my wife works at a sushi restaurant and we get the leftover sushi to feed my chickens and quail. they love it. and i love it because it saves me money on feed.
Hi Chris I raise my quail outside like you and I put a light at night and all the bugs go toward it and the quail see them eat the bugs plenty of protein at night
I like to give my quail watermelon. I trim the rind leaving little white and cut it into 1"+ slabs... sometimes I even take a bite out of the middle. I used slabbed cucumbers with the skin pealed (mostly), zucchini logs, and halved cherry tomatoes. I've also picked wild strawberries for them on our morning walks. I've planted wild strawberry in my 25' flyway aviary. I throw in a millet stick occasionally and I look for plants that produce berries they may find in the wild and toss those in there. I supplement my feeders with cracked corn and give them a dried bug treat in the feed trough a few times a week or every time I refill my GQF feeder. The one thing to consider... how to feed them things like worms in a 1/2" hardware cloth floor that doesn't fall through before they get to eat it (like halved grapes and cherry tomatoes). I alternate food treat days with sandbox days. I use bear qt paint can boxes I get from when they restock Home Depot shelves for my sandbox. I used to cut the face off of family size cereal boxes leaving a small lip to help keep the sand in the box. I save old coffee grounds to add to my sand mix instead of dirt. 5 parts play sand 1 to 2 parts dried coffee grounds, 1 part firepit ash, and 1/2 part "food grade" diatomaceous earth. They love it
Good tip about the avocado! I did not know that. I am doing lots of research before building a hutch and buying a few birds or fertilized eggs. Taking my time to learn about them before the spring.
Hi from Srilanka the treats for my quails are spinach and S fly lava. All my Kichen waste goes into the lava box and on a daily basis they get the protein.
For my quail I have him in a guinea pig cage filled with dirt. I dig up fresh plants that have seeds and patches of grass and clovers for him to eat and he loves it. I replant is cage once a week I also catch him small grasshoppers and pill bugs and ather small insects. He even has a sand pit in his cage! Soon once the new quail hatch and are old enough I'll be doing it more often. Lol I do enjoy it because they are happy!🤗💓
The pet shop in my neighborhood sells little boxes of crickets and the quail love it. They don't seem interested in worms or any kind, but they have fun hunting and eating the crickets. Enjoying your videos in San Francisco, CA
May I add one caution concerning feeding bread to quail. Like chickens and most other birds, quail have a crop which is a pouch or pocket on the esophagus. It stores things they eat so it can be softened with saliva and mucus. Feeding bread sometimes fills the crop and it can block the esophagus, forming a firm dam. If bread is mixed with enough seeds and other material, a firm "dam" may not form. This blockage is sometimes life threatening. The crop can be felt where the neck attaches to the chest. So I would suggest you stay away from feeding bread. They sometimes "honk" trying to move this firm mass of food, just like we get the hiccups (but we don't have a crop).
i will be moving within half a year and am hoping to get a garden, when i do i plan to make a simple run for them and use part of it as a compost pile. (avoiding toxic plants of course) my idea was that that way they'll have access to vegetable scraps and the worms that live in there, and will probably keep the compost seed and snail free, and since i eat eggs a lot, quails seem a suitable source that won't annoy the neighbors. thanks for all your informative videos, still looking for an in depth guide on making complete feed myself, to press cost of keeping them healthy.
Another interesting tidbit is quail love ants and any other small insects really. They are great at eating little garden pests. I've heard of cages built to fit over raised garden beds where the quail are let loose to eat the unwanted critters. Once the veggies are well started, the quail generally don't bother with the plants. Thoughts?
Sounds like a good idea. I haven't tried it myself though. Maybe i will do it some day and see how it goes. If you do make sure to shade it though so they aren't in full sun while working.
I have a small flock of young coturnix quail and they can't get enough cucumbers! They'll eat zucchini, but I haven't yet found much else they care for as far as vegetables go. I'm going to try brussel sprouts tomorrow. I have one hen in particular though, who is much slimmer than the rest and who might be preferring vegetables over feed, and may not be getting quite as much to eat as she needs. She does also go crazy for meal worms, and is the first in line at the oyster shell bowl every morning, so she is eating other things, just not so much the feed.
@@sondrabradley8040 I am discovering that they are more willing to eat more things if I cut it up small enough for them. I've seen in the past they would try to peck at some honeydew melon, but only a little bit. Today I diced some honeydew into tiny bits and they are eagerly gobbling it up! Likewise with other fruits. Vegetables they seem to eat ok without chopping it up first, although leafy greens they find a lot easier to eat if I hold it for them. Sometimes they can still rip off chunks of lettuce or napa or whatever and eat the leafy greens even so, but they are more eager and more consistent in tearing off desired chunks when I hold it fast so it doesn't flop around on them. Smaller leafy greens, like spinach, can only be fed to them in this way, they can't successfully tear off chunks unless I am holding it firm for them. These little quaily birds are so adorable! :D
I got alfalfa cubes for my rabbits and they want absolutely nothing to do with them. Can I feed these alfalfa cubes to quail? Mine are only 1.5 wks old. If not now, could I give them to them later?
This surprised me as I have quail and I feed them my vegetable scraps (peels) so potato skins chopped up is one of the normal things I feed my quails and I havent had any issues at all. My four quails have 2 handfuls of food scraps per day (mostly potato, carrot, pumpkin). Mine also have commercial game bird pellets on hand all the time
Just wonderful, I have been researching "raising bobwhite quail chicks" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you ever come across - Eeyila Rudimentary Expediency - (search on google ) ? It is a smashing exclusive product for discovering how to raise healthy and fertile quail without the headache. Ive heard some super things about it and my friend got cool success with it.
I grow Butternut Squash and Oregano specifically for my poultry. I plant it in late May so that its still fresh because I will boil pieces and make it into a warm slop for my birds during the winter months. It also helps supplement greens when the grass is dead.
'treat them like chickens'- correct! when there is a discount on pasta I usually stock up and cook them some throughout the week (not to much). they love it. good info!
My quail love to be fed all the weeds and berries and fresh new grass. I also give them maggots, mealy worms and fresh earth worms. They love the watermelon rinds and cucumbers as well. I also take what they don't eat out of the cage at the end of the day as a good practice. I keep grit and ground up chicken egg shells in the cage as well. Their favorite weeds so far... dandelion leaves, clover, purslane and new grass. One note of caution.: If you feed them all these good things they won't eat their game feed as much. They will treat you like the welfare system and start demanding more. My quail are so excited for whatever's next that I'm bringing that they jump on me and mob me. So be ready for the change. I enjoy spending time with the birds and it's important to me to give them as much fresh real and clean food as possible so they stay healthy.
When it comes to seeds. Do you need to crush them up so they can eat them? Or could they eat like a whole sunflower seed? I don't have any yet I am getting them next month and just trying to learn
I’m so upset. 4 eggs hatched but 2 died. How long should babies stay in the incubator ? I just put my 2 in a home made brooder box but it’s not as warm as the incubator. My first time. I don’t want to loose the 2 I have. They just climb in my hand and are so happy when I hold them. Please help 🙏
You need a lamp that is at least 200 watts to keep them warm until they are 4 to 6 weeks old. Dry living space. They should begin feeding on game bird feed with high protien until they are 4 to 6 weeks.
