quail ?

[MOSSY NUT]

I'm thinking about adding quail to the rest of our critters. I went to TSC this afternoon to get chick & rabbit feed. So I asked them if they had game bird feed and they don't carry it but they had Dumor chick feed that said quail on it. So my question is if this was a good feed and if this would be ok for baby quail as well?

 

[akane]

If it's not medicated it will work. They won't grow as well as on a gamebird feed. In fact we used to feed all our chickens and gamebirds on gamebird feed because they grew and feathered so much better. The bantams were fully feathered a month early compared to chick feed.

Medicated feed is debated for gamebirds. They are more sensitive than chickens and some have had massive deaths that they attributed to overdosing on medicated feed.

 

[MOSSY NUT]

How did your laying hens do on the gamebird feed? Can you recommend a good brand of gamefeed?

 

[JohnMc]

I'm thinking about adding quail to the rest of our critters. I went to TSC this afternoon to get chick & rabbit feed. So I asked them if they had game bird feed and they don't carry it but they had Dumor chick feed that said quail on it. So my question is if this was a good feed and if this would be ok for baby quail as well?

Make special note of the protein levels. Your grow outs should be getting no less than 18% feed. Preferably 20%. Your breeders should be on 25-30% protein feed.

Keep in mind that a good female will lay an egg a day, they need the higher levels.
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[edit] Also be sure to provide plenty of calicum sources. Soft shells otherwise.

 

[akane]

Layers on gamebird feed need calcium because it's not high enough for laying eggs. Oyster shell is the most commonly used and comes in several sizes. It's best to offer oyster shell in a separate dish to all laying animals you have. You can also save all the egg shells from eggs you use and leave them to dry or put them in the oven on a low temp. Then crush them and feed like oyster shell.

My layers didn't actually eat that much feed. They were free range on a property with old gardens, berry bushes, grapevines, etc... left to run wild next to a field planted for wildlife. From late spring to late fall they ate bugs, bird seed that fell from the feeders, and other forage they could find. Sometimes my feeder didn't go down at all for a month or 2 if the bugs and fruit were plentiful.

 

[MOSSY NUT]

Thanks I will probably wait until I get my incubator to start the quail. Hopefully in a month or two.

 

[TwoAcreDream]

I am not familiar with what Quail need.

My suggestion is to do lots of online research and to READ the label
ingrediants on whatever feed you decide to use.
Make sure you know what the protein requirement is for quails.
And if medicated is okay or not.
Me, I stay away from medicated feed.

I have 60 chickens. My son has ducks, guineas, chickens and turkeys.
I pick up his grain quite often when I am running errands. I read labels
a lot. His turkeys gave us the most challenges. They like a crumble
feed. They will not eat feed in a mash or pellet form. Because he has
ducks, we have to make sure what feed the other birds get, will not
be harmful to the ducks.

More than once, I have had to correct some person behind the register
ringing up the feed bill. Some know what birds can eat, some do not.

 

[MOSSY NUT]

I'm thinking about adding quail to the rest of our critters. I went to TSC this afternoon to get chick & rabbit feed. So I asked them if they had game bird feed and they don't carry it but they had Dumor chick feed that said quail on it. So my question is if this was a good feed and if this would be ok for baby quail as well?

Make special note of the protein levels. Your grow outs should be getting no less than 18% feed. Preferably 20%. Your breeders should be on 25-30% protein feed.

Keep in mind that a good female will lay an egg a day, they need the higher levels.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[edit] Also be sure to provide plenty of calicum sources. Soft shells otherwise.

What brand of feed do you use with 25% - 30% protein? I give my chickens oyster shell but that looks kinda big for quail would I need to crush it smaller?

 

[BlueMoods]

We raise quail, chickens and rabbits. Dumore is okay for the quail but, gamebird would be better. I get Manna Pro from Tractor Supply (had to ask my store to carry it) but you can check local feed stores and see if they can get any for you.

Fo calcium for the laying quail, I mix the gamebird 50/50 with NON MEDICATED layer crumbles for chickens, that seems to work well for them. I offer small grit/sand separately for them.

 

[JohnMc]

What brand of feed do you use with 25% - 30% protein? I give my chickens oyster shell but that looks kinda big for quail would I need to crush it smaller?

Purina GameBird starter first 4 weeks. I grind it finer for the chicks.
Super Breeder from Southern States for layers and breeders.
Private label 20% layena feed for males and nonlayers destined for the freezer.

The Purina product I have found to be sufficient on the calicum levels. The calicum suppliment I give to the ducks usually has finer particles already in it. I just put the bag thru a fine sieve and end up with a half pound or so of finer grit. That usually is enough for 2-3 months which by then I am buying another bag. <br /><br /> __________ Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:29 pm __________ <br /><br />

Fo calcium for the laying quail, I mix the gamebird 50/50 with NON MEDICATED layer crumbles for chickens, that seems to work well for them. I offer small grit/sand separately for them.

How do you like the Manna Pro? TSC will get for me on order. Would be nice to have a second source other than Southern States for feed.

 

[BlueMoods]

I like it, my quail do great on it. I have cotournix (Japanese) quail and at 6 weeks old they either go to the freezer or, into the breeding population. Yes they lay that young and, full egg production at 8 weeks old.

I do mix 25% scratch grains in the Mana pro for my breeders, they love the millet seed in there, eat the rest of the scratch well enough.

Just know quail are wasteful birds, they will try to dig and dust bath in the feed. You can cut that down by giving them small trays of play sand to dust in and, thy can use that for grit as well. It helps keep the feed going in the birds and not all over the cage and ground under the cage.

Now there is a secret to peeling hard boiled quail eggs, they CAN be very easy to peel but, do it wrong and you will never get them peeled.
Boil the eggs in 50/50 water and vinegar (cider or white is fine). Keep the foam that results skimmed off as that will cause a major boil over if you don't. Boil for 17 minutes. Strain the eggs out (no spots on them now) and cover them in vinegar while they cool for an hour. (Pale greenish blue and rubbery feeling now.) then just find the air pocket, pinch or poke and unwrap the eggs like taking tape off a roll. Easy. Don't use the vinegar and try to do them like chicken eggs and, you will never get them peeled. And no, there is no vinegar taste in the eggs, those thick membranes protect the egg from tasting of vinegar.

One reason pickled quail eggs sell well, a lot of people have tried and failed to be able to peel them LOL.