Remember that quail are actually poultry. A lot of people feed their quail the wrong diet because of this. First off, you need to remember that ALL chicken feed is formulated for working chickens that won't be having a very long lifespan. So keep that in mind when you mix your feed.
Most chickens, and button quail live to only about 2 years. I have a couple that are almost 5 years old (and still laying and can hatch, although I wish they would stop!) and a number that are all over 3 years old. You need to remember that the chick feed is for working chickens and not really good for pets as a source of all of their needs vs. what producers want to get out of them over a short span of time. I feed pets, not working quail.
My feeding regimen is something like this. Chicks get nothing but the unmedicated chick feed until they are about 6 weeks old. At which time I begin mixing the feed that I use for the rest of their lives. I begin to use Western Dove and Quail feed (there are some that are better, but that is what is available to me here). The ratio begins at about 50:50 Western feed/chick feed, with a final ratio of about 75 Western/25 chick feed. When they are just hatched you need to grind the chick feed to almost sand (not quite), as they cannot eat the granules until they are nearly a week old because they are too big for them.
Oh yeah, don't forget the bugs!!! I begin adding dried bugs to the feed (about 5 handfuls of somewhat ground up dried bugs). Again, all the dried bugs are a little big for them and they like the small. Live bugs are the best, when you can get them.
BTW, meal worms are not the best for them. You should use a mix of different dried grubs/bugs, if available to you.
Oh yeah, especially don't forget the grit!!! I use chick grit and mix it in with ALL of their food for their whole lives. In the past, before I added grit to the diet (dumb ass!!!), I lost one of my favorite hens to an impacted turd I couldn't get out. Where I live you cannot even get a vet to look at a button quail.
