New quail with “older” quail foood.

[Threnus]

I have 2 quail in a 8 ft by 8 ft coop. These two quail were born in October of 2024. I have 4 week old quail that I will be moving into the pen this weekend, about 20. I live in Louisiana so the weather is nice and warm. My question is about the food. The new quail are in 30% protein game bird starter. The two older quail eat a 21% protein gamebird layer. How do I feed everyone?

 

[Nabiki]

I would wait on integration until the younger ones are at least 6 weeks old. At 4 weeks, they are still significantly smaller than the adults, and the adults may injure them. Four weeks is also too young to transition them to adult food.

That being said, while 6 weeks is still young to transition to adult food, it's better than doing so at 4 weeks.