My quail are obese!

[GBov]

I have always given my quail a full feeder and never had a problem before but I killed 8 yesterday and found these ones had fat in places I didn't know a bird could pack it on!

They get 21% game bird starter.

7 were held back from yesterdays cull in the hopes of getting some eggs, they were all the biggest ones but, perhaps because of the fat issue, there were no visible sex organs to be seen.

Five of the flock were jumbo browns and the rest were Texas A & M. The TA&Ms are now over 4 months old and the browns are close to 2 years old but, when processed, they non of htem had eggy bits inside.

Have kept a hen and roo from the Browns and five TA&Ms but what now? Can they be thinned down and they lay again or should I just give up and eat them and start again with new quail?

And, if I try thinning them down, how much food to give to 7 quail per day?

 

[TwoCrows]

This is common with caged quail. They can get fat because they are not burning calories. It is also common with the lower protein foods. High protein puts on muscle. With the lower protein feeds they need to consume more feed to get enough protein. So they are getting more calories. If you move up to a 26% or 28% feed, they will need to eat less and will probably lose weight.

 

[GBov]

This is common with caged quail. They can get fat because they are not burning calories. It is also common with the lower protein foods. High protein puts on muscle. With the lower protein feeds they need to consume more feed to get enough protein. So they are getting more calories. If you move up to a 26% or 28% feed, they will need to eat less and will probably lose weight.

Up until a week ago they were in a walk in flight cage, I only caged them smaller last week.

 

[TwoCrows]

I would get them on a bit higher protein so they eat less. Less calories will be consumed. They should lose some of that fat.