Baby quail feed

How to raise quail chicks – Spade & Feather

Animal Husbandry, how to raise quail, how to raise quail chicks, Quail, quail chicks canada, raising quail, raising quail chicks, toronto quail chicks - May 25, 2015

Whether you hatch your own chicks out or buy some day-olds from Spade & Feather, this quick guide will help you through raising quail chicks.

The Incubator

Once hatched, quail chicks need to remain in the incubator until dry. They can happily survive without food or water in the incubator for up to 48hrs. It is best to leave your chicks for the maximum amount of time to allow for their siblings to hatch. Every time you open your incubator to remove dry chicks, you are risking all of the other unhatched chicks. The sudden drop in temperature and humidity from opening the incubator can kill unhatched chicks.

The Brooder

Quail chicks will live the first part of their lives in a brooder. A brooder is NOT the same as an incubator. A brooder is a container that offers protection from predators, drafts and rain. Using a large rubbermaid tote with a flat bottom is ideal for brooding. The tote walls prevent drafts and stop the chicks from straying. These plastic containers are also easy to clean. Broods need to be kept indoors in a barn or house in an area free of drafts.

The Brooder Floor

Quail chicks cannot be placed directly on the plastic bottom of the brooder. Quails need something to grip otherwise they will develop splayed legs which will eventually lead to death. Splayed legs is a condition where the legs of a chick harden and develop in a position similar to the splits. The chick's mobility will decrease and it will no longer be able to feeder and drink. To prevent splayed legs, we recommend placing shelf liner in the bottom of the brooder. It should be cut to size and lie flat on the floor. Paper towels can also be used on top of the shelf liner to help absorb moisture. After 5 days, pine shavings can be added to the brooder. Never use cedar shavings as the dust can cause respiratory problems in poultry. The brooder floor should be cleaned often. All soiled shavings or paper towel should be changed.

The Feed

Quail chicks need 24 hour access to food specifically made for their nutritional needs. Do no feed them cat food, dog food, seeds or grasses. The best feed for a quail chick is a non-medicated starter crumb of 24% protein or higher. This is available at feed stores in 25kg bags or at Spade & Feather in smaller more manageable amounts here. For the first few days, chicks will struggle to eat from a feeder so it's best to sprinkle feed on a paper towel in the bottom of the brooder. The chicks will create quite a mess with the feed and tend to fling it everywhere. Remove any food that gets damp as it will develop mould and attract flies.

Water

Quail chicks are a lot cuter than they are smart. They have a tendency to drown or soak themselves through when open water containers are used. Only Quail Waterer Bases should be used. These waterers prevent drowning and are simple to use. The base screws onto a Poultry Jar and water should be refreshed twice a day.

Chicks require 24 hour access to water. To prevent bacteria from forming in the water, we recommend 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to be mixed in to every litre of water.

Heat

Quail chicks must be kept warm 24 hours a day. In the first week, chicks need to be kept at 95°F. Every week the temperature can be reduced by 5°F (see chart below).

Week 1: 95°F (35ºC)
Week 2: 90°F (32ºC)
Week 3: 85°F (29ºC)
Week 4: 80°F (26ºC)
Week 5: 75°F (24ºC)

The easiest way to keep chicks warm is by using a heat lamp. The lamp should be positioned to focus the heat on one end of the brooder to allow the chicks to escape the warmth if they start to overheat. It is very important to use an accurate thermometer to monitor the exact temperature in the brooder. If you find your chicks are huddling together under the lamp, they are too cold and the lamp should be moved closer. If you find your chicks are avoiding the warm area of the brooder, the lamp should be moved further away.

If you follow the information above, put in the time and care, your quail will grow healthy and happy!

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What Do Baby Quails Eat?

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Quails have a reputation for being one of the harder birds to raise domestically. While it’s true that they’re more complicated than chickens, quails make an excellent addition to any sort of homestead or larger piece of property, especially if you’ve already got some birds living there.

One of the most important things to take care of before you get baby quails is to figure out what they’re going to eat. They’re notoriously picky eaters, but once you dial in their diet, they’ll do the rest of the work.

