FEED AND FEEDING OF QUAILS

When growing and keeping quails, complete feeding is of particular importance.

Diurnal quails are born very small (up to 6 g), but they grow rapidly, and in a month their weight increases more than 15 times, and by 2 months of age they reach the live weight of adult birds.

Intensive growth of young stock and high egg productivity of females are manifested provided they are provided with feed containing all the necessary nutrients: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, trace elements and vitamins. The diet for quails should correspond to the natural characteristics of these birds, be willing to eat them and not cause undesirable consequences.

The basis of the diet for quails is compound feed.

Since quails have a more intensive biochemical metabolism and optimal physiological characteristics, the composition of feed for quails has its own specifics.
Compound feed for quails must meet three basic requirements: balance, high calorie content, the required degree of grinding. Nutrients in the quail diet should be balanced in terms of metabolic energy, crude protein, essential amino acids, vitamins, basic minerals: calcium, phosphorus and sodium, trace elements: manganese, iron, copper, zinc, iodine.

The energy of the diet is balanced by grain components - corn, wheat, millet, barley. In terms of raw protein, the quail diet is balanced with meal, cake, legumes and animal feed (meat and bone and fish meal, milk powder). The protein requirement of quails varies with age. In YOg compound feed contains: crude protein - 22%; calcium - 2; phosphorus 1.6 and sodium 0.6%. The opinions of various researchers about the need for quail for raw protein differ significantly. However, it has been established that these birds can tolerate excess or lack of protein without much harm within the following limits: young animals aged 1 to 30 days require from 23 to 26.7% of crude protein: from

31 to 46 days - 16-26%; layers - from 20 to 24%.

When rationing the diet, the fiber content is taken into account. Although its nutritional value is insignificant, it promotes the digestion process and has a beneficial effect on it, as it irritates the intestinal walls and thereby causes more intense juice production.

Corn is one of the most valuable grain crops for quail farming. It contains a lot of carbohydrates in the form of starch, so it is very energy-efficient. But in terms of the content of amino acids, minerals and B vitamins, corn is poor, therefore, it is necessary to add (about 40%) meal and fish or meat and bone meal to the feed made from corn.

Oats are dietary food for quails. It contains a large amount of trace elements and vitamins of group B. Young quail oats must be sifted from films and crushed.

Millet is similar in chemical composition to oats, but its energy content is slightly higher. Young millet is fed in the form of millet.

Barley is fed without shells in the form of cereals. For enrichment with B vitamins, barley is germinated.

It is also better to feed wheat to quails in the form of cereals, since wet mash of wheat flour can form a sticky mass that sticks to the beak and the inner surface of the bird's mouth.

Legumes (peas, lentils, soybeans, broad beans) are plant protein feeds. They are high in protein and low in fat, with the exception of soy. Legumes are richer than cereals in amino acids and minerals.

Millet, oatmeal, rapeseed, colza and other small grain feeds can be fed to quails as a whole, other grain feeds - in the form of compound feed.

Beetroot contains a lot of sugar (12-18%) and is a good food source, but poor in minerals and vitamins. It is washed, crushed and fed in the form of wet mash. Boiled beets should be quickly cooled after boiling, since when cooled slowly, nitrates are formed in the beets, which can be poisoned by birds.

Carrots are a good source of carotene, thanks to which vitamin A is formed in the body of the bird. When feeding carrots to quails, the color of the yolks of eggs and carcass meat changes.

Kale is rich in carotene, B vitamins, and calcium. It contains a relatively large amount of sulfur-containing amino acids that contribute to the regrowth of bird feathers. It is a good food for preventing pecking.

Mineral supplements. To increase the content of mineral substances in the diet of quails, chalk, crushed shell, crushed egg shell, table salt are added to the feed.

Chalk is used for this fodder, building chalk is not suitable for feeding poultry due to the presence of harmful impurities. Chalk is a source of calcium. Sinks must be thoroughly rinsed, dried and crushed to particle size

0.5 mm to make the shell grits. It is advisable to boil the eggshells before feeding.

Yeast is the main source of vitamin B1 for quail. A lot of yeast and vitamin B2, nicotinic and pantothenic acid. Yeast proteins are assimilated by the poultry organism better than the protein of plant feed.

Dairy products (milk, reverse, cottage cheese) are the best source of easily digestible protein, but they contain little arginine and glycine, which must be taken into account when drawing up a quail diet. Milk should be given only fermented, as it quickly sours in feeders and can cause indigestion.

You can use quail and the blood of a slaughtered bird in the diet. This is the richest feed in protein and amino acids (81% protein), but you should know that blood must be consumed as feed only fresh, boiled and then chopped. Blood meal is made from blood with the addition of 5% bones, but it is not recommended to feed in large quantities of blood meal - it is difficult to digest, and quails may have digestive upset.

The most complete of all animal feed is egg protein. Mashed hard-boiled eggs are fed to the quail in the first days of life.

Vitamin supplements and green food. When quails eat juicy feed, the digestion of nutrients in the diet increases. As green feed, quails are given chopped green grass (forbs): clover, alfalfa, nettle (it is also dried for the winter), beet tops, spinach, green cabbage leaves, potatoes, beets, as vitamin feed - carrots, cabbage, grass flour ...

Green forage is thoroughly crushed before use and used in the preparation of wet mash.

Potatoes are a starchy food used by quail for energy. Starch makes up about 80% of the nutrients in potatoes and is well absorbed by the body. Potatoes are boiled and mixed with other feed ingredients. The water in which the potatoes were boiled cannot be used as food for quails.

Mixed mixtures with potatoes should be used for preparing feed only fresh; after giving potatoes, the feeders should be thoroughly cleaned.

Oilcakes and meal. After the extraction of oil from the seeds of plants (sunflower, soybeans), feed means remain - cakes and meal. Oilcakes are obtained by pressing oil on presses, meal - using organic acids. There is more fat in the cakes (4-8%) than in the meal (1-3%). These feeds contain a lot of protein (35-50%), vitamins B and E, calcium, phosphorus, but little potassium. Soybean meal and meal are high in protein, rich in lysine, but poor in cystine and methionine.

