feeding guppies?

[Sustained]

just looking for extra ways to up the protein intake. has anyone fed guppies to their quail? if so, did you just toss them in with the quail or mince them a little first? I don't have quail YET :-D I'm doing a lot of researching before I dive in. I was thinking that since guppies are so low maintenance and reproduce so quickly that they might make a good protein packed treat or supplement even? If nothing else I'm going to try them on my chickens lol

 

[funsized72]

Im trying mealworms right now. But I think guppies would work if the are not too big but some birds are just stupid and will try ti dust bath in it. My roo does that if I put in to much alfalfa sprouts

 

[dc3085]

just looking for extra ways to up the protein intake. has anyone fed guppies to their quail? if so, did you just toss them in with the quail or mince them a little first? I don't have quail YET :-D I'm doing a lot of researching before I dive in. I was thinking that since guppies are so low maintenance and reproduce so quickly that they might make a good protein packed treat or supplement even? If nothing else I'm going to try them on my chickens lol

It probably won't hurt much. I would try both whole and minced to see which way they consume the most of the guppies carcass. Quail can be very picky so feed them in a dish that can be removed easily in case they don't like them.

The only thing I would try to do is find some sort of general nutritional for them. Many of the "treats" people give their quail (like meal worms and crickets) are too high in fat for a quail to consume more than a few per day.

Also be aware that anything you feed them outside of the regular game bird crumble will need to be supplemented with digestive grit (not oyster shell). Game bird food is water soluble so there is normally no need to feed grit. Anytime you add to their diet it is a must though.

 

[Sustained]

I didn't know that about the grit. Thank you for adding that. This is why I spend a lot of time researching before getting myself into anything haha

Well I have guppies to feed my duckweed so I gues it can't hurt to try a little as a 'now and then' thing. The guppies tend to breed out of control I've been told (haven't had them very long yet) and I was trying to think of ways to use them to boost my little backyard system I've got going.

 

[Chicken-Farmer]

I would be leary of the egg taste after feeding fish to them. Let us know how it works out. Quail don t process food very well, thats why they need such high protein feed. Alot of that protein gets pooped out without being used by the bird.

 

[dc3085]

I would be leary of the egg taste after feeding fish to them. Let us know how it works out. Quail don t process food very well, thats why they need such high protein feed. Alot of that protein gets pooped out without being used by the bird.

That's a good point. Most things that eat fish don't taste very good.

 

[cruisermedic]

People eat lots of things that eat fish. Ducks, geese, crabs, lobster, shrimp.....some of those things eat strictly fish(or shellfish).

I'll bet fish meal, is in most poultry feed. Its a cheap additive that increases protein, calcium, and other vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.

Its something put in dog food, cat food, pig food, etc. Anything that you want to grow big or fast.

 

[dc3085]

Most ducks and a lot of geese are terrible which should be evidence enough. The fact is there are more things that eat only fish that we don't eat by a large margin than fish eaters that we do eat.

 

[cruisermedic]

If you mean terrible by them being more greasy or more oily/fatty.... sure. That's a matter of opinion and cooking method. But their fat content and how its stored has more to do with them being a migratory bird. They story extra fuel in the form of fat.

Saying things that eat fish taste bad, is bunk. And like I said above, if your birds eat a food your buying in a store....it has fish in it. And saying those flavors will be imparted to the eggs is even more absurd. My birds eat commercial feed, bugs, worms, each other when they pick, dead things, and even poop. I have yet to taste a chicken/quail that tastes like anything like a worm, death, or poop. And I'm sure I'll never taste a egg that way either.

 

[dc3085]

If you'll read what I actually wrote you'll see I was musing and you're taking it a little far. I was referring to the taste of things that eat specifically fish and was allowing for the fact that it may affect the taste of the egg if it consumes raw unprocessed fish (a little bit removed from fish meal don't ya think?). Neither you or I is qualified to say for sure. I never claimed everything that eats any fish tastes bad, you interpreted it that way. The fact still remains that most birds that eat only fish are not part of people's diet. You wouldn't think of eating a seagull pelican or cormorant and they are specifically fish eaters. And many ducks just have a bad flavor all fat and grease aside. What animals eat matters to how they taste on some level. If you ever eaten a squirrel that's lived it's whole life among the pines, they taste terrible compared to squirrel that lives it's whole life in oak trees.