What do baby quails eat?

Baby quails in the wild eat grains and seeds that they forage or their mother finds for them.

Baby quails that are raised domestically typically have more choice because they grow up in cornfields, soybean fields, and around other plants where feed is abundant.

They love eating seeds and grains that come in birdseed as well.

If you’re interested in raising baby quails, or you’ve tried your hand at raising them and are having trouble getting them to eat, here is some helpful information about what baby quails eat and how to get them to eat.

Table of Contents

Young Quails in the Wild

Quails are a populous bird in the United States. They’re a common target of bird hunters and can be found in most parts of the country. In the wild, baby quails will eat a ton of seeds and grains, when available.

They’ll also munch on berries, nuts, and insects when they have to take what’s around them. While wild quails love things like sunflower seeds, they are always keeping one eye open to spot an exposed worm or a beetle stuck on its back.

As with most wild animals, baby quail diets will vary to some degree depending on where they live, what the options are, and how the weather affects what’s around.

Baby Quails Raised Domestically

Quails love seeds, but their penchant for bugs also makes them a popular choice for landowners who want to get rid of ticks and other insects on their property. Quails, when full-grown, spend a lot of their days pecking around in the grass and dirt. They’ll hoover up anything that moves that they can easily swallow.

When quails are babies though, their diets need a bit more attention. Baby quails are indeed a lot more fragile than chicks or ducklings. For people who have raised chickens, you may be thinking, “How can that be?” because you may have had some tough experiences with lost chicks.

When it comes to feeding baby quails, you need to know that they need a diet that is higher in protein than non-game birds. Target something around 20-30% protein when you are feeding them. You can find high-protein game bird feed online or in pet supply or agriculture stores in your area.

If you’re buying feed in the store, make sure you tell someone working there that you’re looking for game bird feed suitable for baby quails.

Feeding baby quails with a lot of protein for the first eight weeks or so will improve their chances of survival significantly. Once you get them over that hump, you can relax a little bit because they’ll be out in the yard eating a wider variety of foods.

Remember that baby quails will also need ready access to fresh water that’s refreshed regularly. Baby quails, like other pets, will scramble around their pen a lot when they’re young. They’ll track droppings into the water and drinking too much of it will get them sick. Make sure you change it frequently to keep it clean.

Keeping Your Baby Quails Warm

In addition to getting the feed and water right, there are other things you need to do for your baby quails to keep them happy and healthy. One of the biggest mistakes new owners make is not keeping them warm enough.

These are fragile birds when they’re young, and they’ll die quickly if they’re too cold. If you’re somewhere where it gets chilly, get a heat lamp and put them somewhere they can stay warm. Target around 95 degrees inside to maintain their body heat. That’s pretty hot for humans, especially at night, so a lot of owners keep them in the garage or somewhere like a barn or a shed.

One way you can tell if they are too cold or too hot is where they all huddle together in the box or pen that they’re in.

If you see that the quails are all in the corner opposite the heat lamp, that means they are too hot. If they are fighting to get closer to the lamp, then you may want something a little stronger.

Common Types of Baby Quails

Most people will go with the common quail breeds because they are affordable and easy to find. For example, a lot of people who raise quails buy baby Bobwhite Quails. These birds are great for egg production, meat, or if you want to hunt quail on your land.

They are great flyers, so not the birds to own if you expect them to stay in the backyard outside of their enclosure.

The Coturnix Quail is another good choice. They’re smaller than Bobwhites and fly less, so perhaps are a good option for folks with less space for the birds to roam around in.

These are about half the size of Bobwhite Quails. They do well in colder weather and produce a good number of eggs as well.

Keeping your baby quails fed with the right feed, with a good, clean water supply, and warm enough will significantly increase your chances of getting through those crucial early weeks of life. Eight weeks will pass in a flash, and soon your quails will be strong enough to be out on their own.

They make a great addition to any farm or property. With a little legwork, you can add some beautiful birds to your family and make years of lasting memories.

