Best cheapest quail egg layer food

[TMarie]

My local Farm and Fleet does not have large bags of game bird food, so I've decided to buy online. What's the cheapest food for adult layers that will fit their needs? Thank you!

 

[Erkenstein]

I feed my adult layers a locally milled feed that is 21% protein and they do fine on it. I give them the high protein grower for the first couple of months only. So, something to keep in mind as you search is that the protein doesn't need to be as high if they are adult layers.

 

[lomine]

I feed Manna Pro, that 26% protein. Laying quail will be okay on 22% feed. Maybe you can find a meat bird or all flock type feed. Any time I've looked at online prices they are very high plus shipping costs. If you want to increase the protein you can always supplement with high protein treats, like mealworms or fish.

 

[TMarie]

Thank you guys! Yeah I found all flock but their protein is only 18% That's not enough right?

 

[Erkenstein]

Not enough for optimum growth. You could also supplement with other protein sources such as hardboiled egg.

 

[lomine]

Eggs are a good source of vitamins and minerals but not that high in protein (I've made the same mix-up in the past). If you go by average values, a chicken egg is only about 12% protein; quail egg is about 13%. Tuna canned in oil is about 29% and tuna canned in water is about 24%. Mealworms are about 50% but they are also around 28% fat so you don't want to go too crazy with those.

I've also read of others feeding sprouted grains, but I don't know the level for those. I'm sure it depends on what seed you use. Some folks also give dry cat food. You might have to grind it up a bit.

 

[Erkenstein]

Eggs are a good source of vitamins and minerals but not that high in protein (I've made the same mix-up in the past). If you go by average values, a chicken egg is only about 12% protein; quail egg is about 13%. Tuna canned in oil is about 29% and tuna canned in water is about 24%. Mealworms are about 50% but they are also around 28% fat so you don't want to go too crazy with those.

I've also read of others feeding sprouted grains, but I don't know the level for those. I'm sure it depends on what seed you use. Some folks also give dry cat food. You might have to grind it up a bit.

Thanks! Great ideas!

People report that duck eggs can taste funky/fishy if they are spending time at the pond, so I wonder if tuna or cat food would affect the taste of eggs? A lot of the protein in commercial food is fish protein anyway so maybe not.

 

[lomine]

Thanks! Great ideas!

People report that duck eggs can taste funky/fishy if they are spending time at the pond, so I wonder if tuna or cat food would affect the taste of eggs? A lot of the protein in commercial food is fish protein anyway so maybe not.

I don't know. I've heard that a diet higher in Omega 3s can produce a fishy smell in eggs. I've never read any posts where people found the source to be fish or cat food, that's not to say it hasn't or couldn't happen. I did read a post a while ago where they figured out the source of the fishy tasting eggs was a weed the ducks ate.

It's a good thing to keep in mind when supplementing though. Just out of curiosity I googled a tuna can nutritional label. It didn't list Omega 3s though so I don't know how much it has. But I also don't know how much would be enough to make a quail's eggs fishy tasting so the info wouldn't help anyway.

 

[Timothy Menezes]

Did you find something that worked for you? I have a friend that just uses gamebird/turkey starter their whole lives. When they get to laying age he supplies oyster shells in their box of sand. I imagine there’s better options but he swears by high protein for quail. I thought this wasn’t going to work, but his birds are huge, healthy, and lay lots of thick shelled eggs so I can’t argue with his results.

 

[TMarie]

Eggs are a good source of vitamins and minerals but not that high in protein (I've made the same mix-up in the past). If you go by average values, a chicken egg is only about 12% protein; quail egg is about 13%. Tuna canned in oil is about 29% and tuna canned in water is about 24%. Mealworms are about 50% but they are also around 28% fat so you don't want to go too crazy with those.

That is super helpful thank you!