How do you grind up YOUR quail food? {Updates pg 2}

[WriterofWords]

I use a mortar and pestle but you can check Goodwill or Salvation Army or any other used store for a cheap blender or coffee grinder. New ones at Wally World are 10 bucks and less.

 

[PearlD]

UGGG....I feel your pain!! I started hatching quail last April, and it has been a complete nightmare at times. I have had to learn through trial and lots of error what I have done wrong and how to fix it. I have figured out that they do better with medicated feed when they are very young. The feed store told us it was safe for a couple of weeks, and without it, they just die. We would go out in the mornings and one or two more would be dead.
I also found out REAL quick, that they will RUN to water, and drowned themselves in minutes like you said. I use marbles, and lots of them. They have to search for a wet spot in my waterer!!!!
As far as the mishaps go, quail are so fragile, it doesn't take a whole lot to kill one. I'm a bit embarrassed to say this.....but.....yesterday, I was moving a batch of quail out of the incubator to the brooder, and I squashed one flat. I felt sooooo bad, but the little things are like cockroaches!!!

Good luck, and don't give up. I love my grown quail. They make the prettiest sounds late in the afternoon, and are fun to watch!!!

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Quote:

That's what Adam refers to them as "the cockroaches". LOL

-Kim

 

[priszilla]

I graind food for the seramas with a coffee grinder- quick and easy-

 

[Ace_king_brahma]

I bought a herb mortar and pistol off of ebay. Works great.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

WOW! Thanks everyone. I tried the blender today and it worked like a charm! Boy, was it nice to watch those crumbles turn to powder without getting a workout using a rolling-pin. LOL

Adam and I, thank all of you for your help!

-Kim

 

[arlee453]

Yep, blender - no muss, no fuss, no mess and happy button quail!

 

[CoyoteMagic]

I use my food processor. Right now I'm feeding my 15 week old quail and 6 week old guineas. I use Purina Flock Raiser for everybody right now (including my layers, pullets and roos) The food processor does leave some larger peices but they are small enough for mine to eat.

My quail run to the front of their enclosure in the morning when I go out to let the chickens out. They are waiting for a handful of wild birdseed that I bring too them. Like PearlD said, they make some lovely sounds talking to each other.

 

[lukem5]

I put about 5 cups at a time Purina GBS in my big vitamix mixer, mix till fine, then sift into a bag, put the larger particle size back in the blender (usually the rye/wheat berries in the mix are harder to chop) and chop those, resift and repeat until its all nice and small for my quail birdlings

The idea is not to grind into a powder, but rather a chunk size that chicks can fit in their mouth/down their throat into the crop.

 

[COsteveo]

I used a food processor and it took a surprisingly long time to get all the pellets cut down. I am lucky enough that I can drive across town to get gamebird starter crumbles, which my birds get through all life stages. I tried the finisher pellets once thinking that they would waste less, but they actually wasted a lot more because if they didn't pick it up in just the right way they would just flick it aside and get another; that's when I broke out the food processor.