Animal feed. These feeds are obtained in the form of meat, dairy and fish production waste. They have great nutritional value as they are rich in complete protein (with all essential amino acids), minerals, and many vitamins.

Fishmeal is obtained from non-food fish and fish waste. A feature of fishmeal is its high fat content - up to 15%, so it can turn rancid when stored for a long time. When using fishmeal, quails often get sick, so you need to monitor the quality of fishmeal and do not store it for a long time. The protein contained in fish meal is easier for poultry to digest and has a higher biological value compared to the protein in meat and bone meal.

The minced fish is fed to the bird as part of wet mash.

Meat and bone meal contains a lot of protein, but in terms of amino acid composition it is poor in methionine and tryptophan. According to the standards, animal feed meal should be dry, crumbly, free from dense lumps and mold. When checking the quality of such flour, it is advisable to place a small amount of it in a glass and fill it with hot water. If after 30 minutes the mixture has a strong putrid smell, then you should not use such flour.

For feeding quails, compound feeds for broilers PK-5 and PK-6 are also used with some additives.
and compound feed for young hens of egg-bearing breeds of the first age PK-2. Feeding quail for adults starts at 6 weeks of age. The transition to adult feeding should be gradual, over 5-6 days. Feed mixtures during this period consist of 50% of the old and 50% of new feed. To prevent the prolapse of the oviduct (taking into account the early egg production of quails), an increased dose of vitamins A and E (50% more) should be introduced into the diet starting from 5 weeks of age.

During the laying period, the daily feed consumption per head is 22-30 g. The feed consumption of the egg-meat quail breed is 6-8% higher than that of eggs. Knowing this data, farmers can calculate the feed stock based on the livestock available on the farm. So, for example, when keeping 100 female quails, the daily feed consumption is approximately 2.5-3 kg, therefore, about 90 kg of feed will be required per month, while during this period the quails will lay 2000-2300 eggs.

Considering all of the above about the products used for feeding quails, you can make an approximate recipe for feed mixture for quails (Table 2).

Table 2. Approximate recipe for feed mixture

Stern

Quantity, %

for young animals

for adult quails

age 1-4 weeks

age 5-6 weeks

Corn

wheat

sunflower

Soybean meal

Fish flour

Stern

Quantity, %

for young animals

for adult quails

age 1-4 weeks

age 5-6 weeks

Meat and bone

fodder

Dry return

Herbal flour

Chalk, shell

cookery

100 g of compound feed contains

Exchange energy, kJ

Crude protein,%

Crude fiber,%

Calcium,%

Phosphorus,%

In Japan, some farms use no more than 2 components in equal proportions in quail feeding (50% rice and 50% fish waste). Or you can use a feed consisting of 3 components - corn, alfalfa

(vitamin) flour and soybeans in equal quantitative proportions. This completely provides the quail with nutrients.

To compensate for the shortage of animal feed, earthworms and mealworm larvae (mealworms), which reproduce well in artificial conditions, as well as various insects, are also used.

In addition, fresh (not salty) kitchen waste and juicy greens can serve as additional feed, and both give the bird plenty.

Compound feeds are fed both dry and moist. The approximate consumption for one adult bird per day may be as follows: grain-flour feed - millet, barley or oatmeal - 12 g; proteinaceous - fresh fish, minced meat, cottage cheese - 12 g; vitamin - carrots, cabbage, lettuce, nettles and other greens - no limitation; minerals - eggshell, chalk - 3 g. You can give sunflower or soybean meal or milk powder (0.5 g per day). In total, quails eat from 22 to 30 g of compound feed per head per day. As a vitamin supplement, quails are given grated carrots, apples, beets.

All feed must be crushed and then mixed well.

An adult bird is fed 2-3 times a day, at the same time, and it is advisable not to violate the established feed distribution time.

In winter, the bird must be fed with sprouted greens of oats, millet, wheat, onions.

In summer, quails are fed an unlimited amount of greens (herbs), cabbage leaves, beets, clover, alfalfa, nettle, lettuce, spinach.

Feed should be poured into the feeders not to the brim, but somewhere 2/3 of their depth, since the quails scatter the feed. The trough should have sides bent inward to prevent the food from spilling out.

At home, when keeping a small number of quails, quail lovers add a variety of cereals, vegetables, herbs to the diet. So, for example, re-
An amateur breeder from Moscow E. Grigorieva feeds the quails with "a mash of vegetables, cereals, minced meat in fresh or dry milk, fish or meat broth", adds vitamins. She gives any vegetables (cabbage, carrots, zucchini, green onions). Dries legumes, nettles, sorrel, clover for the winter. When cooking, everything is soaked and passed through a meat grinder. It gradually learns to new feeds, since the bird reacts to unusual feeds with an upset stomach. True, this is not difficult to fix - you need to add diluted starch or chloramphenicol to the drinker.

Quails will not fly without grain. Dry millet, semolina must be added to the mash to become crumbly. Peas, beans, wheat, lentils must first be soaked for a day, and then minced. Do the same with large grain. In addition, Elena Grigorieva prepares sprouted grain for quail feed, which she rinses well with water before feeding. In order for her quails to rush well, she buys cheap varieties of fish, fish heads, cooks and kneads food on the resulting broth, and passes the fish residues through a meat grinder and also adds to the feed, sometimes she cooks meat broths from the remnants of meat, minced meat, bones, on which also mixes the mash.

But what kind of ration for quails is offered by another amateur poultry breeder L. Sirota. Adult birds are fed two to three times a day. The diet is varied - grain, protein, vitamin feed. Quails run well when they are given compound feed for egg-laying hens. Do not give semolina, which causes bloating in quails. Corn is especially useful.

