feed????

[citalk2much]

Jen I give mine Caliboost twice a week in their water works great! I order it online from Just Birds I get a litter and that goes a long long way it is also like a god sent for egg binding a drop on the beck and things start moving right along

I want to address the feed issue, yes you can feed them lower protein feed and yap they appear to be fine, and you can eat pizza and only pizza everyday and you will appear fine too neither one of you are really fine because you are both lacking in your diets the things needed to live a healthy life, that is the simplest way I can put it, you will have healthier, bigger, better breeders when they are given proper diets.

 

[fishman65]

I feed mine 16% layer crumbles and add oyster shell and dried ground up cat food. Most adult cat food has 30%+ protien. I get plenty of eggs every day. Too many i think.

 

[worldling]

Quote:
I don't, but extra calcium will not hurt.

Unlike chickens, coturnix don't need to eat tons of calcium to lay eggs. If you want to add it to the water, or find properly ground oyster shell for them then fine.
Extra calcium IMHO is a total waste of time and money. You can do it if you want, but a dime will get you a dollar, the people that add this to that and that to this and swear by this and that, never really didn't do what they swear by and compare the results. What happens if you don't put vegimite 6000 into the water. Do the birds die?

 

[UmbraVulpis]

Quote:
I stopped adding oyster shell to my coturnix' game bird crumbles for about a month to see what would happen. The eggs went from tougher than chicken eggs to being so brittle some of them were cracking from being picked up. A while after I added it back they went to being tough again. Things can vary from bird to bird and farm to farm.

 

[JJMR794]

That is quite true. Especially if you figure that the eastern 1/2 of the country has like 400 ppm calcium in the drinking water, while the western 1/2 of the country does not.... that difference could certainly make a difference in wether or not you need to suppliment your girls...

 

[jenjscott]

Oh wow, how can I find out if my well water has calcium in it?

 

[worldling]

Quote:
The Us geological survey tests well water down here.

Check with your county extension service.

 

[JJMR794]

for water hardness(calcium content) you can buy test strips or testing kits at your local swimming pool supply store. Jen where you're at your in the hard water country...

 

[jenjscott]

But we have a 6 hundred foot well and it is so soft it takes an hour to rinse shampoo out of your hair. It does have a sulfur smell/taste.