Quail Feed :o

[jackson41]

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A. THAT'D BE FINE. HE'LL HAVE THE CLEANEST FEET AROUND
B. TRY PLATYPUS PELLETS, I GET A GREAT DEAL ON THEM IN 5 TON QUANTITIES ONCE THEY HAVE REACHED THEIR EXPIRATION DATE...
C. WHY PAY TOO MUCH FOR A WAFER THERMO? JUST USE 1 CANIBALIZED FROM A 30 YR OLD WATER HEATER... THEY'RE USUALLY ACCURATE TO +/- 15 DEGRESS OR SO...

your killing me guy's

Don't forget to keep a block of ice in the polar bear cage They like it cool. Plus it will be an automatic waterer for the Quail below.

 

[babieblues]

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That's interesting as every Game Bird Feed label I've read has salt as an ingredient. Also according to quite a few websites regarding quail's nutritional needs salt is an important part of their diet. In the proper ratio of course.
A quote from one site:
"Salt (Sodium chloride). This is needed for protein digestion and these elements are also involved with acid-base equilibrium in the body. The growing Japanese quail fed a purified type of diet containing 0.042-0.051% sodium had poor growth , high mortality, adrenal enlargement, elevated haematocrit, and depressed plasma sodium suggestive of an aberration in fluid and electrolyte haemostasis. A dietary sodium level of 0.1% overcame these difficulties (Lumijarvi and Vohra, 1976).
Natural feedstuffs usually require supplemental feeding of salt (NaCl) to satisfy the quail's requirement for sodium and chloride and this is normally added to the feed at amounts of 0.25 to 0.35 per cent. Too much salt produces a laxative effect and results in wet droppings and also wet litter. "

 

[abobwhat]

 

[Riffecreek]

What happened to giving the birds the best care they can get?? If your in it for the money, put it in the bank, You'll draw about as much in interest and can go fishing for 2+ hours a day it would take to feed, water, and clean pens..

If your not in it for the $$, buy them feed that was meant for them.. be it quail, chickens, polar bears, and so on....

 

[Fat Daddy]

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Well played, my good man. Welcome to the dark side. Quail husbandry can raise much controversy, often times with battle lines drawn, as Bill has hinted about above, most eloquently. I, myself, will surely catch some flack for my latest quail project endeavor, in which I'm witholding any source of calcium from the diet of my "Boneless Cambodian White-meat British Range Rovers".

Man, I have got to have some of those boneless Cambodian Ranger Rover eggs. I got a feel'in Dirk's polar bear is gonna go broody before long, I wont even need a bator if we can swing a deal. That Ol bear can sit on 300 or so at a time.... Bill

 

[babieblues]

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For me it is giving them the best care they can get. I want to know what's in the feed they are getting. Just because it's in a pretty bag and costs alot of money doesn't mean it's the best. I probably spend way to much time reading ingredient labels, but it has been a necessity for my family for years. Have 2 boys that are allergic to Sulfa, and it's in so many things. Found out when they had ear infections and their antibiotics were making them sicker. Turns out it's an ingredient that has no medicinal value it's put in there to keep the lovely shade of yellow dye from fading. We raise our quail mostly for food, and what they eat we eat. I want to make sure what they eat is the best and healthiest for them so they are the healthiest for us.
I think people that are trying to feed their animals the best should actually learn what the nutritional needs for that animal are and make sure they are supplying them. Being aware of what your bird needs are is important and the best place to start is by asking questions, such as the OP did. Unfortunately an open forum is not necessarily the best place to get that type of information. You will get alot of opinions, but few of them will be based on any type of facts. (ie) quail shouldn't be fed any amount of salt or fat. The actual facts are that both ingredients are very important parts of a quail's diet and without them their health will definitely suffer.

So that's my rant for the day, I'll get off my soapbox now and let everyone go back to their regularly scheduled program of polar bears and quail with teeth and claws.

 

[Riffecreek]

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For me it is giving them the best care they can get. I want to know what's in the feed they are getting. Just because it's in a pretty bag and costs alot of money doesn't mean it's the best. I probably spend way to much time reading ingredient labels, but it has been a necessity for my family for years. Have 2 boys that are allergic to Sulfa, and it's in so many things. Found out when they had ear infections and their antibiotics were making them sicker. Turns out it's an ingredient that has no medicinal value it's put in there to keep the lovely shade of yellow dye from fading. We raise our quail mostly for food, and what they eat we eat. I want to make sure what they eat is the best and healthiest for them so they are the healthiest for us.
I think people that are trying to feed their animals the best should actually learn what the nutritional needs for that animal are and make sure they are supplying them. Being aware of what your bird needs are is important and the best place to start is by asking questions, such as the OP did. Unfortunately an open forum is not necessarily the best place to get that type of information. You will get alot of opinions, but few of them will be based on any type of facts. (ie) quail shouldn't be fed any amount of salt or fat. The actual facts are that both ingredients are very important parts of a quail's diet and without them their health will definitely suffer.

So that's my rant for the day, I'll get off my soapbox now and let everyone go back to their regularly scheduled program of polar bears and quail with teeth and claws.

If you want to know eggzactly what they need, Start here on page 3 ---------> http://www.biosciences.elewa.org/JABS/2010/26/8.pdf

Then you will see that some of the things needed to mix your own feed is controlled and not sold to the public.. (not in it's clean form) and others are in such small quantities that it isn't feasible to buy it unless your mixing a ton or more per batch.. I don't know about where you are from, but we have plenty of places that carry good quality quail feed at a decent price.. I have one mill that will mix it for me if I take 1000 lbs at a time, but I have to be in full production mode to feed that much before it goes stale.

 

[babieblues]

Riffecreek wrote:
I don't know about where you are from, but we have plenty of places that carry good quality quail feed at a decent price.. I have one mill that will mix it for me if I take 1000 lbs at a time, but I have to be in full production mode to feed that much before it goes stale.


Saskatchewan, Canada .... North of Montana and North Dakota. As I stated in a previous post - where I live there are no game bird feeds available and the costs of shipping is so unbelievably high it's just not feasible. Right now we're feeding a mixture of laying mash and poultry premix, mixed to a protein percentage of 26 - 28%. That is a common feed mix for quail around here, either that or turkey starter (only available in medicated). No one wants to stock it here because, as I've been told too many times to count, there's not enough of a market and no profit in it. Both of those feeds are created for chickens not quail. Looking for an affordable (not cheap but don't wanna have to mortgage the house to pay for it either) feed that is suited for quails. It could end up being a name brand Game Bird feed, one that will ship for less than $20.00 per pound (plus the cost of the feed), or a feed containing proper natural feeds available here with a vitamin/mineral mix especially formulated for quail diets added to it.
Anyways, I read these threads because I'm interested in what people have to say about the different types of feed they give their quail. As I'm still investigating what would be the best way to feed mine. I very seldom do more than just read the posts without replying but I guess the constant barrage of "Feed Them Game Bird Feed" and the massive amount of spam posts just struck a nerve with me this time. Thank you for the pdf file, I've read it over and it gives me more information to add to my list of "what to look for" in the feeds that are available to me.

 

[Rozzie]

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If it's taking you two hours or more a day to take care of your birds then you must have a helluva lot of birds. That or you are trying to keep their cages clean enough so that you can eat off THEIR floor...

 

[ChickenGirl3]

I am sorry but I am not a big reader so I didn't get to read all of your posts so can you list all of the feeds and foods that quail can eat.