The feeding stage of quail is extremely important - with the right choice of food, the bird will be healthy, grow quickly and give the farmer a lot of eggs and meat. The main task is to comply with the daily norms and rules of feeding, as well as enrich the feed with useful substances and vitamins.
Varieties of feed
There are a lot of varieties of feed, so they should be considered in groups.
Cereals and legumes, cereals and seeds
Loose crops, which are convenient both to mix with each other and to give separately. These include:
- Peas. Contains 21.5% protein, it combines well with many amino acids necessary for quail.
- Hemp seed. Useful in small volumes for adult quail.
- Corn. Increases the productivity of quail, with her chicks grow faster.
- Poppy seeds. Harlequin, Chinese and Japanese quails are fed.
- Oats Combines many useful trace elements.
- Beans Contain up to 25% protein, they are rich in vitamins and carbohydrates.
- Soya. It has a large amount of protein - 37-45%, and vegetable fat, but it is suitable for feeding to a bird only after passing through heat and moisture treatment. Therefore, it is better to use soybean meal or extruded soybeans.
- Millet. It contains a lot of quail fiber.
- Vika. It has 24.1% protein. Often used in a mixture with oats.
- Wheat. Often present in quail feed. Usually use feed, crushed wheat.
- Wheat groats. Feeding quail chicks.
- Amaranth grain. It contains a protein in which there is two times more lysine than in wheat protein.
- Millet. You can temporarily feed young and adult quails.
- Fig. It is superior to corn in calories.
- Weed seeds. Willingly eaten by many types of quail.
- Sorghum and Chumiza. In the absence of millet, they can be fed quails.
- Lentils Close in properties to peas.
- Barley. It contains a lot of fiber.
Any poultry farm is rarely without grain, cereals and seeds. They make up the most important part of the diet of poultry, so you need to care about the availability of such feed and their quality.
Animal feed
This type of feed must be included in the diet of quail. It includes:
- Animal feed fat. It must be used with vegetable fats. It has increased energy value. Its content in the diet should not exceed 5%.
- Blood of slaughtered quail. Often used as a protein supplement for feeding these birds.
- Blood meal. It can be used as an additive to grain mixtures.
- Bloodworm. Sometimes fed to quail in the first days of life.
- Flour worm. It is a favorite delicacy of many birds.
- Meat and bone meal. It contains a lot of protein, calcium and phosphorus.
- Garden, earth, earthworms. They are readily eaten by most birds.
- Maggot. Suitable for protein enrichment of quail feed.
- Fish of various species. It must be ground beforehand. It is rich in proteins, vitamins and mineral salts.
- Fish fat. Available in pure form or with various additives. It contains vitamins A and D3.
- Fish flour. It should be stored in the refrigerator and used for feeding only fresh.
- Chicken and Quail Eggs. Hard-boiled and chopped eggs give the chicks in the first week of life as protein feed.
If the bird is restricted in animal feed, then digestive system failures and a decrease in quail immunity are possible.
Vitamin feed
Quails need vitamins for full development, it is customary to use the following vitamin-containing feeds and additives for them:
- Green juicy herbs. They are used fresh, among them it is worth highlighting nettle, dandelion, clover, alfalfa.
- Cabbage. It is a valuable vitamin feed.
- Feather bow. Attracts quail with its taste, they willingly eat it.
- Carrot. Suitable for quail of various ages due to the presence of a large amount of carotene in it.
- Herbal flour. She can replace succulent herbs in the winter.
- Needles and coniferous flour. Suitable as vitamin supplements.
- Garlic. Reduces cholesterol in the blood of birds.
- The apples. Sometimes they are fed quail due to the lack of other vitamin feed.
The presence in the diet of poultry vitamins significantly affects the quality of her health and productivity.
Production waste
Some of the production waste is also used for feeding quail. Among them, the most popular are:
- Cake and meal. They contain a lot of vegetable fats, proteins, potassium and phosphorus. Flaxseed, sunflower, hemp and soybean meal and meal are suitable for feeding quail.
- Bran. Very useful for quail, eaten with pleasure.
These components of bird feed are inexpensive and easy to use, which is why they are often used by many breeders.
Mineral feed
The mineral part of poultry feed plays an important role in its digestion, providing effective grinding of solid food in its stomach. For quail farmers allocate the following mineral feed:
- Bone flour. It can be used as an additional supplement to the diet of birds.
- a piece of chalk. Use only feed. It can be found in the diet of quail both temporarily and permanently.