My hubby diy brooder, from online brown shopping box but walled the inside with aluminium foil, made a whole to insert table lamp bulb, used 240V bulb.Checked temp 99F. If it is too hot we let up a bit of the lid. It worked.
I think you are asking how to know if they are adult birds or not. it is pretty easy to tell really just by the size of the bird. And if they are laying eggs and crowing they are adult birds. I hope that helps.
hii, if i can find quail feed, can i just you the mix of nuts seed treat for wild bird ? you know those that we hang onto a stick to lure bird to eat it ? thanks
You can offer them seeds and things like wild bird feed but they also need additional things like calcium and higher protein. They really need insect (animal) protein in their diet as well. Also, if feeding seeds they will need some kind of grit. You better bet is to feed them some chicken mash like you stated in your other comment. You might look to see if you can find turkey starter. It is pretty much the same as game bird starter. Or ask if you local feed store can order in game bird starter for you. Hope that helps.
We have acreage leased to the government for Quail and songbird habitat. The information we recieved states that insects make up almost 200% of newly hatched quail and if I remember right that extends out to 6 weeks or so.I would be interested in finding out where this information is coming from. I think I should cross refference it with what the government is putting out. Thanks, Wade
Great video….I have a large amount of laying chickens I boil my extra eggs and mash it shell and all they love them lots of vitamins and protein …wondering what your thought are on eggs for added protein ..any downsides? Also I had a ant problem in my kitchen on the counters had traps out didn’t work ….so put some sugar with a few drops of water mixed in at night in the morning it’s covered with the ants I just take it our and the birds go crazy! Just an idea have no idea the nutrition of ants but don’t think it will hurt other than the sugar giving them type2 diabetes! Great vids thanks for all the info!
Donate to horses, goats, pigs, rabbits, your neighbors, homeless shelters. So many possibilities. Even dogs can eat carrots. But I doubt quail would be able to eat carrots. They wouldn’t really be able to get to them in the wild…
I have hatched quail and chuckers for years and they are just pets to me. I put leg bands on most of them just in case they get out of the pen all my neighbors know where they come from. I geat a great injoyment when the eggs start to hatch and they always eat out of my hands when I give them boiled eggs and I also raise my own mealworms. I feed wild birds and plant items that draws them to my home. Sometimes they act like spoiled kids.
Two questions; 1.) I live in Chicago, it gets to 40 degree low where I live. I have chicks that are 2 weeks old today. They’re living inside without a heat lamp now. I want to take them out to my garage that will be closed and heated. I will also give them a heat lamp in their pen. Will they be okay in my garage with those circumstances. 2.) can I feed vegetables to my 2 week old quail
In a heated garage with a heat lamp, they should be fine. At about 3 to 4 weeks I usually move them outside in 40 degree weather and they do just fine. And yes, you can feed them vegetables at that age.
Is it possible to re-use the quail feces as a fertilizer? And if so, do you know any good ways to do so? Another one, My chickens are cannibals in the sense I can feed them eggs(cooked) and they happily devour it with out any problems, can quails do the same?
You can use the droppings as fertilizer. It is very "hot" (high in nitrogen) when fresh. it is best to mix with some kind of carbon material like dead leaves or straw and let it compost for several months before using on your plants. And yes, you can feed eggs to your quail. They behave much like chickens in that way.
No chocolate 🍫! u made me snicker! I’m glad I don’t have to share my chocolate when I get quail! I happy to learn through that I’m going to be able to share many of my garden veggies w them!
I'm definitely interested in getting quail, but I wanna make sure I know a food source that doesn't need to be bought. Just for the worst case scenario where you can't get the store food, don't want them starving
@@Youngstomata How is that dumb? What if that is my goal for my pets? You don't know my goals and ambitions, so maybe keep your negativity to yourself.
raised front slopping back with an egg catching tray vented to the front.......two inch drop allowing eggs to role out un skathed ..s.......24"*24" 1/2" caged galvinized cloth with front accesess ........ can be stacked easly three for high
Most of my birds love lettuce. They start eating it before I move my hand away. I have one pair that don't touch it though. I give them a little gem lettuce as a weekend treat (or any time I go shopping). I also give them mealworms to help with protein and they all love those. The roosters make a lovely call to the hens as they offer them the worms.
sorry man they are Grey francolin not quails but my quails give a lot og eggs but dont hatch them and plz do tell me breeding season and info of partridge i also have them all birds live in the same cage but sep portions
I feed them 90% insects(mostly beetles and moths, also crickets and cicadas, and whatever else kinds of insects come), since I spoil them so much, they refuse to eat their gamebird food, and when I put them in their cage, they immediately peck the latch that holds the door open, and their out the next day.
Can you feed them cooked rice? Our wild birds here in Ireland love it. They've been eating it for years and we've seen generations come and eat it. Of course they are fed other things. But they love rice. Would rice be fine for quail?
Mine loves the gamebird ration mixed with wild bird seeds & especially the seed nut bag mixtures. I also mix in dried mealworms. He doesn't like any fruit but watermelon but gets really excited when I bring in dandelions & grass with seeds attached.
Oh I also mix in a little chicken scratch too. I keep it all in an airtight Tupperware container. Mainly they need a lot of protein like the gamebird feed, nuts & mealworms.
Slightly Rednecked well he's an indoor pet right now but I also put him out in a gridwire run on grass. They just have the cutest little sounds. He got a respiratory illness a couple months ago but recovered with diluted baytril in electrolyte & regular water, mixed & with a small heater. I didn't think he was going to make it. He was blowing bubbles from fluid in his lungs & sneezing. I kept him on the meds for 5 days. He still sneezes at night a little. A humidifier might help maybe. Anyway I like to share with fellow quail owners & I really like your videos. Thank you!
I wouldn't feed just cat food. You can grind it up and add it to chicken feed if you have too though. Check with your farm supply or feed store and see if they can order in Game Bird starter or Turkey Starter. They may not have it in stock but often they can have it delivered.
Hello, I have seen multiple videos on people housing valley quail, do you have any tips on them? I have also seen valley quail being housed with bobwhites and I was thinking on making a large quail aviary with all the north american species. Any thoughts? Edit: You have earned a sub!
Thanks so much for the sub. Unfortunately I have never raised valley quail so I can't speak specifically to them but I can't see that they would be a lot different in terms of housing. If you want to build an aviary for them it will need to be pretty big or you will be cleaning it out every day. I would love to have a big aviary for my birds but i just don't have the resources to build one that big. Those are just my thoughts on it
For whatever reason my Pigeons and chickens looooooove wild Fern as well as clover. However they almost completely ignore cabbage, carrots, etc that I occasionally throw their way.
