Homemade Baby Quail Feed

Have you thought about making your own quail feed for a baby chick?  Here is a complete guide to how to make homemade baby quail feed.

It is very easy to raise baby quail with a little bit of planning.  

They are super cute and lovely but need almost 24-hour access to food due to the fast mutuality.  

The young Baby Quails require a higher protein than chicken or duck chicks. 

Some the local feed store carries game bird starter feed containing a minimum 28 to 30 percent protein.  

Sometimes you can use turkey poults to substitute a starter feed.

For the first few days, place the feed on a paper towel so that they can find it easily.

Baby Quail needs to have 28 percent protein for good growth.

Instead of buying regular commercialized bird feed, I have decided to make my own feed for body chics.

• Fermented Bird Feed - Soaked with water for easy digestion.
• Fresh Sprouts - Red Clover Sprout, Alfalfa Sprout
• Hard-Boiled Mashed Egg

Basic Baby Quail Feed

Don't let little cuteness fool you because they will grow up to be a bug-eating machine when you tender them right!

Grinding Chick Feed

You just need to grind the regular feed into smaller pieces for the chicks. 

If you have a regular blender at home, this works perfectly fine. 

A grain mill or old meat grinder might work better if you have patience.  

But keep in mind that you are making the feed smaller piece for the baby chicks so don't ground it powdery.

Chicks Need Grit Too

Choosing the right size for the chicks is crucial. 

It is called #1 size or "Chick" grit if you have decided to buy from the local feed store.  

They don't require calcium or oyster shell until they begin to lay eggs, whereas this is different.

Fish Meal

Make sure it is not a garden fish meal.

Organic Homemade Chick Starter Feed with Recipe with Fish Meal

• 7 cups organic hull-less oats
• 5 cups organic wheat
• 3 cups organic split green peas or organic field peas
• 1 cup organic (shelled) sunflower seeds
• 1.5 cups organic/wild caught fish meal
• 2 Tbs blackstrap molasses
• 1/4 cup organic kelp
• 2 Tbs brewer’s yeast
• egg (raw or hard-boiled: see below)
• greens: fresh grass, spinach, dark lettuce or kale

Feeding Egg for Protein

It is very difficult to tell how much egg and ground seed need to add on a chick's feed, but egg and greens should be added regularly.  

I usually give them 1 egg for every 12 hours.  

While feeding the starter feed, add chopped boiled egg yolk on top of the feed to encourage them to eat.

Healthy Treats

Introducing real food to baby quail is my favorite way to give them extra nutrition.

• Live mealworms or Dried mealworms
• Dried or live crickets (start with small ones!)
• Organic lettuce or arugula
• Small live earthworms

Feeding Medicated Quail Feed

Most of the feed you get from the store is medicated feed.

This is a very controversial topic among growers. 

Many starters feed contain coccidiostats and antibiotics to protect them from the diseases. 

I personally not choose medicated feed for my quail.  

After reading many articles regarding medicated feed,  I found out that it links to liver damages and reduced fertility of quail. 

As of the time of this writing, the primary coccidiostat drug uses on poultry feeds, the Aprolium is not approved by the FDA for use in quail.