Interactive lesson

Feeding and lighting quail, step by step

Interactive lesson: how much feed for each age, how much protein and calcium, bought feed and your own mix, greens, water and 14–16 hours of light.

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The whole lesson as text

1. How much they eat

A quail eats about thirty grams of feed a day, less than two tablespoons.

A little, all day — A quail eats from morning to dusk, a little at a time. Layers and breeders eat roughly 25–30 g a day.
Chicks in week one — In the first week a chick eats 4–6 g a day, in the second 8–10 g. The feed is fine crumbs, ground on the first day.
Feeder a third full — Keep the feeder a third full and top it up twice a day.
Too much or too little — If the feeder is empty before evening and the birds are thin, there's too little feed. If feed gets damp and goes mouldy, you're pouring too much or it's being scattered.

Why: An adult bird eats roughly 10 kg (22 lb) a year, up to 11 kg with waste. You don't feed it meals as you would goats or pigs: feed is available all the time.

From hatching to week six one bird eats roughly 0.6 kg of feed.
The feeder must be one that doesn't spill.

2. Protein and calcium

Those thirty grams must hold far more protein than hen feed.

Chicks: 24–28 % — From day one to week three, quail, turkey or game bird starter with 24–28 % protein.
Growers: 20–22 % — From week three to six, grower feed with 20–22 % protein and roughly 0.8–1 % calcium.
Layers: 20 % — Layers need 20 % protein (18–22 %) and 2.5–3 % calcium in the feed. Limestone grit goes on the side.
Never layer feed for young birds — Before week six, excess calcium damages the kidneys. Bring in layer feed when the first females start laying, gradually over 5–7 days.

Why: A quail weighing 150 g lays a 10–12 g egg every day. That's why layers' feed for hens (16–17 %) is too weak: the birds lay poorly, pull feathers and start laying late.

Breeding males eat the same feed as layers.
Thin or soft shells mean too little calcium or vitamin D: limestone on the side, fresh premix, daylight.