I don't at the moment but I can probably address that in an upcoming video. For a starter list stay away from lettuce (iceberg) and feed sparingly most other greens. Squash like pumpkin, acorn, zucchini, etc is all fine. So are carrot tops, radish tops, and bell peppers. When feeding vegetables start off slow with just a little bit at first and give the rabbits time to adjust to the change. Watch that they don't get diarrhea.
Most sites on quails & any of the quail farmers around me tell you to handle them at least once a day, each chick, being careful. Not all will be 100% calm. Personalities and such. If they are already adults, it can be hit or miss. Still, keep trying, mock pecking things with your fingers, talk cheerfully to them. I have a friend who rescues the stray pet quail here and there, and some become fearless with her, some ignore her, some are just scared of their own shadow. Main thing is to figure what their personalities could be like, what they like individually, and just do your best. :) I hope this helps.
I have a question ... is it ok to house adult male quails together or will they fight? I’m asking because I’ve heard a lot of things about housing multiple male animals together. I know it’s fine to house females together, but would the males pick on the females if I housed both genders together? Like chickens? So I’m basically asking what genders of quail can I safely house together? I’m thinking about hatching some quail and selling some but keeping two which is why I I’m asking. Anyway, so basically what genders of quail can I safely house together?
You can house males together. I do all the time and they very seldom have any aggression problems. If you plan on incubating you will need some males in with your females but don't go less than 1 male for every 3 females. If you do have more males than that the females will get over bred and beat up pretty good. I hope that helps.
I have a quail that my husband found at his job almost got ran over he brought it home n iv taken care of him since he loves brokley. I feel bad cause iv been learning more about him he not a bad pet o love to take him out the cage he like running all over the floor .but like I said its just him there's a sanctuary for wild animals .n iv been thinking of taking him there but afraid he will get hurt buy other quails .what to you think.
My Quails are not interested in the barley fodder. It's day 1 of their introduction to it. Should I withhold commercial feed for a time to encourage the switch?
yep just watch too see they get along ......... they will get along as long as there all new to the cage ........ as to interduce them all together at the same time
Quail don't go broody and hatch their eggs very often. If you want to hatch them out, you are better off collecting them and investing in an incubator to hatch them yourself. It is much more reliable that way.
Jb Maxwell we feed our dogs Bones with meat on it all the time but they are used to the raw diet so just be careful. Your dog might not be able to stomach it though as it is not used to a raw diet. Do research before hand
Our dog turned out to be allergic to chicken so we're using it as a protein booster for generic 12% chicken feed. I can't bring myself to just toss it out and the birds don't seem to care.
I am in Joplin, and I don't really do much to the cages in the winter. I have to take the water system down and switch to water bowls but that is about it really. They have a closed in space to get out of the wind so not much else needs to be done.
hay Chris had city employee come bye today says has had a complaint says i have to give up my 84 quails ...... any suggestion ....... have been getting 72 eggs a day have hatched all of them from eggs
Oh man I am sorry to hear that. You might try looking into the city ordinances and see if there are any ordinances against quail. it may just be a general "nuisance" ordinance. If that is case you might be able to just get away with reducing the numbers a little bit. Another thing is to try and find out what neighbor complained. Don't confront them but maybe offer some free eggs to them and just ask around the neighborhood to see if the quail are causing any problems. Being proactive and building relationships can go a long way to keeping neighbors happy. Just some thoughts.
find out exactly the Violation is smell or flys? that can be fixed sales of eggs ? is it a zoning issuse ? like no business sales allowed in residential area? would getting a business permit fix that like Chris Said talk to Your nebhors find out who is on Your side and who is againist You then work with them and they complaints if your city code You May only have 24 adult birds for example you have a problem could restrict sales to off your property so there is no increase on car traffic in your residential area agree to meet custmers at a public location could You set up a CSA Community Surported Agriculture for quail eggs just throwing out some general ideas I hope these Help and I hope to hear how it goes how much do you sell Your quail eggs for and to Who ? farmers market or stores ?
You can feed them ground meat and fish scraps. You would want to make sure that you only give them as much as they will eat in 24 hours though, those things spoil very quickly.
It's good for adding calcium not so much protein. It needs to be totally crushed though or else they will start eating their eggs before you get to them because they will recognize them as the same.
Slightly Rednecked , yes my breeders are spoiled . They are getting tomatoes, zucchini, apples , pears , cantalope, kiwis and more today . Got to give them the extra free food while it is growing.
I keep them on wire because it is cleaner and less maintenance than keeping on the ground. Just a personal choice really. If I was keeping them on the ground I would need a much larger pen.
understood, personal choice - of course, larger pen - but, what about the birds - imagine feet evolved to walk on soil, now forced to walk on wire consider this, if you don't mind: we keep game-birds for bird-dog training - here's a typical drill (ca. 2.5 min.) notice bird not injured and flagged for retrieval - ua-cam.com/video/Vx4MHlPHsKQ/v-deo.html our pen currently holds about 20 Cotournix (male/female 50/50), 2 Tennessee Reds (hen and roo) and 6 Chuckar Partridge (only one male) - we've read that mixing birds and keeping so many roos is asking for trouble - for sure in a small wire cage well, our fly-pen is not ideal, only 5'W x 20'L x 6'H (should be 3 times bigger), but floor is earth with big sand-bath area, lots of plants and many hiding places + lots of water and food (augmented by most of what you recommend, thanks for confirming our feeding policy - one to add: Brussel Sprouts stalk - the love it - lasts awhile in cool weather - cheap in season) - several feeding and watering stations are spread around the pen to avoid competition for essentials cleaning a natural pen isn't as hard as one might think - turning the soil regularly is essential, also exposes bugs and worms, which they love and we're liberal with the straw - also, all the couturnix are naturally brooded (without incubator) - my wife takes great pains to bring them along - isolating the brooding hen in as safe crate in a warm room and leaving chicks with her as long as possible result: these birds don't fight and take flights the length of the pen from time to time - healthy, strong-flying quail - amazingly, on the field the quail sometimes outfly the chukars - we go to great pains to get them all back - they're always flagged and/or weighted and we have spent as long as an hour getting one out of a thicket or down from a tree
Hey man, in my country we dont have quail feed that can be bought in stores unlike chicken and duck feed. The minimum order for the quail feed is 500kg and i only got 3 quail... the quail food is 22% protein only as well. Im feeding broiler chick starter right now 19-20% thats the highest we can get in stores. What can i do to increase the protein? Im already feeding live mealworms almost daily.
I am sorry you are having those problems. You might see if you can find a turkey starter. They usually have higher protein. You can also mix in some dry cat food to help increase the protein level. Meal worms are a great option but they can get expensive and be a lot of work to keep up with. I hope that helps.
