. Domestication of Japanese quail started centuries ago, and various types are now available throughout the world. They are a popular species for the study of avian reproduction and ageing, because (i) they are easy to keep and raise with relatively straightforward dietary requirements, (ii) they grow fast and are reproductively mature in 5-8 weeks, (iii) chicks can be raised independent of the parents, making it easier to separate individual traits from parental traits, (iv) they mate indiscriminately, allowing intricate breeding designs, and (v) they age rapidly in both reproduction and survival, with a lifespan that is mostly limited to less than 3 years.

At the Institute of Avian Research in Wilhelmshaven we keep a large captive population of Japanese quail. With pairwise breeding always occurring in a controlled setup, eggs being marked and artificially incubated, and chicks linked to the egg they hatch from, the pedigree of the current generation of quail encompasses more than 12 generations. To allow sufficient genetic diversity a minimum population size of ca. 300 reproductively mature individuals is maintained, but the Institute has an aviary capacity for 800 adults and a state-of-the-art breeding facility with a capacity to raise ca. 160 chicks simultaneously.

The Institute’s current research on Japanese quail is mostly focussed on the effects of inbreeding, the long-term effects of early-life conditions, and the causes and consequences of variation in mitochondrial performance among individuals. Moreover, their reproductive biology makes them a very suitable research species to establish causal pathways in the maternal transfer of environmental pollution to offspring.