HOW TO GROW BIGGER QUAIL

I've heard from a few folks who ask, "How do you get your quail to grow up so big?" Here are some good guidelines to getting the most size out of your quail, and is especially important with Coturnix varieties as they grow so very, very quickly!

BECOME A LABEL-READER! Select a game bird starter crumble that is at least 25% Protein or better, non-medicated, and DO NOT "cut" or "supplement" this feed with corn or other grains. (This will usually lessen your overall protein percentage, NOT add to it!) I have been unpleased with most companies' game bird formulas that are a measley 20 - 22% protein. This will NOT grow big, healthy game birds! They NEED higher protein than this. Do not follow bag recommendations that say to cut the protein level to their "grower" (verses starter feed) at 3 weeks - you are selling yourself short here, and your birds need just as much protein and even more feed than they did for the first three weeks! Coturnix quail will start laying eggs at 6 weeks and are maximum size at 12 weeks. They do a LOT of eating!! Make sure what you give them is the BEST you can find.

PARENTING: Have you ever been a new parent? Much the same way as you might "disinfect the house" for a new baby, your new quail babies need thorough disinfecting of their living area for ultimate in health and growth. Always disinfect your incubator in between hatches, disinfect your brooder(s) and equipment such as feeders, waterers, feed buckets or scoops, floors, walls, tables, stepstools (if you're short like I am), etc. I recommend and use Tek-Trol (it can be bought at Valley Vet for the best price we've found) as it is more economical than Lysol or bleach, and kills a lot more 'germs'.

AVOID OVERCROWDING! Give your birds plenty of room to grow - literally! We use brooders that are 24" x 30" and for the first week, 75 Coturnix quail go into one brooder with 4 pop-bottle waterers and food is scattered on the floor on no-slip rubber shelf-liner layers - birds are fed/cared for 4-6 times per day. After week 1, we move the 75 birds into TWO brooders that are the same 24" x 30" size and do not line the bottom with shelf-liner. At this time, they get an 18" chick feeder,  4 pop-bottle waterers, and droppings are cleaned from the trays beneath the brooders every other day, and trays are disinfected with Tek-Trol. At three weeks, the birds are divided into a total of THREE grower pens with an 18" chick feeder and they go onto an automatic water system. At five-seven weeks, birds are moved again into Breeder pens with external trough feeders and automatic waterers. Five males and 20 females go into each Breeder pen and extra boys are culled for the table. (If automatic waterer and external feeders are NOT used, the maximum birds should be 5 males and 15 females in a 24" x 30" pen.)

CLEAN, FRESH WATER: Make sure your birds have access to clean, fresh water at ALL times. Disinfect waterers EVERY TIME they are refilled, or at the very least once a day. Remember that especially with birds under heat lamps, heat + water = bacteria and disease. Would you drink out of the same glass for a week or two, or longer? Probably not! Providing the cleanest and most fresh water is a small way to make sure your birds are as healthy as possible and give them the maximum potential for growth. For birds who are still under a heat lamp, or at least for the first three weeks, water should be room-temperature before giving to birds as it may shock their system if it is ground-temperature (or, run lukewarm water).

DROPPINGS: Make sure that you have a good plan in action for keeping all bird cages clean. Chicks should go no longer than their first week without having their dropping cleaned, shelf-liner or other footing material replaced. After that, droppings should be cleaned every other day (minimum) due to the high ammonia and moisture content of Coturnix quail droppings. This is especially important if your brooder consists of a cardboard box, aquarium, or plastic tote because the lack of air circulation could cause a real problem for you and your birds if the droppings pile up and if they are 'stinky' to you, it is a problem for your quail.



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