Usually fed with a mixture - half a glass of millet, corn grits, buckwheat, finely crushed rice, lightly crushed in a coffee grinder "Hercules", add one or two tablespoons of powdered milk and necessarily a little crushed eggshell, calcined in the oven. Pieces of apple or pear can be squeezed between the rods above the feeder. Fresh vegetables are chopped on a grater.

Quail will peck everything that remains from your table: boiled potatoes, porridge, finely chopped meat, boiled or
fried fish, eggs, carrots, cottage cheese, pasta. In the summer they love to feast on slugs and snails. In winter, it is good to sow salad for them in boxes, green onions.

V. Hoopoe in the article "Quail can be bred by everyone" (Our dacha, - 2000. - No. 22-23) gives the following composition, feed. Cereals (including legumes) - 50-55%, cake and meal - 20-30%, animal feed - 4-8%, fodder yeast (including vitamin supplements) -3-6%, herbal flour - 3- 5%, mineral feed - 5-6%, fodder fat - 1-2%.

For a small number of quails, which are kept in a city apartment, you can limit yourself to some complete food purchased at a pet store, for example, for parrots. You can also feed millet, canary seed, chopped herbs, mealworms, bloodworms, and other foods.

For feeding exotic species of quail, a grain mixture with the addition of various soft feeds and fresh herbs is more suitable.

Consider the main features of quail feeding.

First period

In the first period, at the age from the 1st to the 7th day, the quails are given steeply boiled and rubbed together with the shell quail or chicken eggs.

On the 2nd day of life, cottage cheese is added to the egg feed at the rate of 2 g per bird per day.

On the 3rd day, chopped fresh herbs can be included in the feed.

From the 4th day, reduce the egg feed and increase the amount of cottage cheese. Quails are fed 5 times a day.

Second period

The second period is from the 2nd to the 4th week of life. The basis of the feed at this time is a compound feed containing at least 24-26% of crude protein per 100 g and 280 calories of metabolic energy. Feed is given 4 times a day.

Third period

The third period is 5-6 weeks of life. At this time, the quails are given a feed mixture intended for adult birds, but the level of crude protein is reduced to 15-17%, otherwise

early sexual maturation will occur, and accelerated egg-laying will subsequently affect the mass of eggs and the productivity of females. During this period, the percentage of crushed grain feed is increased.

You must always follow the basic rules of quail feeding, since proper feeding and drinking is the main condition for obtaining a large amount of cheap and tasty egg and meat products. The diet of adult birds should include smaller grain feeds than those used for feeding domestic chickens: wheat groats, millet, finely crushed barley, etc.; proteinaceous (cottage cheese, etc.); juicy greens, mineral feed and vegetable mixtures.

In the very first days (about 1-1.5 weeks) after hatching, the quail should receive chopped and hard-boiled chicken eggs, yogurt instead of water, and then gradually they should be transferred to the diet of adult birds. Adult birds are fed 2-3 times a day, young birds - up to 5 times. Domestic quails rush for 9-11 months, then they are fattened and slaughtered for meat.

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Today, more and more people are showing interest in quail breeding. This is due to their unpretentiousness and small area of ​​storage space. At the same time, they provide high quality meat and very healthy eggs (for more details, read the article: "The benefits and harms of eating quail eggs, how to cook"). Consider how to feed quails at home and the basics of making compound feed for quails with your own hands.

About compound feeds for industrial and self-preparation

Now there are several types of industrial feed for quail feeding, you can also use your own feed.

Compound feed for industrial quail:

• PC-5, which includes corn, sunflower or soybean meal, wheat, fishmeal and animal fat. From mineral additives, salt, phosphates and chalk are used. The composition requires the presence of lysine. The presence of protein in PC-5 should be at least 35 percent, minerals - 5 percent, grain - 60 percent. With this composition, about 30 grams per individual will be enough for the daily feed rate for quail;
• PC-1, PC-2 are mainly composed of corn, wheat, salt and chalk. The protein base consists of fish or bone meal and soybean meal. A little barley or wheat bran is added to PK-1. These feeds are the simplest and cheapest. For an adult bird, 27 grams of this feed per day is enough;
• PK-2.2, PK-6 and PK-4 are more suitable for adult birds. They are made up of 60 percent cereals: corn, wheat and barley in equal proportions. Protein in the amount of 30 percent consists of meal, fish meal, feed yeast and lysine. Chalk, salt and phosphate are allocated 5 percent. There may be additives of wheat flour, bran and seashell.

Important! Storage of high protein feed should be carried out in full accordance with the instructions. If damaged, they can cause the death of the bird.

Self-preparation of compound feed

Those who already have enough experience in keeping and feeding this bird have developed their own recipes for compound feed for quails. The main component in them is grain crops. Vegetables and fruits or their peels are added to them. Rinse them well, remove spoiled parts, boil for about forty minutes and cool. The mixture must be thoroughly grinded to the state of porridge.

Important! Do not allow large particles or onion or garlic skins to enter the quail feed. Quails can choke and die. It also often leads to the occlusion of the esophagus.

Vegetable and fruit supplements are an excellent source of micronutrients that are necessary for the health of birds, as well as for the taste of meat and the quality of eggs. They can also be added to industrial compound feed for quails.

To prepare a fairly simple but complete feed for quails with your own hands, you need to crush wheat in the amount of one kilogram, 100 grams of barley and 400 grams of corn. Pour a teaspoon of bone meal and half a teaspoon of unrefined vegetable oil into the mixture. You can also add shell, chalk and salt one teaspoon at a time. This composition of feed for quails will be enough to feed one bird for one and a half months. It can be used dry, as well as diluted with water to a porridge state.

Homemade quail food can be supplemented with cottage cheese, minced meat and fish as a source of protein. For a vitamin and mineral supplement, fresh herbs and crushed eggshells are suitable.

The composition of compound feed for quails can be very diverse, so you can choose the recipe for quail feed that is suitable for each specific situation.

