Quails

[emtserg]

I just started raising quails and they are about 6 weeks old. I have only females and they have not started to lay eggs yet. My question is do I need to have males in order for them to start laying? I'm feeding them chicken layer high in omega 3 and supplement with table scrapes for more protein. Any advise will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[SeptemberQuail]

The females are still young, give them time to lay. When they lay depends on the hen themselves, I had a 5 week old quail already laying her first egg, and then they all started to lay eggs at around 6 - 8 weeks of age.

You do not need a male for them to start laying eggs, only if you wish to breed.

Protein needs to be at least 22% or above for quails.
I think it'd be better if you were to, rather than feed them chicken layer, look into buying gamebird finisher/feed. I've heard from here that chicken layer has too much calcium for males which could destroy their kidneys.

 

[emtserg]

Thanks for the suggestions. I did go out today and bought gamebird feed. I was able to find it at a local feed store. Will this feed work for my chicken's as well? They are laying and soon will be moulting so they will need the extra protein. Thanks for your suggestions. I'm learning a lot from your web site.

 

[chrishw]

Does the tag list the protein? There usually are mulible game bird feeds for different situations, I learned this after being sold a wrong bag myself! There should be a white label on the bottom...

 

[emtserg]

Your right after reading the label I was sold the wrong feed. It's a game bird starter with 30% protein. Much higher than a 20% I was told it had.

 

[Weirdness555]

Don't return it! 30% will probably be fine for them, if you're worried maybe mix it with some corn or something to bring it down, but really the higher the better

 

[chrishw]

30% is actually perfect for 0-4 weeks, that's what you need! After that I'd just cut it a bit trying to hit 26-28%. I wish I could find some 30% locally!

It IS NOT GOOD FOR CHICKENS! I know almost nothing but I think they need closer to 18% and a different mix of nutrients. Your not going to find a feed that works for both chickens and quail.


Here is a quote from myself on feed from another thread

Robbie from JMF said a fellow, Dr. Smith came up with the best diet and I think this is the PDF that he was talking about:

http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2383.htm

NC State University also put out a bulletin that seems to match Purina's suggestions (and mixes) pretty Close, also its got the higher protein mix (28%) for the first 4 weeks that quite a few experts have told me to do, other than the 24 vs 28% both of these seem pretty close but the NC State is a bit more detailed including more nutrient levels


http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/poulsci/tech_manuals/feeding_quail.html




I was looking for the feeding program Robbie suggests and found this really interesting read. The breeding program recommended is more geared towards a natural vs abnormal stock and close to what I do for my northern bob-whites. I booked-marked it to refer back to an have seen some of this information elsewhere so I don't know if this was the source documentation or a collaboration effort but its a great source

http://www.quailridgefarms.net/index.php?main_page=page_2


I know I've posted some of this recently but I've been reading more and more and thought ya'll be interested in the additional NCSU and other link, I've got a hundred or so JMF American Pharaoh and A&M arriving soon to join my harlequin and bob-whites!