Slightly Rednecked weird thing is, quail and turkey food here is the same thing lol. I asked for quail food he said 21% then i asked for turkey he said 21% too. I asked if its the same feed he said yeap basically quail and turkey are fed the same feed here. Oddly enough, he sells quail layer feed to farms and its only 16%. But those are egg farms not meat. I thought quail dont lay as good on low protein haha but somehow the egg farms are doing it with 16%. Also mealworms in my country are cheap. I bought 2.5lbs yesterday for 8 dollars. Thats over 10 thousand mealworms lol. I feed them everyday to the birds in the morning. They go nuts
Yes I want to know what problems am I experiencing cause I had 8 baby quails that hatched but 7 died on me and I have 1 left. I give them the starter feed and water but they don't eat or drink at all. I don't know if it's the temperature, I changed the bulb to a higher wattage, I put down some bedding. I'm just getting worried
Have you ground up your feed? If the grains are too big, they can't swallow them. They like a temperature range of 72-95 degrees Fahrenheit, not lower than that. Make sure it is also not HOTTER than that.
I handle having fish as well as frogs, crickets, my tarantulas. So I test my water monthly. I am in an area with hard water. I ran into a change with the supply where the PH went to 8. Which is great for humans, not so good for animals, fish, and critters. So aside from my water treatment to remove the chlorine/clorine , I now add PH reducer to where it is a safe level for them. I keep my water up off the floor, to ensure it is warmer. Like how you test the warmth as you do for a baby's bottle, I do this before I give the chicks water. Too cold, and this can harm them too. If the water is too cold, I take 1/2 cup from it, warm this up to where it is starting to get hot, and pour it back in, shake, and test again. I don't know if this was part of the reason with your loss. I am sorry to hear you did lose them.
They either got too cold or too hot. I would say a 60 watt reptile bulb works just fine. Don't use those ceramic IR bulbs they seem to kill my birds and it's hard to tell when they are turned on.
my wife works at a sushi restaurant and we get the leftover sushi to feed my chickens and quail. they love it. and i love it because it saves me money on feed.
Hi Chris I raise my quail outside like you and I put a light at night and all the bugs go toward it and the quail see them eat the bugs plenty of protein at night
Genius. But maybe not all night.
Can you have a look at my outside quail run please it's a short on my channel
The Klaus Schwab technique.. "Eat ze bugs!"
Be careful with 24 hour lighting… birds, like most animals need full darkness for deeper sleep
I like to give my quail watermelon. I trim the rind leaving little white and cut it into 1"+ slabs... sometimes I even take a bite out of the middle. I used slabbed cucumbers with the skin pealed (mostly), zucchini logs, and halved cherry tomatoes. I've also picked wild strawberries for them on our morning walks. I've planted wild strawberry in my 25' flyway aviary. I throw in a millet stick occasionally and I look for plants that produce berries they may find in the wild and toss those in there.
I supplement my feeders with cracked corn and give them a dried bug treat in the feed trough a few times a week or every time I refill my GQF feeder.
The one thing to consider... how to feed them things like worms in a 1/2" hardware cloth floor that doesn't fall through before they get to eat it (like halved grapes and cherry tomatoes).
I alternate food treat days with sandbox days. I use bear qt paint can boxes I get from when they restock Home Depot shelves for my sandbox. I used to cut the face off of family size cereal boxes leaving a small lip to help keep the sand in the box. I save old coffee grounds to add to my sand mix instead of dirt. 5 parts play sand 1 to 2 parts dried coffee grounds, 1 part firepit ash, and 1/2 part "food grade" diatomaceous earth. They love it
.. on hot days... cold watermelon or slices of cantaloupe are good too =)
Good tip about the avocado! I did not know that. I am doing lots of research before building a hutch and buying a few birds or fertilized eggs. Taking my time to learn about them before the spring.
🙋🏽♀️ Me too!
Most animals are not supposed to eat avocados
Hi from Srilanka the treats for my quails are spinach and S fly lava. All my Kichen waste goes into the lava box and on a daily basis they get the protein.
For my quail I have him in a guinea pig cage filled with dirt. I dig up fresh plants that have seeds and patches of grass and clovers for him to eat and he loves it. I replant is cage once a week I also catch him small grasshoppers and pill bugs and ather small insects. He even has a sand pit in his cage! Soon once the new quail hatch and are old enough I'll be doing it more often. Lol I do enjoy it because they are happy!🤗💓
Nice. Sounds like your bird is a little spoiled. :)
Hi Chris, got my quail eggs today and there in the incubator. I'll keep you posted!
I like how you always chuckle when you say "...or heck, even in a spare room in your house."
lol. I never noticed that before but I guess I do.
@@Slightlyrednecked thanks for replying. Btw I love all your videos. I recently hatched my first quails with your help.
Mine love dandelions. Clover sounds great! Will try to see if they like them as well. Thanks nice videos~
Lots of GREAT tips. 👍
The pet shop in my neighborhood sells little boxes of crickets and the quail love it. They don't seem interested in worms or any kind, but they have fun hunting and eating the crickets. Enjoying your videos in San Francisco, CA
I bet that is a lot of fun to watch.
May I add one caution concerning feeding bread to quail. Like chickens and most other birds, quail have a crop which is a pouch or pocket on the esophagus. It stores things they eat so it can be softened with saliva and mucus. Feeding bread sometimes fills the crop and it can block the esophagus, forming a firm dam. If bread is mixed with enough seeds and other material, a firm "dam" may not form. This blockage is sometimes life threatening. The crop can be felt where the neck attaches to the chest. So I would suggest you stay away from feeding bread. They sometimes "honk" trying to move this firm mass of food, just like we get the hiccups (but we don't have a crop).
That is a good tip. Thanks for your comment.
i will be moving within half a year and am hoping to get a garden, when i do i plan to make a simple run for them and use part of it as a compost pile. (avoiding toxic plants of course)
my idea was that that way they'll have access to vegetable scraps and the worms that live in there, and will probably keep the compost seed and snail free, and since i eat eggs a lot, quails seem a suitable source that won't annoy the neighbors. thanks for all your informative videos, still looking for an in depth guide on making complete feed myself, to press cost of keeping them healthy.
That sounds like a pretty good idea. I have thought about some kind of run I could build in the garden but haven't come up with a good solution yet.
@@Slightlyrednecked unfortunately i'm not getting a backyard, so i'll need to make plans for a balcony hutch
Another interesting tidbit is quail love ants and any other small insects really. They are great at eating little garden pests.
I've heard of cages built to fit over raised garden beds where the quail are let loose to eat the unwanted critters. Once the veggies are well started, the quail generally don't bother with the plants.
Thoughts?
Sounds like a good idea. I haven't tried it myself though. Maybe i will do it some day and see how it goes. If you do make sure to shade it though so they aren't in full sun while working.
Alfalfa sprouts? It's also high protein.
or since they enjoy what chicken eat, can i just mesh the chicken pellet and feed it to them ? maybe just layer pellet crushed.
thanks
andrew
I have a small flock of young coturnix quail and they can't get enough cucumbers! They'll eat zucchini, but I haven't yet found much else they care for as far as vegetables go. I'm going to try brussel sprouts tomorrow. I have one hen in particular though, who is much slimmer than the rest and who might be preferring vegetables over feed, and may not be getting quite as much to eat as she needs. She does also go crazy for meal worms, and is the first in line at the oyster shell bowl every morning, so she is eating other things, just not so much the feed.