Resources

https://thetinylife.com/baby-quail/

How to feed quails at home

Quail meat and eggs are useful dietary products. They contain a large amount of easily digestible protein, practically do not cause allergies and have a delicate taste. Quail breeding is profitable, since finished products are in consistently high demand among buyers. However, in order to increase the profitability of a poultry farm or farm, it is important to provide birds with the right nutrition throughout their life cycle. The health of the entire livestock, growth rate, slaughter weight and egg production depend on the composition and quality of the feed.

Content:

Quail food varieties
Feed formulations
Features of feeding birds of different ages
Breeders' recommendations for feeding quails
Advantages of prepared feeds

Feed varieties for quails

Mixtures containing all the ingredients necessary for birds are considered complete. Such feeds are marked with the abbreviation PC and a number indicating the purpose.

PK-11/ DK-50	Chick formulas. They contain chalk, wheat, corn, a small amount of salt. For their enrichment with proteins, soybean meal is used, as well as meat and bone or fish meal. Serving volumes depend on age, but do not exceed 27 g per day per chick.
DK-52	They form the basis of the diet of adults and laying hens. The feed mixture contains 60% cereals (mainly barley, oats, corn, wheat), as well as 30% animal proteins (from fish meal) and laboratory-synthesized lysine. To increase egg production, 5% of minerals (phosphates, chalk, salts) are introduced. To increase the calorie content, bran and wheat flour are used as fillers.

Feed formulations

Cereals (oats, wheat)	These products are high in B vitamins and trace elements. Oats are recommended as the basis of the diet. Before adding to the feed, it is necessary to remove the husk from it, therefore, only peeled and sifted grain is used in ready-made mixtures.
Corn	It is the most important source of carbohydrates. It is useful to give it in combination with meat and bone or fish meal, since corn itself does not have enough protein, but there is a lot of starch.
Legumes	Rich in proteins and amino acids, as well as valuable fatty acids. For the preparation of feed mixtures, soybeans, lentils, peas, etc. are used.
Animal Products	To saturate the feed with essential amino acids, meat and bone and fish meal are added to it. Both ingredients can be administered alternately or mixed. Another source of animal proteins, micro and macro elements are cottage cheese and whey.
Minerals	To stimulate digestion in quails, crushed solid particles are specially added to the feed mixtures. Most often, shells, chalk, egg shells, and gravel are used for these purposes.

Features of the diet of birds of different ages

On the 1st day of life, chicks can only be given boiled, finely chopped eggs. The next day, cottage cheese is introduced in the amount of 2 g for each chick. On the 3rd day, the chicks are offered fresh greens. Especially useful for them are onions, dandelions or young nettles. Starting from the 4th day, the content of boiled eggs in the feed gradually decreases, but the amount of cottage cheese increases.

Week-old quails can already be fed boiled fish, millet and finely grated vegetables, including carrots. However, in the first weeks it is advisable to use ready-made feed mixtures that are appropriate for age. Such compositions belong to the starting ones. For laying hens, a special compound feed is produced with the marking Dk-52. To prevent beriberi, it is recommended to give vitamin supplements to chicks from 5-6 days (usually quails are soldered with chiktonik).

From the 14th to the 28th day, chicks can be transferred to ready-made complete feed containing 24-26% proteins. At this stage, quails are actively growing, so they have an increased need for protein. If it is deficient, it is recommended to further enrich the diet of chicks with products of animal origin, for example, include cottage cheese or boiled fish in it. To prevent vitamin deficiency, increase the amount of fresh herbs. From the 14th day, fine gravel or shells can be added to the feed to stimulate the digestion process.

Additionally, it is useful for quails to give cabbage leaves, lettuce, spinach, parsley, clover, beet tops, alfalfa, stems of legumes. Greens are thoroughly crushed before adding to the mixer. Monthly young animals are gradually transferred to the main feed for quails. Particular attention should be paid to the nutrition of females who are just starting to lay eggs. To strengthen their health, the amount of vitamin supplements is increased during this period. In laying hens, the need for vitamins A and E increases by 50%. If, at the initial stage of maturation, the female needs to delay egg laying, most of the grains that are responsible for the formation of eggs are removed from the diet, and the protein content is reduced to 15%.

