If you are only starting out with quails, you must at one time wondered what is the best food to give them. The best quail feed should have all the nutrients the birds need to thrive.
Quails like chicken are relatively easy to rear if you have suitable feed for them. But it is difficult to choose the right one. There are so many brands of feeds.
We understand the issues that come with identifying these feeds. That is why we have rounded up the best quail feeds for your quails. Our guide will make it easier to determine the right one and know what to look for in each feed.
Let’s dive right in.
Quick View: 5 Best Quail Feeds
- Homestead Harvest Quail Layer Feed (Best Quail Feed for Laying Quails)
- Nature’s Nuts Deluxe Quail and Dove Blend (Best Quail Seed Feed)
- Volkmann Westerns Quail and Dove Mix (Best Multipurpose Quail Feed)
- Sleek and Sassy Nutritional Diet for Quails (Best Feed for Growing Quails)
- Homestead Harvest Game starter for Quails (Best Quail Feed for Young Quails)
Top Quail Feed Brands
There are several brands in the market, that have been bringing a revolution in quail feed over the years. Some of these brands are:
Our Top 5 Quail Feeds Reviewed
You have to consider your quail size, age and also budget. There is no one best feed for all conditions. Go through the detail guide to pick the best one for you.
1. Homestead Harvest Quail Layer Feed
If you have quails that you want to either start laying eggs or increase the quantity of the eggs they lay, this feed would be an excellent option. Its natural blend of grains will provide your quails with the nutrients needed for them to be more productive.
Its healthy blend of grains also comes in small sizes that would be suitable even for small birds. Smaller birds usually have smaller digestive systems and would therefore struggle to eat larger grains.
Additionally, the small size also means it is easier for the birds to digest all the food and get all the nutrients the food might have. This feed has nutrients such as omega 3 fats and probiotics that help boost the birds’ immune system. That makes it one of the best feed for bobwhite quail breeders.
Besides the other natural supplements, the feed also contains diatomaceous earth and essential herbs plus oils. Those further boost the nutritional benefit of the food and make it one of the best feeds for your birds.
You can feed this food to a variety of birds and not only quails. Turkeys, pheasants, ducks will all enjoy this natural feed.
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2. Natures Nuts Deluxe Quail and Dove Blend
Nature’s nuts quail feed comprises safflower seed, white millet, cracked corn, canary seed, and canola seed. These are highly nutritious grains that should help your quails grow healthy and strong.
The blend will not only help to keep your adult quail’s healthy, but it will also promote muscle development in the young birds. That’s because it has a protein content of 80 percent, which should be more than enough for most quails.
This feed is in a small size that is suitable even for young birds. That also means the birds digest the feed faster, which ensures maximum extraction of nutrients.
Another thing we love about this feed is that it uses natural ingredients. That means it is safe for your birds to feed on it since there aren’t any concerns about GMOs affecting their health.
With its mix and the balanced proportion of nutrients, this feed will be an excellent addition to your quail meal plan. Remember not to dump the remnants of the feed everywhere since the seeds tend to germinate when they fall on fertile soil.
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3. Volkmann Westerns Quail and Dove Mix
Next is the Volkmann Westerns quail mix. This feed comprises nutrients such as proteins and fiber from the ingredients such as white proso millet, small cracked corn, and recleaned hard wheat.
The all-natural ingredients are safe for the quail and won’t elicit any side effects from the birds. It also contains crude fat and crude fiber which play an important role in the birds being energetic.
The Volkmann feed also contains about 10 percent crude protein that will aid in muscle development. This will enable the quails to grow into strong, healthy adult birds.
With the balanced nutrient content, you can feed this feed to wild birds as well as doves. The doves especially will love this delicious mix of different grains.
It is an excellent option for your quails, thanks to balancing the nutrients such as the crude protein.
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4. Sleek and Sassy Nutritional Diet for Quails
The Sleek and Sassy quail feed prides itself on the use of natural ingredients that will have no side effects on your quails. It is enriched with amino acids, minerals, and vitamins.
The nutrients are in a proper mix to enable your quail’s benefit as much as possible. That makes this feed an excellent source of digestible carbohydrates and vitamins crucial in the healthy development of your quails.
You will also love this feed because it has no artificial colors that could harm your bird. The seeds are easily digestible and are a natural delicacy for both doves and quails. Also, the natural ingredients retain most of their nutrients on manufacture.
The Sleek and Sassy quail feed is replete with numerous nutrients any quail would need. You wouldn’t put a foot wrong trying it out. The balance of nutrients is ideal enough for young quails to grow into healthy adults.
If you don’t think this feed is one of the best quail feed brands on the market, have a look at the next product before deciding.
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5. Homestead Harvest Game starter for Quails
Rounding up our list of the best quail feeds is another feed from Homestead harvest. Homestead harvest feeds are a famous name in the poultry feeding industry, and this one here doesn’t disappoint one bit.
Like its predecessor on our list, it contains a raft of several nutrients that makes it ideal as a starter feed for quails. In addition to the essential oils and herbs, it also has diatomaceous earth.
The perfect balance of nutrients and fortified minerals makes it the ideal feed for your young chicks. The small size of the grains means even smaller quails won’t have issues eating the grains.
