New to quail (Rain Quail)

[Milan quail guy]

Hi there.
I am getting my first few quail chciks in 2 days and I have a few questions.
I have 19% protein chicken starter mix. What can I do to add more protein?
I have sprayed their living area with bug spray and now there are dead black widows everywhere. Will the poisened black widow bodies kill the quail?
I have a 60w red light bulb for them. Will this be enough heat for them?
I heard there poo stinks alot. What can I do to make it stink less?
Are rain quail and there eggs edible?
Thanks.

 

[DK newbie]

There seems to be very little info on rain quail out there, but from what I can find, they are somewhat similar to coturnix though smaller and more skittish - and perhaps slower to mature? I read the chicks live with their parents for 8 months! Doubt that would happen with button quail and coturnix in the wild.
Anyway, I will assume that their protein needs are the same and in that case - if you insist on using the chicken starter - you can add cat food to increase the protein. Grind it in a blender or similar to make it small enough for them to eat. You want to reach 24-30% protein.
The dead spiders - that depends on the bug spray used, but I'd definitely try to remove as many as possible before introducing the quail.
60W - I have next to no experience brooding birds, but I believe I've read about people on here using 100W bulbs. If I were you, I'd test the bulb in the brooder you intend to use and see how close it needs to be to the substrate to reach a temp that is suitable for the age of the chicks you'll be getting (about 95 F for chicks that are just a few days old).
Some people use deep litter as bedding for quail and say it reduces the smell a lot - there is a thread in the quail section on that, think it's called something like 'Deep litter - why it works'. I only have button quail, the smell of their poo doesn't bother me at all.
I see no reason why their eggs wouldn't be edible.

Oh - and

 

[Milan quail guy]

Can i feed them grower mash?

 

[Milan quail guy]

Can i add sunflower seed to the chick mix?

 

[robdog]

Never heard of rain quail but Im only a few months into quail
To supplement protein
Grind of catfood
or give the chicks scrambled eggs

 

[DK newbie]

Sunflower seed has a lot of fat and not very much protein, so I wouldn't give that as a significant part of the diet. And chicks most likely wouldn't be able to eat the seeds whole - you'd need to grind them.
You could probably feed them 'grower mash', but whether it's a good idea is a different story - if the grower mash has 24+% protein, then yes, it'll be better than the chicken starter. But in general, 'grower' feed has less protein than 'starter' feed, so I don't think it would be an advantage to use the grower mash.

If I were you, I'd try to find a game bird starter that has the protein they need - that'll make feeding them so much easier.

 

[ZedR]

I have coturnix but I feed my girls (and a few boys) 24% protein. I supplement with meal worms which they LOVE LOVE LOVE. Free access to oyster shells all the time. I have mine on the bottom of a pen I made for them (80 square feet). I use straw on the bottom of my pen with a few overturned tupperware style containers I cut holes into the sides of so they can shelter in them if they want.

I don't give them extra heat but I do have 2 four foot LED shop light setups I run to give extra light at night (so they will keep laying during the winter). I tried cracked corn but they don't like it at all. :-(

I'm VERY careful not to use any chemicals around them.. but that's just me.

Hope this helps!

z