I feed mine blackberries, banana, blueberries, cilantro and kale. Cut it up real small. But I only have 5. This is just a treat.
@@sondrabradley8040 I am discovering that they are more willing to eat more things if I cut it up small enough for them. I've seen in the past they would try to peck at some honeydew melon, but only a little bit. Today I diced some honeydew into tiny bits and they are eagerly gobbling it up!
Likewise with other fruits. Vegetables they seem to eat ok without chopping it up first, although leafy greens they find a lot easier to eat if I hold it for them. Sometimes they can still rip off chunks of lettuce or napa or whatever and eat the leafy greens even so, but they are more eager and more consistent in tearing off desired chunks when I hold it fast so it doesn't flop around on them. Smaller leafy greens, like spinach, can only be fed to them in this way, they can't successfully tear off chunks unless I am holding it firm for them.
These little quaily birds are so adorable! :D
I got alfalfa cubes for my rabbits and they want absolutely nothing to do with them. Can I feed these alfalfa cubes to quail? Mine are only 1.5 wks old. If not now, could I give them to them later?
You might cut a square of sod with clover, put it on a tray, water it, until it is gone, replace the sod square, then cut another one.
This surprised me as I have quail and I feed them my vegetable scraps (peels) so potato skins chopped up is one of the normal things I feed my quails and I havent had any issues at all. My four quails have 2 handfuls of food scraps per day (mostly potato, carrot, pumpkin). Mine also have commercial game bird pellets on hand all the time
Just wonderful, I have been researching "raising bobwhite quail chicks" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you ever come across - Eeyila Rudimentary Expediency - (search on google ) ? It is a smashing exclusive product for discovering how to raise healthy and fertile quail without the headache. Ive heard some super things about it and my friend got cool success with it.
I grow Butternut Squash and Oregano specifically for my poultry. I plant it in late May so that its still fresh because I will boil pieces and make it into a warm slop for my birds during the winter months. It also helps supplement greens when the grass is dead.
nice. Sounds like you have some spoiled birds. :)
Slightly Rednecked
Yeah. There more pets than producers, but they earn their keep so they deserve some treats during the winter :)
I cut down on my feed by growing big patches of Miami spinach. I eat it a lot too. Great plant.
'treat them like chickens'- correct!
when there is a discount on pasta I usually stock up and cook them some throughout the week (not to much). they love it. good info!
Thanks for watching and glad you liked it. Good suggestion on the pasta too.
My quail love to be fed all the weeds and berries and fresh new grass. I also give them maggots, mealy worms and fresh earth worms. They love the watermelon rinds and cucumbers as well. I also take what they don't eat out of the cage at the end of the day as a good practice. I keep grit and ground up chicken egg shells in the cage as well. Their favorite weeds so far... dandelion leaves, clover, purslane and new grass. One note of caution.: If you feed them all these good things they won't eat their game feed as much. They will treat you like the welfare system and start demanding more. My quail are so excited for whatever's next that I'm bringing that they jump on me and mob me. So be ready for the change. I enjoy spending time with the birds and it's important to me to give them as much fresh real and clean food as possible so they stay healthy.
When it comes to seeds. Do you need to crush them up so they can eat them? Or could they eat like a whole sunflower seed? I don't have any yet I am getting them next month and just trying to learn
I cut up real small
when can we feed them vegetate? new borns or adult?
or just one day old
And what about spinach? My friend gives his quails spinach they tend to eat, but I don't give my quails. Unless, I get some informations!
Spinach is fine to give to them.
I’m so upset. 4 eggs hatched but 2 died. How long should babies stay in the incubator ? I just put my 2 in a home made brooder box but it’s not as warm as the incubator. My first time. I don’t want to loose the 2 I have. They just climb in my hand and are so happy when I hold them. Please help 🙏
You need a lamp that is at least 200 watts to keep them warm until they are 4 to 6 weeks old. Dry living space. They should begin feeding on game bird feed with high protien until they are 4 to 6 weeks.
My hubby diy brooder, from online brown shopping box but walled the inside with aluminium foil, made a whole to insert table lamp bulb, used 240V bulb.Checked temp 99F. If it is too hot we let up a bit of the lid. It worked.
I use an Infrared bulb. You can buy them at a feed and seed store or Home Depot. Keep
*Please tell someone how to know adult quail birds*
I think you are asking how to know if they are adult birds or not. it is pretty easy to tell really just by the size of the bird. And if they are laying eggs and crowing they are adult birds. I hope that helps.
hii,
if i can find quail feed, can i just you the mix of nuts seed treat for wild bird ? you know those that we hang onto a stick to lure bird to eat it ?
thanks
You can offer them seeds and things like wild bird feed but they also need additional things like calcium and higher protein. They really need insect (animal) protein in their diet as well. Also, if feeding seeds they will need some kind of grit. You better bet is to feed them some chicken mash like you stated in your other comment. You might look to see if you can find turkey starter. It is pretty much the same as game bird starter. Or ask if you local feed store can order in game bird starter for you. Hope that helps.
We have acreage leased to the government for Quail and songbird habitat. The information we recieved states that insects make up almost 200% of newly hatched quail and if I remember right that extends out to 6 weeks or so.I would be interested in finding out where this information is coming from. I think I should cross refference it with what the government is putting out.
Thanks,
Wade
Love the quail videos. Wish there was more.
Thank you. I have a ton of quail videos already and will be making more soon.
Great video….I have a large amount of laying chickens I boil my extra eggs and mash it shell and all they love them lots of vitamins and protein …wondering what your thought are on eggs for added protein ..any downsides? Also I had a ant problem in my kitchen on the counters had traps out didn’t work ….so put some sugar with a few drops of water mixed in at night in the morning it’s covered with the ants I just take it our and the birds go crazy! Just an idea have no idea the nutrition of ants but don’t think it will hurt other than the sugar giving them type2 diabetes! Great vids thanks for all the info!
Interesting idea. I never thought of that. :)
I tryed cucumber and my quail loved it.Not growing any next year so I hope they will like cantelopes.
I bet they will be just as happy with cantaloupe.
Please help I have a lot of carrots, too much for my family and I to eat can quail have carrots?
Donate to horses, goats, pigs, rabbits, your neighbors, homeless shelters. So many possibilities. Even dogs can eat carrots. But I doubt quail would be able to eat carrots. They wouldn’t really be able to get to them in the wild…
I have hatched quail and chuckers for years and they are just pets to me. I put leg bands on most of them just in case they get out of the pen all my neighbors know where they come from. I geat a great injoyment when the eggs start to hatch and they always eat out of my hands when I give them boiled eggs and I also raise my own mealworms. I feed wild birds and plant items that draws them to my home. Sometimes they act like spoiled kids.
sounds like they are spoiled kids. :) sounds like you have a nice set up.
