Quail: At what age do you... questions

[Sammi_0411]

My chicks are about 3 days old now, and I've moved them over to a cup type waterer. They're just prone to drowning themselves in the first few days.

I wouldn't give them mealworms until around 5 weeks. Be careful not to overfeed on those since they're high in fat. Treats shouldn't be more than 10% of their diet.

My older birds won't eat the finely ground food. They prefer crumbles.

I start offering crumble at around 2 weeks.

Totally agree everything @Nabiki says shes helped me out many times since getting quails xx

 

[hoondogsrunamuck]

I also kept a dust bath in the brooder starting around a week but it’s not necessary at all, gets messy very quickly. They might just decide to dust bath in their food if they can get in it or in the wood shavings. Once they don’t need to be on heat all the time you can pop a few of them in a separate plastic container with sand or soil in it and they’ll start dust bathing.

Grinding up food when they’re adult can just lead to them digging in it and getting it everywhere in my experience. On the other hand they will also remove and discard pellets that are too large, so a crumble sized food is perfect.

All great info, thank you so much!!

If I do decide to go with an early dust bath, a separate area sounds good. I spend waaaay too much time keeping their quarters tidy for that kinda nonsense!

 

[hoondogsrunamuck]

Totally agree everything @Nabiki says shes helped me out many times since getting quails xx

Super, thanks so much for the input!

 

[RoosterML]

Not sure why you would grind up crumbles . They get starter which in my understanding is fed until 8 weeks or so. No treats for me and dust bath was put in at 4 weeks when I moved them into permanent pens. I also use horizontal nipples at 3 weeks + so no worries of drowning for me.

 

[HuffleClaw]

I have never EVER had to grind up their food. It’s gamebird starter crumbles, and they’ve eaten chicken chick starter/grower before (when I briefly ran out).

 

[NY Coturnix]

I get the wild bird starter and to be honest that's all I ever feed my quail. I know the protein is a little high after 10 weeks but haven't had any issues. Same with the oyster shells. I've never had to add them so unless you see weak shells they may not be needed as well. I do use a meat bird 22% food now and then if I can't get my hands on the Wild Bird Starter.

Oh and I do typically smash up the crumble for the first couple days. I've been told you don't need to but do anyway. Put it in a large zip lock back and give it a few whacks with a hammer. Once you get a rotation going something else I've done is use the powdered up food that's left over in your adult food trays. They won't eat it but you can recycle it to chicks if you have any at that time.

 

[FloorCandy]

I grind up the crumble for the first 3-5 days. My crumble starts pretty small, but the first few days they only eat the powder and leave the chunks if I don’t grind it. After that, and for the rest of their lives, they don’t like the powder and only eat it when they’ve eaten all the big chunks. You can also sift the crumble and feed the chicks powder and save the big pieces for later.

I put water in a pasta jar lid with rocks for 2-3 days, but I always have a parakeet waterer nearby, so they start using it right away. The little parakeet waterer can’t be drowned in, but the new chicks can’t always figure out that it holds water. At 3 weeks I move them to a nipple waterer.

I don’t put sand baths in the brooders because they’re too messy, but when I have chicks in with my adults to brood, they do use the sand bath, but the adults don’t allow them in for a few days, they all take the job of lifeguard at the “pool” very seriously. Then suddenly everyone brings chips into the sand bath, and it becomes the chick bedroom. I have one handicapped adult and if she’s having a rough time and tumbling out of the sand bath, I’ll remove it until the chicks are more evasive and don’t get squashed every time she comes/falls out.

 

[hoondogsrunamuck]

Not sure why you would grind up crumbles . They get starter which in my understanding is fed until 8 weeks or so. No treats for me and dust bath was put in at 4 weeks when I moved them into permanent pens. I also use horizontal nipples at 3 weeks + so no worries of drowning for me.

Great, thank you!

 

[hoondogsrunamuck]

I have never EVER had to grind up their food. It’s gamebird starter crumbles, and they’ve eaten chicken chick starter/grower before (when I briefly ran out).

Oh okay, thank you!

 

[hoondogsrunamuck]

I get the wild bird starter and to be honest that's all I ever feed my quail. I know the protein is a little high after 10 weeks but haven't had any issues. Same with the oyster shells. I've never had to add them so unless you see weak shells they may not be needed as well. I do use a meat bird 22% food now and then if I can't get my hands on the Wild Bird Starter.

Oh and I do typically smash up the crumble for the first couple days. I've been told you don't need to but do anyway. Put it in a large zip lock back and give it a few whacks with a hammer. Once you get a rotation going something else I've done is use the powdered up food that's left over in your adult food trays. They won't eat it but you can recycle it to chicks if you have any at that time.

Saving the dust from the bag is brilliant! Thank you.