Treats for Bobs

[Rozzie]

Even for adult birds, there is no sense in giving something that expensive. If you want some sort of seeds for your ADULT coturnix to give as a treat, just get something basic. Some plain thistle seed is fine. It might be called finch food. Or, give some flax seed if yours like it. This will raise the nutritional content of the eggs, too.

Remember:

Treats are for ADULT quail only. Do not feed treats of ANY type to baby quail.
Baby quail and young quail should never have any food except their starter crumbles.
When you any sort of treats to your adult quail, they also have to have grit. Any food that they eat other than crumbles means they need grit. Actually, I like to give grit anyway.

You can get a small bag of grit at any Tractor Supply or Orscheln's for a few dollars. Manna Pro is one brand. I you have a lot of birds, you can get a big bag. However, they don't need a lot of grit so a small bag will last a while.

If you have birds laying eggs, it is also good to give them some Oyster Shell. You don't need to give a lot, though. It is not as important to give quail oyster shell as it is chickens. However, it is still good for some birds. I have one bird that lays soft shelled eggs without it.

 

[Robo]

They need to be 12 weeks for bobs, and 5 or 6 weeks for coturnix.

 

[Rozzie]

With Coturnix, I wouldn't give any treats until they are several weeks old. I don't know with Bobwhites, though. Someone else will have to answer that part.



One reason that you don't give them treats is so that they stay on a balanced diet. Giving treats changes the amount of Protein they are getting in their diet. Most things we give for treats are lower protein. If their diet slips in protein they do not gain weight and do not grow correctly. This is the case with most types of animals. It's the same for people, too: too much junk food or too many treats and our bodies don't get the nutrition they need to stay healthy and strong, or to grow right if we are still growing.

Another reason is because baby chicks might eat more than they should of some treats and may not be able to digest some of the items properly, even if they do eat grit.

In nature, mama birds often help baby birds with food. They sometimes break food up for the babies, for example. They show them what to eat and what not to eat. When we raise birds in captivity, we can't do this the same way. Sometimes we don't KNOW what is good and bad for them. So, it is safest to stick with the foods that we know are healthy for them.

For most of us, we can be sure we are feeding the best diet possible by feeding the balanced starter rations that we buy for them. It is the best way to keep them healthy.

I can't help more with taming Bobs. I suspect that you should sit by their cages a lot so they are used to you. If it were me, I'd be putting my hands in their cages from the time they are tiny, if I wanted to raise them to be tame. From what I understand, Bobs are pretty hard to tame, though. When they are grown up, you might try mealworms to get them to like you. You can raise mealworms at home. Quail lady can help you with that. I haven't done it.

 

[BobwhiteQuailLover]

I am only giving by birds treats to tame them. They will eat out of my hand too!!

Can you give me a list of treats to give them?



Thanks!!

 

[BobwhiteQuailLover]

What other treats could I use for treats?

 

[Robo]

Give them sand to dust bathe in. You can also give them mealworms or crickets. Oh, they also like small pieces of grass. And they LOVE millet spray.

 

[BobwhiteQuailLover]

HaHa!!
OK!!
How can I tame the chicks?

 

[Robo]

Hold them and talk to them every day. You can also feed them from your hand and whistle to them.

 

[BobwhiteQuailLover]

OK!! Thanks EVERYONE for your help!! I used to have a bob called "killer", and my friend HATED him because he killed another chick, but every time I put my hand in the brooder, he crawled onto it!!! He died tho by getting trampled by bigger chicks.

AND THAT WAS MY STORY!!!
Do you have one?

 

[Robo]

I had one that would chirp all night long, and then he just died. He was my favorite one in the batch.