Seasonal feeding

Important! The young are constantly scattering feed, so do not fill the troughs to the top. It is desirable that they have sides bent inward.

For feeding quails from the 1st to the 7th day, boiled eggs are used, rubbed together with the shell. On the second day, add two grams of cottage cheese for each bird. On the third day - fresh herbs. On the fourth day, the weight of the eggs is reduced, and the curd is increased. At this time, young quail should be fed at least five times a day. In the second week of development, the chicks are transferred to compound feed for quails.

For adult quails, most of the feed should be given at the last feeding. Better if it is a feed with a high content of grain, which is slowly digested. With such feeding of quails at home, the bird will always be well fed. Drinkers in cages should always be filled with water at room temperature.

Winter period

In winter, feeding is carried out not only with compound feed, but also with sprouted oats, wheat, millet and green onions. They serve as additional sources of vitamins and minerals.

In the absence of fresh grass, you can give the quail dried herbs harvested in the summer with the inclusion of, for example, nettle, clover and alfalfa.

Summer period

In summer, the amount of green food can be easily increased by spinach, green salads, clover flowers, nettles, alfalfa, beet leaves and cabbage. They increase the digestibility of feed and the absorption of nutrients. For proper feeding of quails, green feed must be carefully chopped. Earthworms can be used as animal feed.

Determining the wrong diet

In order to check the correctness of the quail feeding ration, it is necessary to regularly carry out selective weighing. By the age of two months, the weight of an ordinary bird should be at least one hundred grams, and of meat breeds - one hundred and sixty grams. With proper observance of the norms for feeding quail with compound feed, the bird is distinguished by the presence of a good layer of subcutaneous fat on the chest.

Diet and feeding rates

In some cases, quail feeding is carried out using a different diet and norms.

Layers

All necessary nutrients must be carefully balanced in feed for quail layers. It should contain a sufficient amount of protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Only under such feeding conditions can you get a good percentage of egg production from quails.

Feeding quail hens requires a high amount of crude protein (up to 26 percent). This condition must be met, as it directly affects the number of eggs laid. Also, during egg-laying, it is recommended to add crushed eggshells to the compound feed. One laying hen needs from 25 to 30 grams of complete feed per day. As a rule, quails are carried up to eleven months, then they are slaughtered for meat.

Important! With a small amount of grain in the feed, quails may stop rushing altogether.

Fattening for meat

For fattening quails for meat are taken:

• Males and discarded females of one month old (a bird with physical defects);
• Bird after the end of oviposition;
• Young growth that is raised specifically for this purpose.

Feeding for meat begins to be introduced gradually. An abrupt transition can lead to diseases of the bird and even death. Quails are housed in solid-walled cages and placed in a shaded area. Males should be kept separate from females. When fattening, quail feeding rates are taken as for an adult bird, while the amount of corn and fat increases. You can make a diet of 80 percent broiler feed and 20 percent boiled peas (boiling time up to 30 minutes).

The transition to a new diet can be done in four days. On the first day, you can give the bird half of the old feed and half of the new one. So gradually, by reducing the old feed, replace them with a new diet. Feeding lasts up to four weeks. In the last week, the standard feed weight (about 30 grams) is increased by about 8 percent. With a properly selected quail feeding rate, a well-fed bird should weigh at least 160 grams and have a breast with a good layer of subcutaneous fat.

Important! During this period, you need to give the quails chopped carrots, it will give the pulp a beautiful color. And fish and products of its processing, onions, garlic and needles should be excluded. They impair both the taste of the meat and its smell.

Parent flock

Keeping and feeding quail in the parent flock greatly affects the receipt of quality eggs for incubation. They begin to complete it in the seventh week of quail development. As a rule, birds with approximately the same weight and quality characteristics are selected. Quails of the parent flock should not have defects in constitution, diseases, both current and already transferred, with exhaustion, impaired coordination of movements and other disorders.

For feeding quails of the parent flock, the usual compound feed for adult birds is used. You can also use cooked quail feed with your own hands. From the tables on bird feeding, you can see that the daily feed rate for the female is up to thirty grams, and for the male up to eighteen grams.

DIY quail food should contain:

1. Herbal ingredients
   • Beets, which are high in sugar, minerals and vitamins. Before using it, it must be well washed and chopped, you can use a grater. Beets can be given to quails both fresh and boiled;
   • Carrots supply the bird with carotene, from which vitamin A is formed, which is essential for the healthy growth of quail;
   • Cabbage will become a source of vitamin B, calcium and sulfur-containing amino acids. This composition is very beneficial for the good condition of the bird's feathers. When cabbage quails are included in the diet, the percentage of egg beating also decreases;
   • Potatoes, which contain a lot of starch, are given to quails to replenish energy reserves. When boiled and crushed, it is very well absorbed by the bird.
2. Mineral supplements
   • Chalk replenishes the need for calcium. It should only be stern;
   • Shell and eggshells are used for the same purposes. The shells are washed, dried and ground. Eggshells must be boiled before use;
   • Yeast contains B vitamins, nicotinic and pantothenic acids. In addition, the protein contained in them, birds assimilate much better than vegetable.
3. Animal products
   • Cottage cheese, fermented milk, and reverse are good sources of protein that are easily digested by quails;
   • Egg white, which quails love very much, is a protein supplier.

Also, vitamin supplements must be added to the compound feed for quails of the parent flock. These are greens, herbal flour and cake. In addition, oilcakes, in addition to vitamins, contain fats, a large amount of protein, phosphorus and lysine.

As you can see, feeding quail is not difficult and requires large material costs. With knowledge of the rules for conducting this process and using high-calorie, balanced compositions, you can get meat and eggs of excellent taste in a short period of time and at no special cost.

Quails immediately after hatching weigh only about six grams, but they grow very quickly and already at two months reach the weight of an adult bird. In the future, it is quail feeding that plays a key role in breeding.