The small size grains are also easier to digest for the birds. That means the bird will get all the nutrients it needs from the food.
The Homestead harvest starter feed is also full of natural supplements in addition to the other minerals. These supplements further make it one of the best options for feeding your flock.
It might be at the bottom of our list, but that doesn’t in any way mean this quail feed isn’t among the best. With all the nutrients it offers, trying it out shouldn’t give you too much stress.
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Factors to Consider Before Choosing Quail Feed
Before choosing the ideal quail, feed there are some things you need to consider. Depending on your budget, price should prominently feature in the things you should consider. But is it the only thing that should matter? No. Let’s look at some of those other factors you have to consider when buying quail feed.
i) The Quantity you Need
This will play a significant role in the amount of feed you buy because different quail numbers will consume varying amounts of feed. If you have many birds, you will obviously have to buy a large amount or quantity of the feed.
The feed comes in packaging that can either be in kilograms or grams. Therefore, you will have to consider the quantity to ensure you get enough quail feed for your whole flock. There are even chances you could get a worthy discount if you buy in bulk compared to when you purchase single packets.
The quantity you buy, however, will depend on you and the other factors.
ii) The Nutrient Content of the Quail Feed
Quails will need all sorts of nutrients to develop into mature birds rapidly. Whether you are keeping them for their meat or eggs or even as a pet, you will need to give good to cater to their nutritional needs.
Some popular nutrients to always look out for in any feed are minerals and proteins. Proteins being body-building foods, will help promote muscle development in the quails. Skeletal growth is also a consequence of a protein-rich diet in association with other nutrients.
That is why it is important to look at the nutrient content of the feed before buying. It is unlikely you will get all the nutrients in one brand, making it vital for you to look to get the best possible deal.
Calcium is also another important mineral your birds will need. Looking at the listed nutrients or ingredients will help you know whether the food brand has the nutrients your birds need or not.
iii) The Ingredients of the Feed
Different quail feed brands will have different ingredients according to the nutrients they want to give to the birds. You must look at the list of nutrients to know whether any ingredients might cause health issues for your quails.
That’s especially important when you have young quail birds. Quail chicks are quite sensitive, and the wrong ingredient could set you on a path to harming them health-wise.
The other significant reason why you need to know the ingredients is the potential use of GMOs. Genetically modified foods have become common today, but they aren’t beneficial to most birds, including quails.
You, therefore, need to look at whether any of the ingredients might be GMO and avoid buying such food for your quails.
iv) Your Budget
Quail feed will vary in pieces and make it a significant sticking point for you to consider the budget at your disposal. Most nutritious feeds come in small packages that would be cheaper for you if you have a small number of birds to feed.
On the other hand, if you have numerous quail birds, it will cost you a significant amount of money to feed them. That is why you need to look at the price and the money you have before committing to buying a particular type of feed.
Knowing the price will guide you in getting the ideal feed for your birds while avoiding spending too much.
What Not to Feed to Quails
When breeding quails, there are certain foods you need to avoid giving the birds at all costs. Quails being birds, do eat the same diet as many other birds. You, however, should avoid giving them foods common with humans, such as greens or tomatoes.
See below for the foods to avoid giving your quails:
- Grape Seeds
- Chocolate
- Caffeine
- Avocado
- Raw Potatoes
The above foods will not help the quail since they have no nutritional value to them. They could even harm their health. In some situations, they might flavor the eggs. If you eat the eggs, then this could be an unfortunate development.
Only feed your quails specialized quail feed you buy in the stores. Quails thrive on a grainy diet that is full of proteins and other minerals. If you can’t afford such feeds, there are recipes for making the best organic quail feed. You can look up any of them and prepare some for your quails.
Important Tips When Rearing Quails
If you have quail chicks, you will need to ensure you give them access to food at all times of the day. This food should be of the highest quality for the chicks to develop rapidly.
Such food could be a starter crumb with no less than 24 percent protein content. The feed shouldn’t have any medication or have antibiotics as ingredients. It would also help if you avoided feeding them seeds or other foods such as grasses.
Younger chicks might need to stay in the incubator for quite some time. And when you remove them from the incubator, you should ensure the house they live in is warm and has lighting throughout the day.
Adult quail birds also need a warm coop to avoid them exposing themselves to the cold. If you are rearing the quails to release them to the wild, you will need to build a flight pen for them. Such a pen enables them to practice flying.
You, however, don’t have to do that if you are rearing them for food or business. Suppose you are doing it for business, the right number should be between 300 to 500 quails. It might seem too much, but it makes the most economic sense.
Quails will need you to be quite a hands-on person. They might stretch you if you don t have lots of help. That’s because you can’t give them occasional supervision like some other birds.
These are birds that tend to eat several times a day. They, therefore, should always have access to plenty of food and water at all times. And remember that the best thing to feed quail are the feeds we have mentioned here.
The Bottom Line
The best quail bird feed will help you raise healthy quails that will boost your profits f you are doing it for business. If you are doing it to release them into the wild, then the best feed will ensure they grow as fast as possible for you to release them.
It will therefore be easier for you to get such fees thanks to our guide. Remember to consider some of the factors we have highlighted here when buying the quail feed.
All the best.