first my thoughts on feed: *minnows: we have some that live in the creeks and lakes around here. would minnows be a good source of protien? *frogs/toads/tadpoles: there are a bit around here but i wouldnt want to deplete the population. though i could always pick up a few that get hit on the roads or whatnot. *roadkill: i live out in the sticks and there is most always a bit of roadkill. i know that in the great depression people would brings home roadkill and the chickens would get whatever wasnt good enough to be eaten by the family. so i thought why not quail? though this wouldnt be a continuos supply all the time so i would have to have other sources of protien to be able to fall back on. *sprouts: i am about to start a little experiment and grow sprouts and feed them to my rabbits. any thoughts on this? i was thinking some seeds might be best sprouted and chopped a bit (like beans) and others might be eaten as seedlings or young grass (sunflower, pumpkin, wheat, oats). is there anything that i shouldnt feed them sprouted? anything they might eat at a certian stage versus another? *any foods they should not eat? the only thing i have found is avacodo. * willow and pine? i saw somewhere that they eat them. ~~~things i have listed that i am thinkin of growing/harvesting to feed them::: *apples/ crabapples- when they are in season i can get some from a few apple trees we have. could i dry them and feed it dried and chopped maybe? *sprouts- talked about them above *boiled and crushed egg *beetroot leaves- found this on another website. not sure if this is a certian plant or just the leaves of beets..? can they eat the beet itself? *cucumber- this would only be while i am harvesting it from the garden. unless anyone has some idea of how to dry it and feed it. if so then i would be very interested in hearing *cabbage- i have not had any luck with cabbage yet but if i got some growing then i would feed it to them *dandelions- lots of those everywhere! haha. and i harvest these already for the rabbits. *daddy long leg spiders- there are plenty of these but i'm not sure how i would collect them to feed other then leaving a few quail in a smallish cage where there are alot of daddy long legs at. had a thought of a sort of flypaper type trap. not sure on this though. *worms- been thinkin of starting some worm bins. would quail eat worms? any certian type? i know about mealworms but i dont do beetles or maggot/grub type things. just yuck. but regular worms i can do. i was thinkin i could get enough worms just by diggin about the yard that i wouldnt even need to buy them from anywhere. unless quail prefer a certian type of worm. if so where do i buy worms to breed and whatnot in bins? *millet, quinoa, amaranth, indian corn- i have not grown any of these yet so i'm not sure how well i can grow them or how much i can harvest but these are the grains i have in mind. the indian corn would not be alot in the mix as i have read that is isnt really a good feed for them but it would be mostly for keeping em up during the winter as it is cold here in winter! lol. *melons- when i harvest them from the garden *pumpkin- when harvested from the garden, throughout the year via kept whole pumpkins or dried chopped parts *sunflower seeds- i have some white/black/gray striped seed and some black seed that i will be growing. was thinkin they would be best fed by cracking them open or smashing them. grindin them down in a mortar and pestle for the younger birds and just smashing them open for the older birds. *marigolds *nasturtiums thanks! any thoughts or tips or comments are welcome!
The protein in most Gamebird feeds is soymeal (if you go to a mill) or fishmeal. Quail need at least 24% of protein in their diet to prevent potential problems later, especially in breeding season. Aggression is one of those problems. What you are doing is great, but I would talk to some mills on percentages and see if you can concoct your own similar to not harm the dietary needs of the birds. Bobwhites can thrive on what you are listing but with Coturnix and buttons, not so much.