What about mosquito? We have a lot of mosquito here in our country. Sometimes I see the quails catch them and eat
Mosquitoes are fine for them to eat. I wish they would eat more of them but they can't make a dent in them around here.
Yup.
Two questions;
1.) I live in Chicago, it gets to 40 degree low where I live. I have chicks that are 2 weeks old today. They’re living inside without a heat lamp now. I want to take them out to my garage that will be closed and heated. I will also give them a heat lamp in their pen. Will they be okay in my garage with those circumstances.
2.) can I feed vegetables to my 2 week old quail
In a heated garage with a heat lamp, they should be fine. At about 3 to 4 weeks I usually move them outside in 40 degree weather and they do just fine. And yes, you can feed them vegetables at that age.
Is it possible to re-use the quail feces as a fertilizer? And if so, do you know any good ways to do so?
Another one, My chickens are cannibals in the sense I can feed them eggs(cooked) and they happily devour it with out any problems, can quails do the same?
You can use the droppings as fertilizer. It is very "hot" (high in nitrogen) when fresh. it is best to mix with some kind of carbon material like dead leaves or straw and let it compost for several months before using on your plants.
And yes, you can feed eggs to your quail. They behave much like chickens in that way.
What about grapes, I read somewhere that grape seeds are toxic to quail. Is this true?
Grape seeds are no go. I meant to mention but may have forgotten. Thanks for the comment.
Can you feed grounded beans?
No chocolate 🍫! u made me snicker! I’m glad I don’t have to share my chocolate when I get quail! I happy to learn through that I’m going to be able to share many of my garden veggies w them!
You should totally make a video on what rabbits, quail eat and what they can and can’t eat
I'm definitely interested in getting quail, but I wanna make sure I know a food source that doesn't need to be bought. Just for the worst case scenario where you can't get the store food, don't want them starving
I understand how you feel. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of information on feeding them a complete diet without using store bought food.
That’s a dumb thought. If you have a dog or other pet you could say the same thing.
@@Youngstomata How is that dumb? What if that is my goal for my pets? You don't know my goals and ambitions, so maybe keep your negativity to yourself.
@@keithpayne9776 you said you want to know a good source before you buy them. He just listed many food sources….
been selling 4 hens with rooster and cage $120.00 ........ not no more .......thinking i will have enough time to harvest them
That is a pretty good price. What kind of cage set up are you including with them?
raised front slopping back with an egg catching tray vented to the front.......two inch drop allowing eggs to role out un skathed ..s.......24"*24" 1/2" caged galvinized cloth with front accesess ........ can be stacked easly three for high
Sounds like a good deal.
i really like all your videos, so informative. Glad I stumbled onto your channel.
Thank you so much for the kind comments. I am glad you stumbled onto it too. :)
Most of my birds love lettuce. They start eating it before I move my hand away. I have one pair that don't touch it though. I give them a little gem lettuce as a weekend treat (or any time I go shopping). I also give them mealworms to help with protein and they all love those. The roosters make a lovely call to the hens as they offer them the worms.
nice. Stay away from iceberg lettuce but romaine is fine. Good suggestions.
Hi 😊 can I feed them with quinoa? They seem to love it and it's full of protein
If you are rich 😁
I hear that Oregon grape berries and pyracantha berries are good treats - both grow like weeds in my yard
sorry man they are Grey francolin not quails but my quails give a lot og eggs but dont hatch them and plz do tell me breeding season and info of partridge i also have them all birds live in the same cage but sep portions
I am sorry but I don't really know much about partridge so I don't think I can help.
I feed them 90% insects(mostly beetles and moths, also crickets and cicadas, and whatever else kinds of insects come), since I spoil them so much, they refuse to eat their gamebird food, and when I put them in their cage, they immediately peck the latch that holds the door open, and their out the next day.
lol. Sounds like you have some spoiled birds for sure. And may need to invest in better latches. :)
Can you feed them cooked rice? Our wild birds here in Ireland love it. They've been eating it for years and we've seen generations come and eat it. Of course they are fed other things. But they love rice. Would rice be fine for quail?
cooked rice is fine for quail. As you said, it should be a treat really not the staple of their diet but it is fine to feed them.
Slightly Rednecked Thank you!
no problem.
Mine loves the gamebird ration mixed with wild bird seeds & especially the seed nut bag mixtures. I also mix in dried mealworms. He doesn't like any fruit but watermelon but gets really excited when I bring in dandelions & grass with seeds attached.
Oh I also mix in a little chicken scratch too. I keep it all in an airtight Tupperware container. Mainly they need a lot of protein like the gamebird feed, nuts & mealworms.
Sounds like a lot of work but nothing wrong with that. You probably have a very happy bird (or birds). :)
Slightly Rednecked well he's an indoor pet right now but I also put him out in a gridwire run on grass. They just have the cutest little sounds. He got a respiratory illness a couple months ago but recovered with diluted baytril in electrolyte & regular water, mixed & with a small heater. I didn't think he was going to make it. He was blowing bubbles from fluid in his lungs & sneezing. I kept him on the meds for 5 days. He still sneezes at night a little. A humidifier might help maybe. Anyway I like to share with fellow quail owners & I really like your videos. Thank you!
Thanks for the kind comments. I am glad you like the videos and thanks for sharing your story.
Help! I cannot find feed unless medicated. Can I grind up cat food as their feed instead??
don't go to pet stores, go to feed store. Look for poultry feed on google if you have too, but I wouldn't feed cat feed.
I wouldn't feed just cat food. You can grind it up and add it to chicken feed if you have too though. Check with your farm supply or feed store and see if they can order in Game Bird starter or Turkey Starter. They may not have it in stock but often they can have it delivered.
@@Slightlyrednecked The cat food trick is a really common one for getting protein up. Watch out for salt!
Girt. what would be good grit, in one video you said the playground sand kinda goes right threw them. thanks. another great video
sand will work as grit. Some of it does go through them but they will retain enough of it. Or you can actually buy chicken grit for them.
Grind up baked egg shells or oyster shell
Hello, I have seen multiple videos on people housing valley quail, do you have any tips on them? I have also seen valley quail being housed with bobwhites and I was thinking on making a large quail aviary with all the north american species. Any thoughts?
Edit: You have earned a sub!
Thanks so much for the sub. Unfortunately I have never raised valley quail so I can't speak specifically to them but I can't see that they would be a lot different in terms of housing. If you want to build an aviary for them it will need to be pretty big or you will be cleaning it out every day. I would love to have a big aviary for my birds but i just don't have the resources to build one that big. Those are just my thoughts on it
For whatever reason my Pigeons and chickens looooooove wild Fern as well as clover. However they almost completely ignore cabbage, carrots, etc that I occasionally throw their way.
I gave carrot to my quail and it made her sick, learned my lesson.
What Vegs can be given to Rabbits? do you have a video on that?
I don't at the moment but I can probably address that in an upcoming video. For a starter list stay away from lettuce (iceberg) and feed sparingly most other greens. Squash like pumpkin, acorn, zucchini, etc is all fine. So are carrot tops, radish tops, and bell peppers. When feeding vegetables start off slow with just a little bit at first and give the rabbits time to adjust to the change. Watch that they don't get diarrhea.
