Raising protein for quail

[SuseyQ]

Does anyone have a set up for mealworms, earthworms or black soldier flies that they are willing to share?

Thank You,
SuseyQ

 

[JetCat]

from your recent posts it seams you might be getting hung up on protein numbers unnecessarily. quail only need the higher protein (28-30 percent) feeds from hatch to about 2 weeks old, at two weeks old you can drop them to a 24% grower till they start laying and then change to a 24% breeder feed.

 

[SuseyQ]

Jet Cat,
I guess I didn't realize they only needed the high protein diet for a short amount of time. I keep learning new things. But I still have a lot to go.

Thank you for clarifying this,
SuseyQ

 

[gardenisto]

I take a standard game bird feed and bulk it with some soy beans that I buy in the bulk bins at the grocery store. I roast it. Then grind it in a spice grinder. And mix it into the game bird feed. You have to do some simple math to get your protein content right. But it's easy enough. And gets young quail a good high protein start without any special feed purchases.

 

[SuseyQ]

Gardenisto,
How much protein do you use for the chicks?

Thank You,
SuseyQ

 

[Em Ty]

I know guys who use 20% from hatching and 1 guy who uses 18% some who start at 30% and drop down to 24%, some who feed 28-30% exclusively, so don't get hung up on protein. The guys who use lower protein say they just grow a little slower, but I'd try to stay at or above 24%. Whatever you do will probably work out just fine.

You should get your eggs, hatch them, raise them on 28% or whatever you're getting and just stick with that. After you've raised a batch, you can decide if you need to complicate things by changing protein levels or adding in meal worms or whatever, but you don't need to do that and it'll only make your life harder.

By now you've asked and had answered pretty much every question it's possible to ask for quail. You know all you need to know at this point to hatch and raise quail successfully. You're as ready as you'll ever be.

Good luck.

 

[SuseyQ]

EmTy,
Yes, I believe I am pretty ready. I guess you are right, keep it simple to begin with. I just want healthy robust birds since I'm getting good quality eggs. (JMF) I did learn that people who feed less protein say their birds grow slower. I feel like I'm ready now. Just have to pick up a few more supplies and wait for the eggs to arrive. Incubators arrived yesterday so that was exciting.

I realize a lot of what I will learn will be on the job training. But I'm also glad I didn't go into this blind.

I'll let folks know how things are once I get the eggs and they hatch etc. This has been a long process for me, but I've learned that another individual took 11 mos. to learn prior to getting their quail so I feel like I've done pretty well.

Thank you for your support,
SuseyQ

 

[Em Ty]

I don't think that anyone with your attention to detail will raise anything other than healthy, robust birds, so just relax and trust yourself.

 

[gardenisto]

SuseyQ I think you'll do just fine.

I've noticed the higher protein gets them bigger faster in the first couple of weeks. If you took an old nut and spice grinder, and ground up some mealworms from the pet store, or hardware store in the bird feeding section, it should give them an extra boost. 3-ish mealworms per bird per day on top of their feed or mixed in is enough to help out. IMHO

Otherwise, at the risk of getting flamed by DIY poultry feed naysayers, I'll post a link to my site where I list some protein sources and their percentage of protein. A food scale and a grinder, a little math, and you can get protein levels up in about any quantity you want.

http://www.gardenisto.com/poultry/diy-gamebird-feed-ingredients/

I'm posting this to help you add protein from readily available sources to your existing feed, but am doing so with the disclaimer that quality feeds have good formulations for everything a bird needs. All those extra vitamins and nutrients you couldn't get from simply mixing corn with soy... So I wouldn't recommend that.

I also like using those electrolyte vitamin mixes for chicks for the first couple of days. Especially if they were deficient, or their parents lacked balanced nutrition.

Good luck.

 

[SuseyQ]

Gardenisto,
Thank you for your thoughts. I've opted to get a higher protein feed, but it was more than I wanted to pay. For starting out this should work fine. I'll be getting the meal worms for sure and will continue composting my red worms so I think I've got figured out pretty well. I greatly appreciate your support.

Thank You,
SuseyQ