The full growth of young stock and good egg production depend on feed, which must include all the nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and trace elements. The diet should also correspond to natural characteristics: birds should eat food with pleasure, but food products should not cause undesirable consequences. The basis of nutrition is compound feed, but it must be supplemented with other products. In this article, you will learn how to properly formulate a bird's diet and what foods to use.

How to feed quail at home

Quails, in comparison with other poultry, have a faster metabolism, therefore, the compound feed for them has some peculiarities.

There are three feed requirements:

1. High calorie content.
2. Balance.
3. Required fineness.

Nutrients need to be balanced on several levels(picture 1):

• Raw protein
• Vitamins
• Amino acids
• Minerals (calcium, phosphorus, sodium)
• Trace elements (iron, manganese, iodine, zinc)

The energy balance is adjusted with grain components: wheat, millet, corn and barley.

Crude protein is balanced by: cake, meal, legumes and animal feed (milk powder, fish meal and meat and bone meal).

Figure 1. An example of a balanced diet for quail and its main ingredients

The need for protein changes with the age of the quail, but excess protein is tolerated without consequences.

The fiber content must be taken into account. Although noted for its insignificant nutritional value, it promotes a good digestive process, has a beneficial effect on the intestines, irritating its walls, and at the same time provokes an increased production of gastric juice.

Peculiarities

Features of feeding quail at home involve the use of a balanced diet with many components. The basis of the diet is cereals and legumes, as well as flour waste.

Birds should also be provided with vitamin supplements and animal feed. Boiled potatoes and root vegetables are used as fortified feed. Animal feed and mineral supplements are bone and fish meal, as well as crushed eggshells, limestone and table salt. If some of these components are absent, they are replaced with industrial feed and premixes.

Conditions

In order for the quails to maintain their egg production and steadily gain weight, they need to be fed 3-4 times a day. It is advisable to dispense feed at the same time at regular intervals.

Be careful and quiet when dispensing food. Quails are very shy, and if it is too noisy around, they can begin to beat in a cage and can get hurt.

Feeding mode

Having decided what to feed the quail at home, it is also important to develop a clear feed dispensing regime (Figure 2).

Figure 2. An example of a ration for feeding quail with compound feed

First of all, you need to take care that there is enough protein in the diet, since it is responsible for egg production. To do this, the diet includes cottage cheese, meat and fish waste. Feeding is carried out three times a day at the same time, and it is desirable to give out grain at night. It takes a long time to digest, which means that the quails will not have time to get hungry by morning.

Feeding rate per day

Quails eat little, so one adult needs only 25-30 grams of feed per day. Most of it should be protein. This condition is especially important in layers, although the young need to get enough protein for normal growth and development.

The feeding rate must necessarily include grain. If such foods are absent in the diet, birds may completely stop laying.

How to feed quail at home

Quails are bred both for obtaining eggs and for slaughtering for meat. As a rule, one-year-old quails are sent for slaughter. This is due to the fact that the period of active egg production is only 11 months, after which the production of eggs stops. Males with physical defects are also suitable for slaughter.

During the fattening period, the proportion of corn and compound feed is increased in the diet. For example, 80% of products can be compound feed, and 20 - boiled peas with mineral dressings. It is important that the transition from a regular diet to a fattening one should be carried out gradually so that the birds do not develop indigestion.

Feeding quails from day one

Feeding quails depends on their age and is divided into several periods (Figure 3):

• First (1-7 days): the quails are fed with steeply boiled and ground chicken eggs. On the second day of life, a little cottage cheese is added, and on the third - chopped greens. Further, the amount of cottage cheese is gradually increased. The number of feedings should be up to five times a day.
• Second (2-4 weeks): the basis is compound feed. Feeding takes place 4 times a day.
• Third (5-6 weeks): feed mixture predominates, but crude protein levels need to be reduced to prevent early puberty.

You must always follow the rules of feeding, as this is the main condition for high egg and meat productivity. The grain for quails should be finer than for regular chickens. The egg production period in adults is 10-12 months, after which they are fattened for meat. You will learn more about feeding and keeping quails in the video.

Peculiarities

For the successful rearing of young quail, it is important to take into account some of the feeding features of the chicks.

The quail's diet depends on their age:

• In the first week of life, they feed only boiled eggs mixed with crushed shells. Gradually, you can introduce low-fat cottage cheese and chopped greens.
• From the second to the fourth week, they switch to intensive feeding with compound feeds with a small proportion of mineral supplements.
• From the fifth week, the birds are completely transferred to an adult diet, which includes grain (approximately 60%), protein and mineral feed.

Figure 3. Quail diet depending on age

Since at home, quails are kept mainly in cages, the birds are also given chopped greens to saturate the body with vitamins.

What to give

When feeding quails from day 1, it is important to carefully monitor the quality of the feed. Although these birds are not prone to disease, moldy or rotten foods can cause serious digestive upset or even death.

In addition, it is important to differentiate the diet. Chicks up to one month of age are fed according to a special diet, gradually accustoming them to adult feed. Laying hens must be given mainly protein food, and males and females intended for slaughter are fed with industrial products (compound feed).

How much feed is needed

Quails don't need a lot of food. An adult, regardless of the type of diet (for fattening or increasing egg production), eats no more than 40 grams of food per day, and young animals need even less food.

It is the low consumption of feed that explains the profitability of breeding quail at home. With little consumption of poultry products, they have a high egg production, and meat is highly valued in the market.

How to feed quail hens at home

Feeding hens involves careful selection of dietary ingredients. It should be balanced in essential nutrients and include adequate amounts of protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.

Crude protein constitutes the majority of the diet. For this, you can use special industrial feed. They are supplemented with mineral dressings (for example, crushed eggshells). Grain is an important part of the diet. if this product is absent, the birds will stop laying eggs.

