i'm hoping to get restarted with quail, but i have 2 problems to solve before i do.

[Aeonir]

winter 2021 i had to stop keeping quail, because they caused a mice infestation on both mine and my neighbors balconies, and eventually indoors, luckily i volunteer at a petting farm that didn't mind taking them in. another thing i'd like to improve is the cost of feeding them.

for the mice problem i'm going to use parts of an old indoor aviary that i think mice can't get through, if the bars are too wide i'm going to buy some hardwarecloth for it.

as for the feed, gamebird feed is only available in 4kg (~8pounds) bags here at a premium price, and i have thought up an alternative but i'm not sure if it will work. if i were to use chicken feed which is much cheaper and supplement it with the mealworms i already breed for my other pets, and maybe worms from my vermicomposter. would that work?

my landlord is doing renovations this year so i'll need to wait until they remove the scaffolding from my balcony, which might be done anywhere from april to october. so the plan is to start next year unless they are done early in the year. so i'll have time to up the mealworm production until then.

 

[lost-duckling]

I assume you are aiming for just a few buttons?
You can feed them chick starter. I used to give mine turkey starter (unmedicated).
I dont think there is any need to buy expensive game bird feed for anything but maybe chicks and even then it not an absolute necessity.

In my experience if it cant eat unmediated turkey starter it may not belong in the class of precocial birds. hec even dogs, goats and some cats like it. (to the detriment of my birds)

 

[Aeonir]

i'm planning to get coturnix quails, if i go with 1 per square foot i can keep 8 in the hutch i have, though i might go for 6 to give them more space.

unfortunately chick starter costs about the same as the game bird feed, and i've never seen turkey starter here as they are rarely kept in my country. basically the only bulk bags they have are chicken feed, which is why i'm hoping to just add something to add protein.

 

[threeepeat]

winter 2021 i had to stop keeping quail, because they caused a mice infestation on both mine and my neighbors balconies, and eventually indoors, luckily i volunteer at a petting farm that didn't mind taking them in. another thing i'd like to improve is the cost of feeding them.

for the mice problem i'm going to use parts of an old indoor aviary that i think mice can't get through, if the bars are too wide i'm going to buy some hardwarecloth for it.

as for the feed, gamebird feed is only available in 4kg (~8pounds) bags here at a premium price, and i have thought up an alternative but i'm not sure if it will work. if i were to use chicken feed which is much cheaper and supplement it with the mealworms i already breed for my other pets, and maybe worms from my vermicomposter. would that work?

my landlord is doing renovations this year so i'll need to wait until they remove the scaffolding from my balcony, which might be done anywhere from april to october. so the plan is to start next year unless they are done early in the year. so i'll have time to up the mealworm production until then.

I'm new but I've read a few times now that mealworm is only appropriate as a treat for coturnix. It's too fattening as supplement which can lead to health problems. On the other hand, I've heard that Black Soldier Fly Larvae works well as a supplement. Again, not an expert. Just what I keep hearing. I used BSFL as a supplement in the unmedicated turkey starter 25% that I was able to find. My chicks seem to have feathered and matured rapidly. I'm not sure if this is in any way related though.

 

[Aeonir]

I just looked around the internet, apparently there is no suitable quail feed to be gotten anywhere near me, the highest protein feed available is at 16.1% which is sold as a starter for show fowl, if i want enough protein for layer coturnix quail it would have to be custom ordered.

Also almost all info on coturnix quail from my country says to just feed them finch seed, and keep them on the bottom of an aviary.

In other words I'm going to have to mix my own feed somehow or give up...

 

[The Truth Is Out There]

I just looked around the internet, apparently there is no suitable quail feed to be gotten anywhere near me, the highest protein feed available is at 16.1% which is sold as a starter for show fowl, if i want enough protein for layer coturnix quail it would have to be custom ordered.

Also almost all info on coturnix quail from my country says to just feed them finch seed, and keep them on the bottom of an aviary.

In other words I'm going to have to mix my own feed somehow or give up...

Don’t give up!
Keep searching and researching!
It’s worth it! Definitely make sure no mice can get in whatever you keep them in. Hardware cloth is definitely something that will help.
Also what you keep their food in will help too.
Make sure the food can’t get spilled out from the feeder. Or if it does it’s limited to a crumb or two.
There are many ideas and different kind of feeders for this.
Just don’t give up!! It’s worth it! Especially if you really want them again.

 

[bhaugh]

I've done just what you typed chick starter with mealworms or flock raiser with mealworms. The mealworms do change the poop smell so watch for that. I've still found game bird feed to be the best esp when my past birds began to pluck from each other. Flock raiser comes in second as I can feed ducks the same feed and save some money. I think Mazuri makes a quail feed. It's pricy but can be found online and shipped to you. If they can make worm feed then I'm sure they have quail feed.
For a cage you could go with a modified bird cage. I bought a really tall one cheap made for parakeets or something and flipped it on its side putting it on sawhorses to get it off the ground. The bars were close enough to keep the birds from escaping and enough to let the poo far through the bars. I added dust bath boxes and walkways so their feet didn't fall through. Just a thought.

 

[LaurenRitz]

Will they eat duckweed or cheese? I use the cheap powdered parmesan as a protein supplement for my chickens. It's 40% protein. Duckweed is between 30 and 50% depending on the variety, so you may have local resources. At my old house I got it from a neighbor who had an infested pond.