What age do you stop grinding the crumbles finer?

[StruckBy]

I'm curious at what age people stop grinding the crumbles finer for their quail chicks (regular coturnix, not jumbos)? Mine are now two weeks old and seem more than big enough to eat the regular crumbles but won't...they throw out all the bigger pieces, eat the 'dust', and then cry until I give them a batch I've given a whrrr in the food processor. If they were bigger doing this, like when chickens or ducks rebel against switching from crumbles to pellets, I'd just make them wait until they got hungry enough but juvenile quail are sooooo tiny I don't want to push it too hard. I don't ever remember having this issue before, but it's been quite a few years since I had quail.

 

[ThaJuicyJuice]

Day 0. When I first started hatching, I was like there is no way this bird will eat that big crumble.. so I blended them up. After the first time, I stopped this ridiculous practice and amazingly there were so many varied sized pieces of food the quail figured it out. The bigger challenge is keeping them from relieving themselves in the food and water.

 

[dc3085]

Some feed types have a pheasant size crumble or larger and many people are forced to use turkey starter due to availability and have to be grind for the first week. Just make sure you aren't grinding it to the point that there is fine powder. The powder is not good for their respiratory health. Use your judgement on what they can fit in their mouth.

 

[cookiesdaddy]

sorry to revive this thread ... I use Purina Gamebird Starter and still grind it for my 11 days old JMF chicks. Can I stop now? I see that the crumble can fit in their mouth but they look awfully big. They don't have the ability to chew lol. I want to stop grinding if I can. The problem with my grinder is they don't grind uniformly, some dust and some crumble still large. Thanks.

 

[James the Bald]

I stop after 2 weeks. My second hatch, I ground up the feed until they were 5 weeks of age. Then when I put them into their own cage with the unground stuff, they just loked at it and wouldn't touch it for several days.
James

 

[Dragons4u]

I didn't grind my crumbles at all using the Purina gamebird crumbles. There were enough of different sizes they still ate well.

 

[Quail Jailer]

I always grind, I only want my birds to get fat and lay eggs, I make it as easy as possible. I believe grinding cuts my waste because they are not as able to toss as much out at once. But the other big reason is, it will sift, so everyday twice a day I sift out any poo or whatnot, refill and go.

 

[thequietman]

I had to special order the purina gamebird chow, and ended up starting with Dumor Chick Starter. I never ground it at all. They ate it just fine from birth. Mine actually always leave the dust at the bottom and only seem to want the larger stuff. I'm still waiting for the Gamebird Chow to show up I'll have to see if they treat that any different.

 

[cookiesdaddy]

I always grind, I only want my birds to get fat and lay eggs, I make it as easy as possible. I believe grinding cuts my waste because they are not as able to toss as much out at once. But the other big reason is, it will sift, so everyday twice a day I sift out any poo or whatnot, refill and go.

Jailer that's a lot of feed to grind! What do you use as a grinder? I use an old food processor and can do 2-3 cups at a time. The problem is they are not even, with the result ranging from fine dust to still good size crumbles.

 

[Quail Jailer]

You know Ive never tried anything but a blender I do a quart at a time in about 20 seconds, turns full pellets to "cornmeal" quite evenly

Must be a good machine, but I'm sure its not an expensive one. If need be I can go check on make and model.