Feeding my quail.

[quails-101]

Can I feed my quail hard boiled egg to get their protein levels up or is there a better way. I feed them egg layer crumbles but I have 27 quail and I'm going through a bag of feed in a month and they are still not laying eggs. What can I do?

 

[Finnisher]

They need 14-16 hrs sunlight to lay and at least 20%ish protein. Also they will need calcium in order to lay. Yes you can feed them boiled eggs and the shell as well. You're not saying how much feed is in a 'bag' 1lbs or 100lbs?

 

[DK newbie]

You can feed hard boiled eggs, but there are commercial products available with a sufficient protein content. I believe I've read that the egg production will go down if the feed is below 24% protein. Look for gamebird and turkey starters. And as Finnisher said, when feeding a starter feed there isn't enough calcium for laying so they'll need a calcium supplement like oyster shell and you'll need to grind it to a size they can eat. If you supply it in a separate bowl, they'll dose it themselves.

 

[quails-101]

Oh ok. I always get 50lb pound bags for the chickens and ducks and turkeys since they lay eggs. The quails are outside in a chicken coop. so they get that light cycle and fresh grass. what do you use to grind up the oyster shells? And Should I put them inside every night up in the top part or just leave them out if I put them in will it confuse them with the light cycles. I usually put them in after dark though.

 

[Oreo quail]

I have read about higher protein requirements for quail vs other birds. I started with a single 1 1/2 year old A&m from a friend. She was giving it the 18% protein chicken feed she had for her hens and it is a daily layer in season. I continued it on her same feed for 2weeks and she only took one day off. Her eggs are 11.2 or 12.1g. Would higher proteins mean bigger eggs? Don't they just eat more 18% to get the protein they need vs 21, 24 or even 28% I have seen espoused on the forums?

 

[DK newbie]

At first, I was just using a strainer with relatively large holes, on the oyster shell we had for our chickens. This gave me small pieces for the quail and large pieces for the chickens, but it took quite a while to get a very small amount, so I went on to using a stone mortar to grind it before using the sieve to get rid of the large pieces. Very noisy and still a lot of work though, so I bought a cheap, small blender and started using that. I've only used it a couple of times, it's also quite noisy and it still takes a while to get a decent amount, but at least it doesn't require as much work as the other two. I'm not sure the blender will endure forever though, but for now that's how I do it.

I wouldn't bother putting them inside as long as long as predators can't get to them, but I don't think it's upsetting their light cycle unless you keep them shut inside a dark coop after sunrise. It might stress them to be picked up and moved to the coop though and stress can also reduce egg laying. Having more than one male in an enclosure can also cause stress.

 

[quails-101]

thanks will granit crumbles be good for them too

 

[quaillady1221]

Can they have raw egg shells or no ? I ordered oyster shell powder but it's not here yet ?

 

[Oreo quail]

I bake the eggshells. Basically I wa arm the oven to 350 and thenot turn it off. I usually get the shells out later in the day or the next.

I wonder about grit. I read someplace that feed is basically water soluble and in the absence of seeds the birds don't need grit. I haven't started mine on it yet.