Thank You for the suggestion. Nice videos.
Are apples okay? We have all these apple trees and the ones that fall, maybe I can feed them to our quail?
Hell no feed them the fresh stuff
What about left over whey protein from making cheese?
oddly specific
Maybe if you hadn't salted it? I went to a farm school that made goat cheese, and the leftover whey was often fed to the chickens.
Absolutely! Keep it refrigerated and add a teaspoon to your water. Ferment your grains with it. Extremely good!
is a maggot bucket a good idea?
a bucket with foodscraps with a bunch of small holes along the bottom area for maggots to crawl out...
It isn't a bad idea. the downside that I can see is that it will smell terrible. But that is about it.
How about feeding them Terakian Strangler Vine?
I am not familiar with that.
I just got some quail, and I have been picking them up, but how should I tame them do their really friendly?
Most sites on quails & any of the quail farmers around me tell you to handle them at least once a day, each chick, being careful. Not all will be 100% calm. Personalities and such. If they are already adults, it can be hit or miss. Still, keep trying, mock pecking things with your fingers, talk cheerfully to them. I have a friend who rescues the stray pet quail here and there, and some become fearless with her, some ignore her, some are just scared of their own shadow. Main thing is to figure what their personalities could be like, what they like individually, and just do your best. :) I hope this helps.
feed them with your hand so they think you are like a food machine and come right to you like chickens
I have a question ... is it ok to house adult male quails together or will they fight? I’m asking because I’ve heard a lot of things about housing multiple male animals together. I know it’s fine to house females together, but would the males pick on the females if I housed both genders together? Like chickens? So I’m basically asking what genders of quail can I safely house together? I’m thinking about hatching some quail and selling some but keeping two which is why I I’m asking. Anyway, so basically what genders of quail can I safely house together?
You can house males together. I do all the time and they very seldom have any aggression problems. If you plan on incubating you will need some males in with your females but don't go less than 1 male for every 3 females. If you do have more males than that the females will get over bred and beat up pretty good. I hope that helps.
Slightly Rednecked thank you that helps a lot
Rayne Bromley It’s ok as long there is no female quail
Can you feed them boiled eggs?
So just feed them their natural diet. Seeds and green grasses. Canary seed would be best, so I am learning. Thanks.
I have a quail that my husband found at his job almost got ran over he brought it home n iv taken care of him since he loves brokley. I feel bad cause iv been learning more about him he not a bad pet o love to take him out the cage he like running all over the floor .but like I said its just him there's a sanctuary for wild animals .n iv been thinking of taking him there but afraid he will get hurt buy other quails .what to you think.
Quail are not indigenous to the US, so they wouldn't live in the wild there.
Get him some friends.
Update?
@@billiev8705Quick and easy query indicates that's not true.
Is mint alright? There is quite a bit of it growing along my garden edges
It is ok to feed to them but I am not sure if they will eat it or not.
Worms? Got a lot in my compost usually for fishing, good idea?
Great idea
the fatter the worm.. fatter the quail
My Quails are not interested in the barley fodder. It's day 1 of their introduction to it. Should I withhold commercial feed for a time to encourage the switch?
It might not be a bad idea to cut back a little on the feed. I don't know if I would completely remove it though.
Great video. How much meat do quail usually dress out after processing? I really enjoy the channel.
I don't know that I have ever weighed them but I generally eat two of them when I have dinner (with other things of course) if that helps.
hello, i have question. I have 2 male quails and 5 female quails can i put them all in a 3ft by 6ft cage?
yep just watch too see they get along ......... they will get along as long as there all new to the cage ........ as to interduce them all together at the same time
As Stewart said, no problem. That size cage could hold up to 20 birds really so you should be fine with 7 in it.
Very informative.... Cucumber... got it... Will feed my quails today. Thanks
My quail lays eggs but she doesnt hatch the eggs what should i do She can hatch eggs?
Quail don't go broody and hatch their eggs very often. If you want to hatch them out, you are better off collecting them and investing in an incubator to hatch them yourself. It is much more reliable that way.
Hi! I have 2 pet quail in my room. could I feed them apples or bananas for treats?
They can have small amounts of those as treats for sure.
@@Slightlyrednecked ok thank you so much. ill be sure not to give them too much.
Are dried mealworms daily alright?
Maybe im sure it is, just would be a really high protein and EXPENSIVE diet
Ok or not to feed dog food that has bone and meat meal. Curious
Jb Maxwell we feed our dogs Bones with meat on it all the time but they are used to the raw diet so just be careful. Your dog might not be able to stomach it though as it is not used to a raw diet. Do research before hand
Our dog turned out to be allergic to chicken so we're using it as a protein booster for generic 12% chicken feed. I can't bring myself to just toss it out and the birds don't seem to care.
2 questions, 1 what part of Mo are you in and 2 , do you have a video on what you do to the cages in winter
I am in Joplin, and I don't really do much to the cages in the winter. I have to take the water system down and switch to water bowls but that is about it really. They have a closed in space to get out of the wind so not much else needs to be done.
@@Slightlyrednecked I actually went through your earlier vids and seen .....ty
Hello!
Sir my quail has stopped eating feed. It's been 4 days...
Please HELP!
HAVe they started eating? what are you feeding?
hay Chris had city employee come bye today says has had a complaint says i have to give up my 84 quails ...... any suggestion ....... have been getting 72 eggs a day have hatched all of them from eggs
Stewart Rogers ask to see a copy of the complaint
some code enforcement "officers" are little hiltlers
call them pets
ill try that thinking they'll come back tomorrow
Oh man I am sorry to hear that. You might try looking into the city ordinances and see if there are any ordinances against quail. it may just be a general "nuisance" ordinance. If that is case you might be able to just get away with reducing the numbers a little bit. Another thing is to try and find out what neighbor complained. Don't confront them but maybe offer some free eggs to them and just ask around the neighborhood to see if the quail are causing any problems. Being proactive and building relationships can go a long way to keeping neighbors happy. Just some thoughts.
find out exactly the Violation is
smell or flys? that can be fixed
sales of eggs ? is it a zoning issuse ? like no business sales allowed in residential area? would getting a business permit fix that
like Chris Said talk to Your nebhors find out who is on Your side and who is againist You then work with them and they complaints
if your city code You May only have 24 adult birds for example you have a problem
could restrict sales to off your property so there is no increase on car traffic in your residential area agree to meet custmers at a public location
could You set up a CSA Community Surported Agriculture for quail eggs
just throwing out some general ideas I hope these Help and I hope to hear how it goes
how much do you sell Your quail eggs for and to Who ? farmers market or stores ?
Can I give them cilantro? I ask because my chickens love cilantro.
Sure. cilantro is fine to give them.
What's your recommended maxiumum on mealworms per quail?
I read 1-2 tlbsp
can they be fed ground meat and fish scraps for 20% of protein diet instead of grubs/worms/etc?