What do they eat

The most valuable crops for growing quail include (Figure 4):

• Corn

It is rich in carbohydrates (in particular, starch), which makes it a high-energy crop, but at the same time it does not contain enough B vitamins, so bone meal must be added to the diet.

It is considered a diet food. It contains a lot of vitamins B and microelements, but before feeding the young, oats must be cleaned of films.

• Millet

In composition, millet is similar to oats, but much higher in energy properties. Young millet needs to be ground into millet.

• Barley

This culture is in the form of cereals. To enrich the culture with vitamin B, barley must be germinated.

• Wheat

It is also better to feed it in the form of cereals, as undrilled wheat can clump together and stick to the beak.

Figure 4. Basic feed for quail: 1 - sprouted grain, 2 - juicy feed (beets and carrots), 3 - feed yeast, 4 - fish meal, 5 - industrial feed

The source of vegetable protein is legumes (lentils, peas, soybeans). They are high in protein (other than soy), low in fat, and ample amounts of amino acids and minerals.

Note: Beets are a good food source. It contains a lot of sugar, but not enough vitamins and minerals. It is important to cool the beets immediately after boiling, as slow cooling can cause nitrates to form, which can lead to poisoning.

In order for the body to get enough vitamin A, it is necessary to feed carrots (an important source of carotene). When fed with carrots, the yolk of the eggs becomes brighter, and the carcasses acquire a beautiful shade.

Kale contains a lot of calcium, carotene and B vitamins, as well as amino acids responsible for the regrowth of feathers.

Mineral and vitamin supplements are an important element.:

• Chalk, crushed shells and eggshells are used as mineral additives.
• Yeast is an important source of vitamin B1.
• Dairy products (cottage cheese and milk) are the best source of easily digestible protein, but they do not contain arginine and glycine, which must be considered when feeding quail. To prevent milk from causing digestive upset, it must be fermented (so that it does not sour in the trough and cause digestive upset).
• Vitamin supplements for green foods are used to increase the digestion of nutrients. Green food means chopped grass (clover, beet tops, spinach). Before use, they are thoroughly crushed to be added to the composition of wet mash.
• Potatoes contain a lot of starch, which is essential for energy. Potatoes are boiled and mixed with other feeds. You cannot use the water in which the potatoes were cooked. The vegetable is given immediately after cooking, and after it all the feeders are thoroughly washed.
• After obtaining oil from plant seeds, there is a cake that can be used for feeding. It is high in fat, protein, vitamins B, E, and calcium.

The diet must also include feed of animal origin. They have great nutritional value and are rich in proteins, minerals and amino acids. This type includes products of fish and meat and dairy production.

Fish meal is obtained from fish waste. It does not store for a long time, since it has 15% fat content, so it can quickly turn rancid. It is necessary to monitor the freshness of the fishmeal, since if it is of poor quality, the quail can get sick. Protein from fish meal is absorbed better than from meat. They feed her in the form of wet mash.

Meat and bone meal also contains a lot of protein. According to the standard, it is dry, crumbly, without mold and dense lumps. To check, pour a small amount of flour with a glass of hot water, if after thirty minutes a putrid smell emanates from the mixture, then it is better not to use such flour.

Compound feeds P5 and P6 for broilers are also used in the diet, and compound feed PK2 is used for feeding young animals. From the age of six weeks, quails are transferred to an adult diet. This should be done gradually, over 5-6 days. For this period, mixtures for young and adult birds are issued in equal proportions. The approximate composition of compound feed for quails is shown in Figure 5.

During the laying period, quails consume up to 30 grams of food per day, but egg-meat breeds consume a little more than egg breeds.

Figure 5. Components of a complete feed for quail

Some Japanese quail farms use only two feed ingredients in equal proportions (fish waste and rice). However, you can also use a three-component feed (corn, alfalfa flour and soy). It fully provides the poultry with nutrients.

With a shortage of animal products, you can feed earthworms and various insects.

The compound feed can be fed both dry and wet, but they must be thoroughly chopped and mixed.

Note: Regime is important for quails, so feeding should occur two to three times a day at the same time. In winter, the birds are fed with sprouted millet grain and onions. In summer, herbs are fed in unlimited quantities.

The feed is poured into the feeders to 2/3 of their depth, since the quails are very active and scatter feed. For this, the feeders are made with sides bent in the middle.

In addition, you can add various herbs and grains, vegetables and even minced meat. But it is important to accustom the birds to a new diet gradually, so as not to provoke digestive upsets.

From the video you will learn how to properly cook quail food with your own hands.

Diet and feeding rates

For birds of a certain age, their own norms and rations are provided. Despite slight differences, the principles of nutrition remain the same.

The following products are used to feed adult quails and young stock:

• Grain mixes from corn, oats and wheat. These products provide the birds with the necessary energy, saturate the body with vitamins and microelements. Fish and meat and bone meal are added to the grain mixture.
• Legumes contain a lot of protein and fat. For feeding, you can use boiled soybeans, peas or lentils.
• Milk products serve as a valuable source of protein. You can give the birds low-fat cottage cheese, yogurt and reverse. It is better not to give out whole milk, as it quickly sours in the feeders and can cause digestive upset.

Fresh vegetables, herbs, fish and meat and bone meal, as well as crushed shells, eggshells and chalk are used as vitamin and mineral supplements.

Seasonal feeding

Since the food supply in summer and winter is significantly different, there are some differences in the diet depending on the season (Figure 6).

At the same time, it is important to understand that in order to maintain egg production, both in summer and in winter, birds must consume a lot of grain. Food consumption rates do not differ.

Summer period

In summer, the birds can be given plenty of green food. Quails are very fond of spinach, young nettles and clover. You can also feed cabbage leaves and beet tops.

Any green food will improve the digestion process and increase the ability of birds to digest food. Greens must be washed, slightly dried and chopped.

Winter period

In winter, it is much more difficult to provide birds with enough vitamins due to the lack of fresh greenery. You can replace it with sprouted grains and green onions.