Chicks are smoothly transferred to adult food at the age of 30-42 days. At this stage, it is enough to feed them three times a day. When developing a recipe, it is important to take into account the effect of grains and proteins on the speed of puberty and increase / decrease their amount to speed up / slow down the process. Meat breeds are given PK-6 compound feed, which stimulates a rapid set of muscle mass.

Breeders' recommendations for feeding quails

All chicks must have easy access to drinkers. It is important to renew the water daily. In the first 3 days, it must be boiled and disinfected with potassium permanganate (just add a couple of crystals). Then you can limit yourself to only boiling.

Meat quails are fattened gradually. With a sharp transition to specialized mixtures and an increase in portions, the gastrointestinal tract of the bird does not have time to adapt. High risk of indigestion. On average, the transition takes 4 days. At first, the serving volume remains the same as for adult birds, but the percentage of fat and starchy corn in the diet increases. The process of fattening quails takes about a month.

In the last week, the daily food intake is increased by 8%. If an individual receives a balanced diet, its weight by this time is at least 160 grams. To improve the taste of meat, a few days before slaughter, fish, onions, garlic are removed from the diet and chopped carrots are added. It gives the final product a richer color. It is not recommended to include products with a pronounced smell in the diet of birds at the fattening stage.

For egg-bearing breeds, it is important to select balanced mixtures with high nutritional value. To increase the productive period, quails need to consistently receive a certain amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, micro and macro elements. They require feed with a protein content of at least 20.5%. This is a prerequisite for improving egg quality and egg production. In addition, it is useful to add crushed eggshells to the mixture to replenish calcium losses in laying hens. One bird requires 25-30 g of feed daily. However, an excess of protein is undesirable, since quails begin to lay eggs with two yolks. Excess calories are also bad. Birds gain fat and stop laying eggs.

Advantages of prepared feeds

In the production of safe balanced mixtures for quails, it is important to monitor the quality of raw materials and the correct ratio of ingredients. In small and medium-sized farms, it is difficult to organize the technological process in compliance with all standards. Acquisition of a special production line, laboratory checks, arrangement of storage facilities with certain parameters of temperature and humidity require significant costs. It is much more profitable to buy ready-made mixtures from a reliable manufacturer.

The company "Southern Crown" is engaged in the development of recipes and the production of feed for quails of all ages:

❖ cereals, legumes, herbs grown in the Kuban are used as raw materials;
❖ our products fully comply with state standards and are stored in proper conditions;
❖ you buy safe food with high nutritional value;
❖ The company has an extensive dealer network and organizes deliveries throughout the country.

Do you want to know more about our products? Leave your application on the site.

How to choose the right food for quails of different ages

How to feed quails at home, how to balance the diet, taking into account the time of year and the age of the birds.

Quail meat and eggs are highly valued as a dietary product, so more and more farmers are trying to breed these birds at home. We discuss the nuances of choosing feed for quails, as well as the advantages of compound feed, give practical recommendations on the preparation of feed mixtures, the use of vitamin and mineral supplements.

Advantages and disadvantages of compound feed for quails

What is the best way to feed quails when breeding birds in a home farm? Many farmers choose ready-made industrial feed, and here's why:

Save time on feed preparation. You don't need to think about the balance of the composition, since everything has already been thought out for you. The maximum that is needed is to introduce vitamin and mineral supplements into the feed, depending on the age of the quail.
The bird grows quickly and lays well because it receives the necessary amount of nutrients.
Feed is convenient to store , easy to give to quails.
Easily control the amount of food taken.

But when using mixed feed, there are also disadvantages, but rather nuances. It is necessary to strictly calculate how many times to feed the quails, what portion the chicks and adult birds need, and also adjust the diet depending on the direction of poultry farming. There is feed for meat and egg breeds - this is easy to figure out and then we will discuss examples of feed in both directions.

In addition, formula feeding is more expensive, but there is always a price to pay for efficiency and convenience.