You can feed them ground meat and fish scraps. You would want to make sure that you only give them as much as they will eat in 24 hours though, those things spoil very quickly.
Parsley? Yet it's fine to feed to chickens..., I wonder why not quail.
Only Bsf Larvaes enough for feed them or need to mix with oher things (seeds.vegetables etc.)?
They really need other things too. I would use BSF larva as a supplement to their current feed not as the main feed for them.
Thank you so much for the video :) It's been very helpful! What type of gamebird feed do you use?
I think one of their favorite foods especially on a hot day is iceberg lettuce.
Just be careful. Iceberg lettuce really isn't good for any animal so only feed small amounts.
Seems ironic. Iceberg
My quail doesnot hatch ever🙁
Can you feed them spinach
yes. Spinach is fine to feed them.
Slightly Rednecked thanks
My quail just hatched
awesome. Congratulations.
I wonder if powdered whole eggs can be added to their feed to increase protein content.
Sure. I don't see why that wouldn't work.
It's good for adding calcium not so much protein. It needs to be totally crushed though or else they will start eating their eggs before you get to them because they will recognize them as the same.
How come your birds done fly out of thier cage?
They do from time to time. But usually they are pretty content in their pen.
That’s the thing, we have a big dog (Rottweiler) and I’m not sure how she will react... my dad wants to get some quail to have around our property
Well, most likely she will be very excited about the quail but will calm down after a while.
I feed ground wheat , peas lentils, barley , corn and more . All ground and added to layer and startena . I also add grass and more .
Sounds like some spoiled birds you have there. :)
james ollom are groundnut ok?
Slightly Rednecked , yes my breeders are spoiled . They are getting tomatoes, zucchini, apples , pears , cantalope, kiwis and more today . Got to give them the extra free food while it is growing.
I have a quail chick about 12 days old...he is not growing at all but eating well...still look like he is 1 day old
wow, that is strange. I have had some runts but i don't think anything that extreme.
can i share his pic with you...?
You can try. Not sure the best way to do that unless you are on the Facebook group.
@They Hate The Truth He is growing now developing feathers as well...
@They Hate The Truth ooh! So sad 😢
curious why your birds are on wire and not the ground - of course you know about sand baths and scratching in the dirt
I keep them on wire because it is cleaner and less maintenance than keeping on the ground. Just a personal choice really. If I was keeping them on the ground I would need a much larger pen.
understood, personal choice - of course, larger pen - but, what about the birds - imagine feet evolved to walk on soil, now forced to walk on wire
consider this, if you don't mind: we keep game-birds for bird-dog training - here's a typical drill (ca. 2.5 min.) notice bird not injured and flagged for retrieval - ua-cam.com/video/Vx4MHlPHsKQ/v-deo.html
our pen currently holds about 20 Cotournix (male/female 50/50), 2 Tennessee Reds (hen and roo) and 6 Chuckar Partridge (only one male) - we've read that mixing birds and keeping so many roos is asking for trouble - for sure in a small wire cage
well, our fly-pen is not ideal, only 5'W x 20'L x 6'H (should be 3 times bigger), but floor is earth with big sand-bath area, lots of plants and many hiding places + lots of water and food (augmented by most of what you recommend, thanks for confirming our feeding policy - one to add: Brussel Sprouts stalk - the love it - lasts awhile in cool weather - cheap in season) - several feeding and watering stations are spread around the pen to avoid competition for essentials
cleaning a natural pen isn't as hard as one might think - turning the soil regularly is essential, also exposes bugs and worms, which they love and we're liberal with the straw - also, all the couturnix are naturally brooded (without incubator) - my wife takes great pains to bring them along - isolating the brooding hen in as safe crate in a warm room and leaving chicks with her as long as possible
result: these birds don't fight and take flights the length of the pen from time to time - healthy, strong-flying quail - amazingly, on the field the quail sometimes outfly the chukars - we go to great pains to get them all back - they're always flagged and/or weighted and we have spent as long as an hour getting one out of a thicket or down from a tree
Hey man, in my country we dont have quail feed that can be bought in stores unlike chicken and duck feed. The minimum order for the quail feed is 500kg and i only got 3 quail... the quail food is 22% protein only as well. Im feeding broiler chick starter right now 19-20% thats the highest we can get in stores. What can i do to increase the protein? Im already feeding live mealworms almost daily.
I am sorry you are having those problems. You might see if you can find a turkey starter. They usually have higher protein. You can also mix in some dry cat food to help increase the protein level. Meal worms are a great option but they can get expensive and be a lot of work to keep up with. I hope that helps.
Slightly Rednecked weird thing is, quail and turkey food here is the same thing lol. I asked for quail food he said 21% then i asked for turkey he said 21% too. I asked if its the same feed he said yeap basically quail and turkey are fed the same feed here. Oddly enough, he sells quail layer feed to farms and its only 16%. But those are egg farms not meat. I thought quail dont lay as good on low protein haha but somehow the egg farms are doing it with 16%. Also mealworms in my country are cheap. I bought 2.5lbs yesterday for 8 dollars. Thats over 10 thousand mealworms lol. I feed them everyday to the birds in the morning. They go nuts
Chris, Quail Rock Star!! thanks for the info!!
What do u think about freeranging bobwhite quail?
I think it is a great idea if you can keep them from flying away or getting eaten by a predator.
Yes I want to know what problems am I experiencing cause I had 8 baby quails that hatched but 7 died on me and I have 1 left. I give them the starter feed and water but they don't eat or drink at all. I don't know if it's the temperature, I changed the bulb to a higher wattage, I put down some bedding. I'm just getting worried
Have you ground up your feed?
If the grains are too big, they can't swallow them.
They like a temperature range of 72-95 degrees Fahrenheit, not lower than that. Make sure it is also not HOTTER than that.
Water should be warm. Put some vinegar, garlic and honey in the water.
@@Lily2856 Careful, too much vinegar is poisonous.
I handle having fish as well as frogs, crickets, my tarantulas. So I test my water monthly. I am in an area with hard water. I ran into a change with the supply where the PH went to 8. Which is great for humans, not so good for animals, fish, and critters. So aside from my water treatment to remove the chlorine/clorine , I now add PH reducer to where it is a safe level for them. I keep my water up off the floor, to ensure it is warmer. Like how you test the warmth as you do for a baby's bottle, I do this before I give the chicks water. Too cold, and this can harm them too. If the water is too cold, I take 1/2 cup from it, warm this up to where it is starting to get hot, and pour it back in, shake, and test again. I don't know if this was part of the reason with your loss. I am sorry to hear you did lose them.
They either got too cold or too hot. I would say a 60 watt reptile bulb works just fine. Don't use those ceramic IR bulbs they seem to kill my birds and it's hard to tell when they are turned on.
I always feed my quails cooked plain rice but do I actually need to cook it?🤔
I don't know that rice is the ideal nutrition for them but it doesn't have to be cooked for them to eat it.
Slightly Rednecked thank you! I only ever use it as a treat, they absolutely love it