- Sand. Need quail to grind in the stomach of some foods. The best is pure coarse river sand.
- Salt. Serves the bird as a source of sodium and chlorine. It is part of the feed in the amount of 0.2-0.3%.
- Sea and river shells. When ground, quails are a good mineral feed.
- Eggshell. Used as a temporary mineral dressing.
All of these feed types have their own characteristics. The selection of the optimal combination of feed for poultry will determine the effectiveness of its breeding depending on many factors such as breed, bias on egg production or meat yield, conditions of detention, and so on.
Home recipes or how to make compound feed at home
Each farmer has his own secrets of breeding any animals. There are a lot of different recipes for homemade feed mixtures, here are just a few of the most common ones:
Recipe 1
Simple feed example:
- 400 g of corn grits;
- 1 teaspoon meat and bone meal;
- 100 g barley groats or barley;
- 0.5 teaspoon of vegetable oil;
- 50 g of minced meat or fish;
- 50 g of cottage cheese.
Recipe 2
To this and subsequent compositions it is necessary to add 10 g of chalk. This recipe is more suitable for laying hens:
- 200 g of corn;
- 200 g of wheat;
- 80 g of 10% premix for laying hens.
Premix for layers:
- 90 g of sunflower meal;
- 90 g of soybean meal;
- 45 g of meat and bone meal;
- 45 g of feed yeast;
- 30 g peas;
- 10 g of vegetable oil.
Recipe 3
Considered a classic recipe:
- 300 g of chopped wheat;
- 170 g of oilcake;
- 150 g of corn or barley;
- 70 g of wheat bran;
- 30 g of feed yeast and small shells;
- 20 g of meat, bone and fish meal;
- 20 g peas;
- 20 g of sunflower unrefined oil;
- 10 g premix;
- 2 g of salt.
Recipe 4
The recipe with most of the millet and semolina:
- 200 g of millet;
- 200 g semolina;
- 100 g of cabbage;
- 100 g of beets;
- 50 g of boiled potatoes;
- 50 g of meat and bone meal.
Meat and bone meal:
- 5 boiled eggs;
- 100 g of cottage cheese;
- 50 g of feed yeast;
- 10 g of vegetable oil.
Recipe 5
Component balanced feed:
- 100 g oatmeal;
- 100 g of cottage cheese;
- 100 g of millet;
- 100 g of minced fish.
Recipe 6
Animal-rich feed recipe:
- 100 g of corn grits;
- 100 g of millet;
- 100 g of cottage cheese;
- 100 g pea groats;
- 50 g of meat, bone or fish meal.
Daily Feed Consumption
Of great importance for quail is the content of protein in the feed, due to which an increase and preservation of the live weight of the bird, its productivity and ability to reproduce is ensured.
The need for raw protein for quail of different breeds, directions and ages varies significantly.
It was found that quails easily tolerate a small deviation in the percentage of protein in the feed.
Table 1. The need for quail of different ages in crude protein (%).
Quail group | Research Authors | |||
young growth in age (days) | layers | fattening | ||
1-30 | 31-45 | |||
24 | 17 | 21 | 23 | Pigareva M.D. et al. |
— | — | 21,6 | 26-27 | Romanyuk K. |
26 | 26 | — | — | Mazanovsky A. and others. |
25-26 | 25-26 | 23-24 | — | Fetz K. |
25-27 | 22 | 24 | 16-18 | Razzoni R. et al. |
26,5 | 28 | — | — | Vogt W. |
27,5 | 27,5 | 25 | — | Wilson W. et al. |
The fullness of the protein depends on the composition of amino acids, so you need to not only normalize the total content of crude protein, but also carefully monitor the presence of amino acids in it.
Amino acids such as lysine, methionine, cystine and tryptophan are most important for birds. The lack of each of them significantly affects the productivity of adult quails and the growth rate of chicks.
Table 2. The need for quail in amino acids in comparison with the need for turkeys and chickens (% of feed).