What is included in the compound feed for quails

Protein is the main component that chicks need for active growth, and layers for maintaining health. How to feed quails from the first days of life? The feed should contain up to 27% protein. It is worth adhering to this norm for 30 days, using vegetable and animal proteins. Then you can reduce the protein content to 17-24%. For adult birds, it is optimal if the feed contains 17% protein, for laying hens the dosage is slightly higher - 21%.
Carbohydrates - a component that affects the energy of the bird. With a deficiency, the growth rate may decrease. The main source is cereals like wheat, barley, millet, corn. Be careful with oats - unpeeled oats are dangerous for chicks.

Industrial type of feed

What kind of feed to feed quails? Consider for example the type of food that is suitable for chicks as well as for adult birds.

For chicks, we recommend starting types of compound feed, which should be given up to 21 days. Options:

PK 5-41 — starter food from the first days of life to the fourth week, accelerates weight gain well, forms immunity. The feed contains soybean meal, corn, yeast, fishmeal, wheat, sunflower curtains, limestone, vegetable oils, feed phosphates, amino acids, enzymes, an antibacterial complex and a mineral mixture.
PK 6-6 is food that is given to chicks at 4-6 weeks of age. In addition to components from the starter feed, it contains corn gluten, vegetable fat, mold inhibitor, soda, wheat bran.
PC 3-8 is a kibble that is switched to at 5-6 weeks. In composition, everything is the same as in version P 6-6, but the components are combined in other proportions. Important! When feeding chicks, any food must be soaked with water!

Adult birds are given growth compound feed starting from the 21st day. It is necessary to take into account the direction of breeding - for meat or for eggs. Options:

PC 1-24 - feed for laying hens. In the composition - soybean oil, wheat, sunflower curtains, vitamin and mineral complex, antibacterial composition, phytase.
DK 52-4 — food for laying hens from the seventh week. Ingredients: fish meal, fish oil, salt, curtains, corn, wheat, bran, soda, lime meal, Bacell enzyme.
DK-52 is another food for laying hens from the seventh week, increases productivity, strengthens the egg shell.
PK-1P - food for quails of meat breeds, given from 22 days. Very high-calorie, easy to digest, best combined with greens. In the composition - grain, meal, proteins, vegetable fats, corn, premix.
DK-53 is a good food option for meat breeds, suitable from the seventh week. In the composition - antioxidants, vitamins, cereals, bran, meal.

Other nutritional supplements

What to feed quails other than compound feed? Diversify the diet can be such vitamin and mineral supplements:

fishmeal - contains fat, proteins, amino acids;
yeast - contain pantothenic acid, vitamins, enzymes;
cake/meal sunflower and soybean seeds - contain vitamins B, E;
salt is an extremely important mineral for quails;
chalk or crushed shell rock - as a source of calcium.

Homemade compound feed: cooking recipes

As an experiment, you can prepare compound feed yourself - a laborious task, but it will cost less than purchased ready-made mixtures. What can you feed quails? The basis of homemade feed is cereals, you can add vegetables, fruits and minerals that are useful for birds.

How to prepare the ingredients:

vegetables and fruits must be cleaned of rot;
rinse in water;
boil for 45 minutes;
cool and grind to get the consistency of porridge.

Important! Make sure that garlic or onion peel does not get into the feed - this is dangerous! Husks can clog the esophagus of quails.

Sample recipe for homemade laying hen food:

you will need to take the base - a suitable cereal;
as proteins, which should be at least 26%, we use peas, soy or lentils;
source of calcium - eggshell;
mineral supplements - yeast and shells;
vitamins - vegetables, eg potatoes, carrots;
additionally we use - maggots, seed plants, ground giblets, barley flour.

Egg-laying quails should receive at least 30 grams of feed per day!

Peculiarities of feeding quail chicks

What to feed quail chicks? The first two weeks - premixes, as well as special protein and mineral supplements. Then you can give starter feed.

Recommendations:

For the first 3-4 days, the chicks should be fed boiled eggs, crushed and mixed with wheat or oatmeal. The proportions are 1:3.
Further, the diet can be enriched with curdled milk and millet porridge.
Day-old quails can be given eggshells, grated carrots and greens.
Cottage cheese can be given from the second day and 2 grams each, boiled fish - from the 5th day.
Food should be at room temperature.
Clean drinking water is always available in a shallow container.
Weak solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection.

