this could get expensive for someone with just a few quail
Well I never thought it would be this popular so here it is;
We decided (mainly because we were spending a ton of money on Purina Flight Conditioner and Maintenance) to look into what the birds need for optimal health, and we noticed that the birds we were going to use as food, are larger, and healthier than the birds that we had strictly on the Purina foods (those birds we use only for breeding, they are the largest and healthiest and best egg layers). The birds we butcher we feed grains to, not the Purina feed, so if it is good for them why feed it to everybody. The most important issue to the birds is protein, they need the other nutrients as well but protein is what gives you good birds. I got on line and looked up the protein content of wheat, milo, cracked corn and soy meal and found that that mixture will equal out what the crumbles contain plus, essential oils for good feathers etc. I will tell you if it is warm where you are limit the amount of corn given because corn basically gives the birds heat, that is why deer, quail, squirrles, rabbits etc. eat corn in the winter because it is a source of heat. Anyway...I will shut up.
We get these grains from the elevator directly and they are market driven as to price. But in the amount we buy it is far cheaper (by 150.00 a month to do it this way)
50 pounds of Milo (some places clean it some don't, the birds don't care but my husband does)
50 pounds of Wheat
50 pounds of cracked corn
50 pounds of soy meal (only plant source of a complete protein)
During the hot months he mixes bag for bag with the wheat, milo, and soy meal, then adds about 1/3 bag of corn. The birds will let you know what they are needing at the time. Right now the birds are eating corn, milo and the soy meal but leaving the wheat. A week ago they were eating the wheat, milo, soy meal but leaving all the corn. (okay they are finicky esp. when you give them a choice) He mixes it all together and puts it in great big "tupperware" type containers with tight fitting lids, to keep mice and other critters out of it. You can always add more of anything and the beauty of doing it this way is that you can customize their diet according to need. We will still use the Purina Layena for game birds because they lay better with that and we will still use the Starter Grower for the chicks but otherwise this is the recipe. When I dressed out the birds last time they were anywhere from 6 oz to 11 oz. per bird, nice white breast meat and really meaty legs (that was at 16 to 18 weeks of age). I will tell you we were purchasing "scratch feed" which has all the above except for soy meal, but the birds were wasting so much corn, (I put the leftovers in my bird feeders as long as it is clean, without any poop) and the ratio of wheat to milo was deficient and with the addition of soy meal the protein ratio is correct with flight conditioner and maintenance.
We butchered another 24 quail Sunday they were about 12 to 13 weeks old, we needed the space for some pheasants we are getting, they were not quite as large as the 16 to 18 week old birds but dressed out the smallest one was 4 oz. the largest being 8oz. so they are putting on great weight and the feathers are really shiny and healthy.
Some might disagree and I am not a nutrition expert, I am just looking for ways to keep the hobby going and still be able to afford our own food. Play around with the recipie because different areas need different mixtures and seasons vary but as long as they are getting the protein and fats they will be healthy.
Well I never thought it would be this popular so here it is;
We decided (mainly because we were spending a ton of money on Purina Flight Conditioner and Maintenance) to look into what the birds need for optimal health, and we noticed that the birds we were going to use as food, are larger, and healthier than the birds that we had strictly on the Purina foods (those birds we use only for breeding, they are the largest and healthiest and best egg layers). The birds we butcher we feed grains to, not the Purina feed, so if it is good for them why feed it to everybody. The most important issue to the birds is protein, they need the other nutrients as well but protein is what gives you good birds. I got on line and looked up the protein content of wheat, milo, cracked corn and soy meal and found that that mixture will equal out what the crumbles contain plus, essential oils for good feathers etc. I will tell you if it is warm where you are limit the amount of corn given because corn basically gives the birds heat, that is why deer, quail, squirrles, rabbits etc. eat corn in the winter because it is a source of heat. Anyway...I will shut up.
We get these grains from the elevator directly and they are market driven as to price. But in the amount we buy it is far cheaper (by 150.00 a month to do it this way)
50 pounds of Milo (some places clean it some don't, the birds don't care but my husband does)
50 pounds of Wheat
50 pounds of cracked corn
50 pounds of soy meal (only plant source of a complete protein)
During the hot months he mixes bag for bag with the wheat, milo, and soy meal, then adds about 1/3 bag of corn. The birds will let you know what they are needing at the time. Right now the birds are eating corn, milo and the soy meal but leaving the wheat. A week ago they were eating the wheat, milo, soy meal but leaving all the corn. (okay they are finicky esp. when you give them a choice) He mixes it all together and puts it in great big "tupperware" type containers with tight fitting lids, to keep mice and other critters out of it. You can always add more of anything and the beauty of doing it this way is that you can customize their diet according to need. We will still use the Purina Layena for game birds because they lay better with that and we will still use the Starter Grower for the chicks but otherwise this is the recipe. When I dressed out the birds last time they were anywhere from 6 oz to 11 oz. per bird, nice white breast meat and really meaty legs (that was at 16 to 18 weeks of age). I will tell you we were purchasing "scratch feed" which has all the above except for soy meal, but the birds were wasting so much corn, (I put the leftovers in my bird feeders as long as it is clean, without any poop) and the ratio of wheat to milo was deficient and with the addition of soy meal the protein ratio is correct with flight conditioner and maintenance.
We butchered another 24 quail Sunday they were about 12 to 13 weeks old, we needed the space for some pheasants we are getting, they were not quite as large as the 16 to 18 week old birds but dressed out the smallest one was 4 oz. the largest being 8oz. so they are putting on great weight and the feathers are really shiny and healthy.
Some might disagree and I am not a nutrition expert, I am just looking for ways to keep the hobby going and still be able to afford our own food. Play around with the recipie because different areas need different mixtures and seasons vary but as long as they are getting the protein and fats they will be healthy.