Amino acids | Japanese feed mixture | Feed Mix Authors | Poultry under the age of 30 days | Chickens under the age of 30 days | |||
E.House | R. Pohra | V. Papluchuk | B. Lomashskaya | ||||
Lysine | 2,10 | 1,35 | 1,30 | 1,00 | 1,90 | 1,50 | 1,15 |
Methionine | 0,80 | 0,52 | 0,70 | 0,60 | 0,00 | 0,52 | 0 42 |
Cystine | 0,40 | 0,39 | 0,40 | 0,40 | 0,40 | 0,48 | 0,36 |
Tryptophan | 0,30 | 0,24 | — | 0,30 | 0,30 | 0,30 | 0,21 |
Arginine | 1,20 | 1,56 | — | 1,70 | 1,80 | 1,60 | 1,26 |
Histidine | 0,70 | 0,65 | — | 0,70 | 0,70 | 0,04 | 0,12 |
Leucine | 2,10 | 1,85 | — | 2,00 | 2,30 | 1,60 | 1,47 |
Valine | 1,50 | 1,30 | — | 1,50 | 1.50 | 0.90 | 0,89 |
Tyrosine | 1,00 | 1,91 | — | 0,90 | 1,00 | — | — |
Isoleucine | — | — | — | — | — | 0,80 | 0,78 |
Threonine | 1,20 | 1,04 | — | 1,20 | 1,20 | 0,70 | 0.73 |
Phenylalanine | 1,20 | 0,52 | — | 1,20 | 1,30 | 0,80 | 0,73 |
For feeding quails of exotic species, it is better to use grain mixtures with the addition of fresh herbs and soft feeds. The deficit of animal feed in the diet of these quails is made up with the help of insects, their larvae, flour and earthworms.
For adult birds
The feeding rate for an adult bird is 3 times a day. An average adult quail consumes 25 grams of feed per day.
Approximately 60% of the grain mix and 40% protein should be included in this amount of feed. Also in the diet of the bird should be greens and juicy vegetables. The presence of quail vitamins A, D and E. is important.
Table 3. The need for quail in trace elements.
Items | Units | Age of quail (weeks) | ||
until 6 | from 6 to 12 | adults | ||
Calcium | % | 1,30 | 0,60 | 4,50 |
Phosphorus | — | 0,75 | 0,60 | 0,70 |
Magnesium | — | 0,02 | 0,04 | 0,04 |
Potassium | — | 0,30 | 0,30 | 0,50 |
Manganese | mg / kg | 90,0 | 90,0 | 90,0 |
Selenium | — | 1,00 | 1,00 | 1,00 |
Iodine | — | 0,40 | 1,20 | 1,20 |
Zinc | — | 65,0 | 75,0 | 75,0 |
Iron | — | 8,00 | 20,0 | 20,0 |
Copper | — | 2,00 | 3,00 | 3,00 |
For quail
In the first 4 weeks of life, meat and egg quails need to receive about 20-26% protein. Wild quail protein needs even more.
The first week of life of the chicks is fed at least 5 times a day, then 4 times, and from the fourth week they switch to the standard three meals a day.
In the absence of quail feed, from two weeks of age, chicks of many types of quail begin to introduce gravel and ground shells into the diet.
For more information on feed for quail look here.
Diet
The composition of feed for quail requires the presence of amino acids, fats, carbohydrates, mineral salts and vitamins. In order for the bird to be able to fully digest and assimilate food, it needs gastrolites (swallowed stones and minerals) to ensure grinding of food in the stomach.
Features of food for laying hens
In the feed for quail hens, all the necessary nutrients must be carefully balanced. If necessary, their concentration will be a good percentage of egg production.
The number of eggs laid directly depends on the protein content in the feed - it should be about 26%.
To improve egg production, many knowledgeable poultry farmers recommend adding crushed eggshells to the feed.
Up to 30 grams of complete feed per hen per day. As a rule, females rush up to eleven months, after which they are slaughtered for meat.
For quail
Feeding the quail is usually divided into several periods.
First period - The first week of the life of the chicks. At this time, a sifted feed mixture with a content of 24-26% protein and quail eggs is used. It is not recommended to give chicken eggs in order to avoid transmission of chicken diseases through them to the chicks.
Second period - 2-4 weeks. The basis of the feed at this time is the feed mixture with a content of at least 20-24% of crude protein and 290 Kcal of metabolic energy in 100 g of feed. The food is divided into 4 daily servings.
Third period - 5-6 week. At this time, a feed mixture intended for adult quail is already being given, but the level of crude protein is reduced to 16-18%, since the chicks may have premature sexual development, which will negatively affect the future productivity of female egg breeds.
At this time, the share of crushed grain feed should increase. Such additives increase fiber, improve the appetite of chicks.
At the age of six weeks, quails begin to receive food intended for an adult bird. Grain feed is excluded from the diet and the proportion of succulent feed is reduced. The crude protein content in the feed mixture at this time ranges from 21-24%, the exchange energy is 280-290 Kcal per 100 g of feed mixture. This amount of nutrients consumed contributes to the full physical and productive development of birds.
