Coturnix quail feed

[cawooduck]

My quail are on a Purina 20% gamebird layer feed now. As for the fat content, its 2.5%. It costs me $14.50 per bag.

 

[NancyDz]

Okay thanks everyone. I just came back from the feed store and they had in the bulk section a ground powder oyster shell so i got a couple pounds of that to see if they eat it.


As for Tequila... bring it on! I love margaritas , midori sours, midori margaritas... I'm not picky

I'll pass on the oyster shell rim though i prefer salt

It's friday.. I should be drinking one right now... hmmmm okay see you guys later!



Nancy

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
I was married on Cinco De Mayo ......... margaritas are one of my fav drinks. I cannot have tequila or margaritas without remembering my wedding day........... sigh, I live in the northern wastelands but am a southerner at heart......

 

[CARS]

Boyd... stick to the subject at hand. We don't want a honeymoon flashback!

I am getting 70 A&Ms for free this weekend from my 7th grader's Ag class. They have studied feed rations all year and they all do just as good on 18% layer as they did on 28% gamebird feed as far as laying and fertility.

I'm saving my money and keeping them on the 18% ration.

If you don't believe me do a study for 9 months yourself. It's a lot like the oil companies telling us to change our oil every 3K miles... Ya, in the 40's before oil filters were on cars! What a marketing ploy!!!!!!!!!!

 

[NancyDz]

Do you mean chicken layer ration? Boy that would be easy to just give them what my chickens already get.


Funny i just went out to put some of the powdered oyster shell and guess what!!!!!!

I got my first coturnix eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2 of them ! i've been looking for a week, of course now when i wasnt looking .. there they are! Whooohoooo

 

[beepbeepinajeep]

That would be great to be able to feed them the same thing as my chickens! You can only get the game feed here in 50lb bags. I was afraid it would get stale before we used it all!

 

[Bettacreek]

I feed mine 24% from day one and on. The layers get oystershell, and the babies get soaked cat food on occasion. Seems to be ok for my birds.

 

[CARS]

Well.... let's make this clear. I haven't feed them MY feed mill's 18% layer feed. I am sure that they will slow down from the change... hopefully only for the adjustment period.

But, seriously, Levi's ( our 7th grader) class have been studying different rations all year (and the teacher has been testing for almost 5 years with A&M's) and the best bang for the buck is 18%. I am sure that I will probe him for more info but on average for egg production, weight gain, and fertility, he swears by 18% layer feed.

I am interested in all 3 to be honest. I agreed to get these birds because I like white meat but I would like to sell pickled eggs too to off set some costs. But as part of the "free" flock agreement, I have to provide the next year's Ag class with eggs for hatching to do further tests.
So I hope to gather some previous information to continue this study and have some bite-sized birds for grilling!

Other breeds may vary and remember, I am only going off of my son's teachers word. So this is NOT Gospel.

 

[CARS]

I'm not sure about the oyster shells... I have been visiting the school for the last couple months and there are no free choice shells and those suckers are laying more than I can imagine.

I would really think that all of this depends alot on breed. A&M were either selectively breed or hybrid birds. They may be VERY different from other breeds.

Rinse, repeat. Your results may vary

 

[NancyDz]

Quote:
well layer feed has some calcium i believe so that may be why they arent supplementing but for such a small bird to produce an egg a day... they have to need a decent supply of it .

they sure gobbled up that powdered oyster shell, I threw some of it in their sand dust bath too because they like to eat some of that too.

So I guess i'll see what percentage my layer food is , i need a new bag soon anyway, I tossed the bag since i put it in a metal trash can. If it's enough or close I'll maybe use it and supplement with a little extra protein or mix some of the turkey grower which i have regularly for the chicks anyway. I feed my hens pellets though so I'll still have to buy something different LOL unless i want to grind that too!



Nancy