While chickens are voracious eaters that consume everything from vegetables to meat scraps, quails prefer grains and seeds more.
Unlike in the wild, where they depend on seasonal crops, quails will be happier receiving kitchen scraps and a gamebird feed mix in an enclosure.
But, if you can find different alternatives to pellets or commercial feed, you can take advantage of stuff freely available on the farm or homestead.
I have tried a few things with homemade quail feed made from scraps and mixtures, which you may also consider.
Quail Nutrition Requirements
On average, common quails like Coturnix live 2 – 5 years, but some quail breeds, bottom quail, and king quail can have extended lifespan.
They mature between 6 and 12 weeks and start laying eggs.
These birds also reach the market weight and are ready to be processed at the same time. Though breeders keep quails for 2 years for eggs, they don’t wait more than 12 weeks for meat.
I consider these stages to understand the quail’s nutritional needs and prefer their feed based on that.
The quail chicks grow faster, so they require higher protein. Give your birds 24–30 % protein in their feed (A safe amount will be around 28%). Continue feeding for 6 weeks after hatching quails.
Birds from 6 – 8 weeks are growers, which may need 20–22% protein to gain weight and mature.
If the quails are fully grown or at least 8 weeks old, you need to understand that they have done all their growing and no longer need the high-protein diet.
It’s safe to provide the adult quails with 16-20% protein in this stage.
For layers, you can keep 18–20% protein. The quail hens also need 2-4% calcium for a strong eggshell.
Besides, you also need grit if you give your birds mealworms or small bugs. This helps birds grind the food and digest it easily.
Ingredients for Homemade Quail Feed
Grains and Seeds
As quails are small, they prefer small grains and seeds. These provide the carb part of their diet and several micronutrients and minerals.
Feed your birds high-protein grains. Depending on your climate or regions, you can grow long-term and short-term crops.
- Wheat, barley, oats, rye, buckwheat, rice (broken), black oil sunflower, flax, pumpkin seeds
- Millet, canary seed, linseed, sorghum, ground corn
- Quinoa, hemp hearts, amaranth, acorns, hazelnuts, pecans, and cashews
Protein Sources
Like chickens, quails need protein for weight gain, eggshells, and developing feathers and overall growth. They forage for bugs and insects in the free-range pasture to get protein.
They eat crickets, moths, caterpillars, grasshoppers, roaches, beetles, ants, and spiders in the wild or in the grass.
You can create a compost pile to attract bugs and worms.
Besides, you can provide them with soybean meal, fish meal, mealworms, maggots, and peas. Black beans, mung beans, fava beans, and chickpea flour are also good sources of protein.
Although quails can eat carcass leftovers, such as gut piles and filleted fish skeletons, and many keepers also feed them meat scraps, I don’t recommend this.
It can cause bacterial issues in birds, let alone the risk of predators such as squirrels, rodents, and raccoons.
Calcium Sources
I often crush and grind eggshells or oyster shells for my chickens and game birds, including quails. You can also give limestone.
Drop these in a dish or a small feeder, and the hens will nibble them.
Supplements
Apart from the main course of diet, your quails also deserve nice treats. You should not offer more than 10% of the diet. Or you can also separate feeding treats to track how much they eat.
Herbs and Leafy Greens: cilantro, sage, basil, oregano, lettuce, dandelions, plantain, carrot tops, sprouted seeds, grasses, clover, spinach, kale, bok choi, chickweed, beet greens
Vegetables: Carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, celery, zucchini
Berries and Fruits: strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, currants, apples, pears, bananas, grapes, watermelon, and other melons
Kitchen Scrapes:
You can feed your quails scrambled eggs.
Besides, you can give them table leftovers from vegetable salads to fruit scraps. But you need to avoid anything salty, sugary, or processed food.
Say no to chocolate, meat, and cheese!
Also, skip toxic plants and vegetables such as potatoes (raw potatoes/peels, leaves, and stems), onions, turnips, rutabaga, and asparagus.
Avocado, raw beans, rhubarb leaves, and pits or seeds from fruit are also not safe for quails.
Homemade Quail Feed Recipes
When preparing feed, you need to make grain crumbles in a grinding or pellet machine.
Grains and seeds are the base, and you can adjust protein and supplements based on the bird’s age.
Make sure you prepare finely ground feed for recently hatched chicks, rough ground for 2-week-old chicks, and cracked and crushed feed for growers and adults.
Starter Feed (chicks)
- 8 lbs ground corn, wheat, or millet
- 6 lbs fish meal, soybean meal, or dried bugs or insects
- 2 lbs black oil sunflower seeds, or flaxseeds
- 2 lbs oyster shells, or eggshells
- 2 lbs crushed stones, or fine sand
Grower Feed (young quails)
- 8 lbs ground corn or barley (millet, or rolled oats)
- 8 lbs soybeans (dried mealworms also work)
- 4 lbs ground wheat
- 2 lbs fish meal (dried mealworms, chickpea flour, sunflower meal)
- 2 lbs eggshells or oyster shells (crushed or powdered)
- 1/2 lb salt
Layer Feed (egg-laying quails)
- 8 lbs soybean meal
- 8 lbs barley (rye or sorghum)
- 4 lbs peas or lentils (mung beans, black beans, or fava beans)
- 2 lbs fish meal
- 2 lbs sesame seeds
- 2 lbs alfalfa meal
- 1 lb eggshells or oyster shells
- 1/2 lb kelp powder (seaweed flakes, spirulina powder)
- 1/2 lb salt
Bonus
- 8.4 lbs wheat, oats, or barley
- 5.2 lbs soybean meal, fish meal, or mealworms
- 2 lbs sesame seeds, or flaxseed
- 2.8 lbs oyster shell, or limestone powder
- 1.6 lbs fine sand, crushed shells
Tips for Feeding Quails on a Homestead
You can set your feeding schedule 2–3 times a day, depending on the age of the quails.
When providing crumbs and ground feed, you need to cater your birds with fresh water throughout the year. Also, make sure to keep safe kitchen scraps first, and then only offer them.
Don’t throw whole leafy greens before birds. I always shred leaves and slice fruits and vegetables, and avoid seeds from fruits.
Quails are versatile and need variation in their diet.
For example, they need more protein in winter to maintain their body temperature. In summer, they prefer leafy greens for hydration and additional nutrients.
Final Thoughts
Homemade quail feed not only helps reduce the cost of raising quail but also boosts egg production and ensures the quality of the meat.
Many keepers also give their adult quails chicken feed for some time, but that cannot provide enough or balanced nutrients, especially protein.
It may only help in an emergency. So, make a balanced diet for quails, including grains, proteins, and treats.
Leave a Reply