Fattening for meat
For fattening quails for meat are taken:
- males and females of one month old with physical defects;
- bird after the end of oviposition;
- young animals that are grown specifically for this purpose.
Feeding for meat begins to be introduced gradually. A sharp transition can lead to bird disease and even death. Quails are placed in cages with solid walls and placed in a shaded area. Males should be kept separately with females. When fattening, quail feeding rates are taken as for an adult bird, while the amount of corn and fats increases. You can make a diet of 80% broiler feed and 20% cooked peas.
The transition to a new diet can be carried out in four days. On the first day, you can give the bird half the old feed and half the new. Thus, by gradually reducing the old feed, they will be replaced with a new diet. Fattening lasts up to four weeks. In the last week, the standard mass of feed (about 30 grams) is increased by about 8%. With the right feeding rate, a well-fed bird should weigh at least 160 grams and have a good layer of subcutaneous fat in the chest.
Table 4. Standard for quail meat.
Indicators | Meat characteristic | |
First category | Second category | |
Carcass fatness | Muscle tissue is well developed. There are deposits of subcutaneous fat on the chest and abdomen. | Muscle tissue is developed satisfactorily. Subcutaneous fat deposits may be absent. |
Carcass processing | The carcass is well bloodless, clean, without bruising or feather residues. Single stumps, slight abrasions and scratches are allowed. | The carcass is well bloodless, clean, without bruising or feather residues. A small amount of hemp, abrasions and scratches are allowed, as well as bone fractures that do not reduce the presentation of the carcass. |
At this time, quail carrots should be given to quail, it will give the pulp a beautiful color. Fish and its processed products, onions, garlic, needles are excluded - they adversely affect the smell of meat and its taste.
Vitamins and Supplements
Due to the fact that all vitamins are added to the feed in a very small volume, it is recommended to pre-mix them with the grain component of the diet. Mixing should be carried out stepwise, gradually adding small portions of the filler to the vitamin. Then the resulting mixture is mixed with the remaining volume of feed.
Among such useful additives to poultry feed, it is worth highlighting trivit, tetravit, various premixes, chiktonit, yeast.
Quail nutrition depending on the season
Feeding home and decorative quail should be complete in composition and quality, to ensure the body's energy needs, depending on the season.
The consumption of nutrients by the body of birds in different seasons of the year and in different environmental conditions varies, this must be taken into account when preparing feed mixtures and determining the daily norm.
The peculiarity of feeding quail in the summer is the presence in the diet of the bird to a greater extent of fresh greenery, insects, earthworms and the like.
In winter, instead of fresh greens, grass harvested from summer comes. In the absence of natural vitamins at this time, feed mixtures should be enriched with special additives.
Drinking mode
An important element for the drinking regime of any animal is the origin of water. If water comes from the river, then it must first be boiled and allowed to cool. When using water from a well, it should be heated, otherwise the birds may catch a cold.
It is worth changing the water in birds once or several times a day, depending on its balance and contamination.
It is not necessary to boil tap water. All she needs to do is let it stand so that the chlorine disappears. If in doubt about the quality of this water, it is worth passing it through an additional filter.
Once a week, a weak potassium permanganate solution must be poured into the drinking bowls, alternating it with a solution of selenium. For prevention, vitamin C is added once every 10 days. 1-2 tablets of ascorbic acid per 1 liter are sufficient. But B vitamins are best added separately. Otherwise, beneficial substances will destroy each other during a chemical reaction in water.
Nutritional Errors and Useful Tips
Many novice quail breeders make standard mistakes in keeping, feeding or raising birds. Here are some tips to help feed the quail properly:
- Protein control in feed. In the absence of special feed, it is necessary to increase the volume of protein feed and vegetables.
- Organic food. Do not pick grass near roads.
- Compliance with feed storage conditions. Fish waste and minced meat should be stored at a temperature of from -1 to -3 ° C for no more than six months.
- Features of using specialized equipment. To mix the minced meat with the main feed for poultry, it is better to use a manual or electric meat grinder.
- Proper bird nutrition. It will be good to add a couple of tablespoons of milk powder to the feed.
Observing all the recommendations for feeding quail, monitoring the health of the bird and its productivity indicators, it is possible to easily achieve optimal efficiency of the livestock in any direction, be it egg or meat.