How to feed quails so that they rush well

Quails are distinguished by a fairly high egg production. However, with an improperly formulated diet, laying hens can significantly reduce productivity. That is why it is important to clearly know what to feed the quails so that they rush well.

Figure 6. Features of summer and winter feeding of quails

The first step is to provide the birds with a sufficient amount of crude protein. To do this, you can use special feed, dairy products and fresh herbs. On a mandatory basis, the birds are given mineral supplements, and at night - grain or grain waste.

Is it possible to feed quails with bread

Kitchen waste, in particular bread, can be included in the quail diet. However, it is better to use for this purpose not fresh bread, but crackers.

Dried bread is crushed and added to wet mash or grain mixtures. The main thing is that the bread is not covered with mold, as this can cause indigestion or poisoning.

Quail feeding rate with compound feed

Compound feeds of industrial production (for example, PK-1, PK-5, etc.) consist of a mixture of various grain crops. They are supplemented with mineral supplements (chalk, salt, meal, fish meal, etc.).

All compound feeds have approximately the same nutritional value, so 25-30 grams of food per day will be enough for one individual per day. Compound feeds can be prepared at home by mixing crushed grain with boiled vegetables, salt and other mineral dressings.

Quail eggs and meat, as you know, belong to dietary products, have the most useful properties. The experience of proper bird care is gained over the years. Let's try to figure out how to feed quails at home in order to ensure stable egg production, as well as weight gain.

Delicious and healthy, quail meat and eggs become especially valuable products thanks to a carefully developed diet.

First of all, we note that quails are kept in cages at home. On farms, they are combined into a parent flock. The birds undergo a rigorous selection by weight and health status. The flock is formed already on the seventh day after the birth of the birds; selection affects the quality of eggs for incubation.

In large poultry farms, automated cage equipment is being introduced. With the help of a special dispenser, the birds are given as much feed as they should be according to their age. The machine provides not only a food distribution system, but also a system of drinking, heating and cooling the cages, and special visors near the feeders protect the eggs from pecking.

Water

Newly born chicks need a lot of water. Before serving, it is advisable to boil it, cool to room temperature, add a drop of potassium permanganate. In this case, the color of the solution should turn out to be pale pink.

Potassium permanganate is added to the drink daily for the first seven days after the birth of the chicks, then weekly, alternating with selenium.

The first time the chicks are given water only 60 minutes after birth. A newly hatched quail still does not know how to drink, they are taught to drink in the following way: gently taking it by the back, hold the head with your fingers and bring it to the drinking bowl. Using a vacuum drinker will help prevent splashing water. However, conventional trough drinkers are also popular with breeders. It is only important to change the water in them at least twice a day.

Stern

There are 2 types of feed for brood: industrial (for example, PC-2) and feed prepared independently at home. The diet of quails is largely determined based on age. Breeders are especially careful to monitor the diet of babies.

The quail breeding table will tell you when, whom and what to feed

Industrial

• PC5. It is based on cereals (corn, wheat). Consists of protein (35%), minerals (5%) and grains (60%). Designed specifically for feeding parent stock. Consumption rate per day - no more than 30 g;
• PC1, PC2. They are considered the cheapest mixtures. Includes corn, wheat, barley, as well as fishmeal, soybean meal, salt, chalk. These mixtures are suitable for feeding adults (quail feeding rates - no more than 27 g per bird);
• PC2,2, PC6, PC4. The mixtures are designed exclusively for adults. They contain equal shares of grain (corn, wheat, barley). Lysine, phosphate, yeast are present in small amounts.

In addition to those listed above, specialized mixtures for quails are popular, such as "Kramar", "Feedlife", Best Mix, "Salvit" and others.

Home feed

Preparing a combination mixture at home does not take a lot of time. Let's take a look at some of the recipes next.

• Cereals are mixed with vegetables and fruits (cleaning can be used). The fruits are pre-washed, boiled for a little over 40 minutes and crushed to a mushy state. It is important to exclude large particles from entering the mixture, as this can lead to the death of living creatures.

Food additives (vegetables and fruits, cottage cheese, herbs, minced meat and fish, eggshells) have a beneficial effect on the taste of meat and eggs, and are also an irreplaceable source of microelements. They are added to industrial compound feed.

• For 1 kilogram of wheat, half a cup of barley and 2 cups of corn are taken. One teaspoon of bone meal, half a teaspoon of unrefined vegetable oil is placed in the resulting mass. Use shells, chalk, and one teaspoon of salt as a flavoring agent. The bird can eat such a mixture both dry and diluted with water.
• To prepare the following mixture, you will need: millet, corn, peas, cottage cheese. It is necessary to take each ingredient in the amount of about half a glass, mix them in a bowl, add a teaspoon of chalk and one and a half tablespoons of meat and bone or fish meal to the resulting mass.
• Millet, oatmeal, cottage cheese, minced fish are mixed in the same proportion.
• Half a glass of carrots is mixed with one glass of wheat, half a glass of sunflower meal, one and a half tablespoons of soybean meal, one tablespoon of meat and bone meal and a spoonful of feed yeast, a teaspoon of sunflower oil and chalk are added.
• A glass of millet is mixed with one glass of semolina, grated beets and cabbage (100 g each), boiled potatoes are added to it
  (50 g), 5 boiled eggs. In the resulting composition put half a glass of cottage cheese, one and a half tablespoons of meat and bone meal and yeast. For taste, you can put a teaspoon of vegetable oil and chalk.

The farmer can independently knead compound feed according to ready-made recipes

Novice poultry breeders who decide to breed quail at home need to know that great success can be achieved only with proper feeding of the bird. Already from the first days of life, young animals need a certain diet and feeding with vitamins.

We will tell you about the features of feeding quails at home in order for them to rush well in this article.

Features of chicken nutrition

Youngsters up to three days of age drink plenty of fluids who need to provide it in sufficient quantities. The water should be boiled, a little warm and with the addition of a small amount of potassium permanganate. It is recommended to water chickens with a weak solution of potassium manganese for the entire first week of their life.

