feed for button quail

[KuroKitsune]

i've been looking for feed for my new button chicks(who are still eggs right now) and my local feed store only carries a game bird starter/grower crumble thats 22% protein. the only other feed they have for any bird thats not a chicken is a 18% all flock pellet.


can they be on the starter/grower their whole lives or no? my only other options besides this and the all flock pellet are lower protein chicken feeds...i cannot special order from this store as they want me to buy 10 bags of what ever feed i waould like them to order and all i want is one bag as that one bag will last me quite awhile.


so can they stay on the starter grower or should i once their grown swith to the all flock or chicken feeds and supplement protein with mealworms, crickets, and maybe crushed fish food if the can have that??

 

[dc3085]

That gamebird stater is just a couple percent low on protein. Blend up some hard boiled egg and give a couple teaspoons a day to add protien. Meal worms are to be a treat as they are high in fat, dont give more than say two a day per bird. I feed pheasant stater for six weeks then pheasant crumble to mine but i have to run it through the blender to get it down to size they can eat. Don't feed adult birds starter it doesnt have what the girls will need for egg production. You can also feed turkey mash since its in the 28% protien range if you can find some of that

 

[KuroKitsune]

so it a no go feeding this feed to adult buttons? even if i supplement with oyster shell for calcium? theres no turkey mash at my feed store...just this starter/grower and and all flock is all they have for any birds that aren't chickens...though i'm trying hard to find a dealer of any other good feed and maybe get that for them but possibly for awhile they have to eat this.


so no feeding this to adults at all? or would be ok if i supplemented it with oyster shell for calcium?

 

[GrandmaBird]

the buttons should have 18-28% so the game bird feed is fine. I use Nutrena game bird/meat bird, it has photos of chickens, ducks, turkeys and pheasants on it, it is 22% and that is what my adults are on and I even run it through the blender for the chicks. it is non medicated so is a good choice. always give calcium to them and grit. i agree with the above that meal worms should be given in small amounts as they are high in fat. try fresh veggies chopped and apple is one of my females favorites.

 

[SeptemberQuail]

The feed store I went too didn't have gamebird starter whilst I was raising chicks, so I was stuck feeding my chicks 22% gamebird finisher which we had to hand crumble it. Though we fed them boiled egg which they couldn't get enough of.
My quail grew up at a slower rate than what I've read from on the internet.
It wasn't until they were around 4 - 5 weeks old in which they only had rings around their eyes with downy feathers and had most of their adult feathers.
Their eggs weren't that big as the ones in the shops either.

We bought some gamebird starter which is 28% protein, for all my quail and they've gained weight, as well as their eggs are turning nice and fat.
So 22% is good enough, but it should be a little higher for better growth and production rate. Normally, 22% protein feed would be given to adults rather than chicks though.

Oh, I also learnt from these forums that alfalfa sprouts are good for protein as well, and my quail LOVED it. I guess they thought it were worms.
Everyday I would tap at the top of the brooder and they would come running up, waiting for the sprouts... Hehe.