Important! How many times are quails fed per day? In the first week - 5 times, in the second - 4 times, starting from the third week - 3 times.

Which quails need trace elements

To understand how to feed quail chicks, let's consider how different microelements affect the development of birds:

iron — anemia develops in case of shortage, bird growth slows down;
phosphorus — important for the development of the skeleton and the flow of energy processes at the cellular level;
calcium - the basis of the skeleton and 97% of the muscle mass of the bird, with a shortage, egg production decreases;
magnesium - activates enzymatic processes, is part of the shell;
copper - with a deficiency, egg production decreases, bone deformation occurs;
sulfur - in case of deficiency, plumage is poor;
zinc - responsible for good plumage, active growth;
chlorine - responsible for normal digestion;
manganese - with a deficiency, deformation of the tendons can be observed;
selenium - an important element for the formation of strong immunity;
iodine - is responsible for stimulating egg production, with deficiencies, feathers fall out, poor hatchability of chicks;
cobalt - needed for the sexual activity of birds;
potassium - with a deficiency, growth retardation and increased mortality of young animals are possible.

What else to enrich compound feed - options for additives

In order to make the homemade compound feed well digestible, the bird grows quickly, and the egg production is high, you can use the following additives:

Limestone or fodder chalk. 3.5% is enough to give birds the required amount of calcium. It is necessary to choose fodder chalk with fractions of no more than 2-3 mm. Alternatively, you can add crushed shell rock to the feed.
Premixes are vitamin-amino acid supplements, which are enough to add to the feed in an amount of 1-2%.
Protein and mineral supplements . The composition includes enzymes, amino acids. The norm is 9.7%.

Waste and cake for mixed fodder

Quail - what to feed to rush, regardless of the season? A good and easy way to enrich industrial compound feed is to use vegetable waste and cake. It turns out useful, economical and practical. For vitamin top dressing, you can use:

greens;
peel of carrots and beets;
cabbage leaves;
apple peel;
pumpkin cleaning.

Important! Cleansing should not be given raw. They are pre-washed, the rot is removed, then boiled for 45 minutes over low heat to kill bacteria and dangerous microbes. Add to mixed fodder in a softened form.

Experienced farmers add makukha, a waste from oil production, to any feed. Inexpensive and healthy, as it contains fats and vitamins that are necessary for the normal development of birds.

Animal Supplements

Adult birds can also include meat and fish waste as a good source of protein. Waste must be ground into flour:

Meat flour. Internal organs of animals are used as raw materials.
Meat and bone. Raw material - the corpses of dead animals. You can give from the fourth week.
Meat-feather. Use for the manufacture of the internal organs of birds and feathers.
Fish. Fish waste contains many amino acids and vitamins.

Mineral supplements - to increase egg production

In order for quails to lay well, the diet must contain a sufficient amount of minerals that are responsible for metabolic processes in the body and the formation of a strong shell. If some minerals are missing, the bird has a weak skeleton and a weak shell.

Simple and effective mineral supplements:

Bone meal - contains almost all the necessary minerals, but in a low concentration.
Limestone with marble chips - perfectly regulates calcium levels.
Shells with limestone flour - difficult to digest, but good for improving the functioning of the small intestine.
Lime flour with marble chips and shells - good for "cleansing" the intestines, but can increase acidity.

How to diversify the diet depending on the season

Above we looked at what is fed to small quails and adult birds. In addition, it must be taken into account that the development is affected by the length of daylight hours. If there is not enough sun and vitamin D, productivity in adult birds decreases, females do not rush well. Therefore, depending on the season, it is necessary to enrich the feed with various additives.

Spring-summer is the season when you need to add the first greens to the feed, after grinding it into a mass. Greens contain many vitamins and minerals. In summer, this mass can be diversified with carrots, cabbage, spinach, and beets. Earthworms are an excellent delicacy for young and adult birds.

Autumn-winter - the season when the birds no longer receive green food, and the daylight hours are reduced. To maintain health and productivity, it is necessary to add vitamin complexes to the feed.