Up to two weeks of age feeding quail at home there can be two options:

1. The easiest way is to feed quails with a special starting compound feed. It contains all the nutrients and vitamins for quail and does not spoil as quickly.
2. Much cheaper for the poultry breeder and the best option for chicks would be self-prepared food.

Quail feed composition

The diet of young animals depends on age:

• during the first week of life, quails are given a boiled and grated quail egg together with the shell;
• for two-day-old birds, 2 grams of low-fat cottage cheese grated through a sieve is added to the feed;
• three-day-old young quails should receive fresh greens in the form of chopped yarrow, nettle, dandelion, onion;
• on the fourth day of life, more cottage cheese is added, and the amount of eggs is reduced;
• by the end of the first week, boiled fish, millet, ground wheat, grated carrots and cottage cheese should be included in the diet of chickens.

It is recommended to feed the quails at least 5-6 times a day. To prevent pathogenic bacteria from growing in the feeders, they must be freed from feed residues and washed after each feeding.

Quails two weeks of age are given compound feed, which should be high in protein. You need to feed them four times a day. Youngsters between two and four weeks of age an increased amount of protein is required... During this time, they should be given a shell and gravel, which improves the digestion of birds.

Main food for quails

To quail rushed better, at home they can be fed with industrially produced compound feeds. Currently, they are presented in several versions:

One bird per month accounts for about one kilogram of compound feed.

Cooking compound feed at home

Experienced poultry farmers prepare feed for quails according to their recipes. They are based on grains, to which whole vegetables and fruits are added or peeled.

The recipe for a complete feed for quails is quite simple. To prepare it, you need to take:

• 1 kg of crushed wheat;
• 400 g corn;
• 100 g of barley;
• 1 tsp bone meal;
• ½ tsp of unrefined vegetable oil.

Received the mixture of birds can be fed dry or diluted with water to form a porridge. As a source of protein, fish or minced meat, cottage cheese is added to the feed. You can add one teaspoon each of salt, chalk and shell rock. This composition for one individual will be enough for a month and a half. It is recommended to feed the birds at the same time three or four times a day.

In order for the quails to rush well at home, the components of the compound feed must be varied.

Vitamins in quail nutrition

At pet stores or in the market special vitamin feeds can be purchased for quails or laying hens, which contain various vitamins. In this case, you will need to feed the birds according to the instructions. If you can't buy them, then ordinary multivitamins are bought at the pharmacy, which are crushed and added to the quail feed.

Anyway poultry from time to time additionally needs vitamin D2 - 3000 IU per quail per day or D3 - no more than 1000 IU per day.

Quail minerals are obtained with eggshells, chalk, ground seashells, fine gravel with a fraction of no more than 2-3 ml.

Vitamins can also come with fresh herbs which quails like very much. They will be happy with finely chopped grass in the form of dream or woodlice, sprouted oats and grated ripe apple or carrot. However, it is not recommended to overfeed hens with fruits and grass. They may stop laying or produce very small eggs.

It is necessary to ensure that unpeeled oats do not get into the quail feed. Especially this is true for birds living in the same house with any decorative birds. Unpeeled oats in quail can cause gastrointestinal problems that kill birds.

Seasonal feeding

Particular importance should be given to feeding quail at different times of the year.

V summer time period vitamins in the form of green fodder can be obtained from the vegetable garden. Chopped cabbage and beet leaves, alfalfa flowers, nettles, clovers, green salads and spinach will help the birds digest food and absorb nutrients. Earthworms can be used as protein.

In winter additional sources of minerals and vitamins are: sprouted oats, millet, wheat and green onions. They are added to compound feed. Since there is no fresh grass at this time of year, in the summer you can prepare dried herbs from alfalfa, clover and nettle, and feed quails in the diet in winter.

Feeding hens

The feed for adult quails should be 25% crude protein. Laying hens deviation can be reflected in any direction. An excess of protein leads to the appearance of two-yolk eggs unsuitable for incubation. The lack of protein affects the quality and quantity of eggs laid, which are often pecked by birds.

When feeding hens with production compound feed PK-1, in them it is recommended to add protein products... It can be soybeans, boiled fish, cottage cheese. One individual needs two grams of such products. If the quails are fed with grain mixtures, then 12 grams of protein ingredients are added to one bird.

So that the females run well, by mixing them overfeeding is not recommended... Only foods rich in vitamins can be given in unlimited quantities. Layers should be fed without frills, strictly observing the dosage. For a better representation of the required amount of food for a female, it is sufficient to visually increase the size of her goiter by 2–3 times.

For a year, one quail eats about nine kilograms of compound feed. Its costs may increase due to low temperature or long daylight hours, as well as due to improper diet.

Features of feeding males

You should feed the quails seeds of cereals and weeds. Do not forget about the protein of animal origin in the form of boiled fish, various insects and larvae.

Normally, males need 5–7 grams of grain per day. Their can be pampered with poppy seeds and add boiled chopped legumes. They are encouraged to feed them a protein source twice a day, which includes bone meal, minced meat, fish, ant pupae, mealworms, etc. During the summer months, when less energy is expended in the heat, the number of protein feeds can be reduced.

Quails will be happy to eat fresh cabbage, beets, turnips, carrots, boiled potatoes and various chopped greens. We must not forget about gravel that improves digestion, sand or ground shell. You can feed the quails with special food for males or even for parrots. However, some foods contain high amounts of salt, which can poison the birds. Therefore, before purchasing, it is imperative to study their composition.

Quails are very fond of rinsing their beaks after pollution, therefore, for them, the water in the drinker must be changed at least twice a day.

Quail feeding is completely dependent on the breeder. It is not so important what kind of food he will feed them - self-prepared or factory-made. The main thing to remember- in order for the quails to rush well, their diet should include a sufficient amount of protein and grains.