Gun Dog Forum

Just got the quail house built, and plan on picking up 20 or so quail tomorrow that are about 10 weeks old. What should I feed them?

Just need a coat of paint as soon as the weather dries out.

nice house! i built one out of a 55 gallon plastic drum. i fed them regular bird seed from walmart. they ate it all up and seemed ok to me

Bird seed without grit might not work for long. I buy the medicated game bird feed available at any country feed store, and I still add a pan of sand or small gravel.

Neil wrote:Bird seed without grit might not work for long. I buy the medicated game bird feed available at any country feed store, and I still add a pan of sand or small gravel.

I used to have trouble keeping birds past two or three weeks. They would start croaking off on me, no matter what I did. A friend told me about sand. it has made a huge difference.

I have found that a pan of sand works wonders to keep birds healthy. I have a pan with low sides, containing about an inch of construction sand in my coop and the birds dust in it, pick at it and in general mess around in it. The birds I have in the coop at the moment are over a year old and I have not lost a single bird to any kind of illness since the week after I put them in there. I feed them a 16% pelletized layer feed from Tractor Supply. It is not medicated. In the winter I feed birds the 20% protein version of the same feed.

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered that they had used up the sand. When I replaced the sand, the birds could not wait to dust. They literally jumped in, filled the entire pan and dusted with me standing right there. As soon as a bird jumped out, another bird jumped in until they were all thoroughly dusted.

RayG

Birds need grit (coarse sand) in their gizzard to grind the seed. Birds in the wild like fine dirt to dust in. (The dust clogs the breathing tubes of mites and lice.) A box of coarse sand AND a box of fine dirt would be best.

24% game bird crumbles on adults and 28% on the youngster's. The deaths within two week's are pretty likely caused by coccidiosis. Albon in their water will cure this. Keeping them out of where chickens or pigeons are or were housed will help stop transmission of it too

Find a feed store with at a minimum 26% protein feed (I like to see 28%). A crumbled feed or a finely ground feed doesnt require grit. Young birds need protein and medication. You will save yourself tons of money by doing this. I also have mine on a steady diet of medication in the water. It has worked for me, but what would I know............I only raise them for a living.

topher40 wrote:Find a feed store with at a minimum 26% protein feed (I like to see 28%). A crumbled feed or a finely ground feed doesnt require grit. Young birds need protein and medication. You will save yourself tons of money by doing this. I also have mine on a steady diet of medication in the water. It has worked for me, but what would I know............I only raise them for a living.

Chris -

Not arguing, but the OP wanted to know how to keep a couple dozen adult quail alive and healthy in a relatively small coop. That is a much different proposition than raising a few thousand quail from chicks or eggs all the way to flight ready birds. Much less demanding to deal with a handful of adult birds I am sure and if a few croak off, no big deal. if a few hundred of yours croak off..it IS a big deal.

RayG

Ray-
I was only offering the best way to care for the birds. It doesn't matter the age or amount. If you want to have healthy good flying birds feed and medicate with the best. If only a couple croak that is at least $10, what would be the difference in feed and medication?

topher40 wrote:Find a feed store with at a minimum 26% protein feed (I like to see 28%). A crumbled feed or a finely ground feed doesnt require grit. Young birds need protein and medication. You will save yourself tons of money by doing this. I also have mine on a steady diet of medication in the water. It has worked for me, but what would I know............I only raise them for a living.

Do you keep your quail in 4' X 4' pen on wire? If so, and you are making a living, you must have a lot of them. Otherwise, if they are on the ground, they are getting grit. They don't need a lot, but their biology says they need some.

No Neil, I have wire floors and dirt and have NEVER given them a bit of grit. As I said it is unnecessary when you feed a high quality feed that is either crumbles or a finer mix. I dont raise any in a 4x4 environment but have plenty in JH's when they are mature to live their lives training my dogs. Dont get into a pissing match you cant win, the proof is in the proverbial pudding.

I have been raising pen quail and using Johnny houses since 1968 and have some understanding of galliformes, so regardless of whom urinates where, I will stand by quail do much better with grit. It is little bother to give them a small pan of sand, not sure why you are being so argumentative.

And you are the first commercial raiser of quail I have heard of with large enough facilities to have them all on wire. Just how many do you sell a year?

If they only eat crumbles or mash then they don't need grit. If the start eating seeds, grass, grains or anything besides crumbles. They will need something in their crop to grind it up.