Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Raising Quail Diets
When raising Quail feed the Quail chicks a "starter" diet soon after hatching. The starter diet has the highest level of protein a bird receives during its lifetime. After the Quail chicks are six or eight weeks old, feed meat-type birds a "finisher" diet, and feed flight birds and those saved for egg production a "developer" diet. Remember, birds saved for egg production are fed developer diets, not finisher diets.
It is important to provide the correct diet to your Quail if you want the desired results. Feed your meat Quail a non medicated diet during the last week to assure no drug residues remain in the tissues of the Quail. Examples of FDA approved antibiotics for Quail diets are bacitracin and penicillin. Including bacitracin in diets of all game birds is recommended to maintain healthy, productive Quail.
Deviation from the recommended diets alters the levels of all nutrients and can create undesired problems. Always consult with a poultry nutritionist or your county agent before making dietary changes. Poor quality ingredients may be tolerated in diets of some types of farm animals but not quail. In most cases, chicken diets can be fed to growing bobwhite Quail that are raised for slaughter.
It is important to provide the correct diet to the birds if desired result are to be attained. Feed flight birds and immature breeders the developer diet until you sell them or until they are about20 weeks old. Bacitracin (50-200 grams per ton) or penicillin (20-50 grams per ton) is permitted in game bird diets preventatives against ulcerative enteritis (quail disease). Including bacitracin in diets of all game birds is recommended to maintain healthy,productive birds.
About the Author:
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To find out more about Raising Quail visit:
How to Raise Quail.com
Copyright © Gary Ortlieb
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It is important to provide the correct diet to your Quail if you want the desired results. Feed your meat Quail a non medicated diet during the last week to assure no drug residues remain in the tissues of the Quail. Examples of FDA approved antibiotics for Quail diets are bacitracin and penicillin. Including bacitracin in diets of all game birds is recommended to maintain healthy, productive Quail.
Deviation from the recommended diets alters the levels of all nutrients and can create undesired problems. Always consult with a poultry nutritionist or your county agent before making dietary changes. Poor quality ingredients may be tolerated in diets of some types of farm animals but not quail. In most cases, chicken diets can be fed to growing bobwhite Quail that are raised for slaughter.
It is important to provide the correct diet to the birds if desired result are to be attained. Feed flight birds and immature breeders the developer diet until you sell them or until they are about20 weeks old. Bacitracin (50-200 grams per ton) or penicillin (20-50 grams per ton) is permitted in game bird diets preventatives against ulcerative enteritis (quail disease). Including bacitracin in diets of all game birds is recommended to maintain healthy,productive birds.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find out more about Raising Quail visit:
How to Raise Quail.com
Copyright © Gary Ortlieb
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, June 23, 2007
More on Raising Bob White Quail.
Bobwhite Quail are generally seen in the wild in the Midwest and Southern United States as well as parts of Mexico. Bobwhite quail are small, chunky birds and usually travel on foot and stay in a limited area. Bobwhite quail are primarily seed eaters, although they do eat some insects. The bobwhites probably have the largest number of calls with at least 19 distinct calls.
Breeding of Northern Bobwhites is now a profitable business. Bobwhite Quail, noted for its flavorful fat free meat, has become a high-end alternative to chicken for many connoisseurs.
Most successful quail farmers typically raise breeders with the intent to market the resultant quail chicks at one day of age to grow out producers, or they specialize in the grow out of day-old chicks until approximately 17 weeks of age to sell as flight-ready birds to game preserve owners.
Bobwhite Quail chicks are tiny- about the size of bumblebees. Bobwhite quail, especially the young chicks, are sensitive to poor feed quality. Never feed moldy food because some molds produce micro toxins that can cause serious health problems or poor growth. There is a multitude of diseases that affect quail raised in captivity that can be prevented with proper management. Coccidiosis normally attacks birds at the age of 2-6 weeks and birds that are on litter or ground environment. Wet litter and buildup of droppings around waterer's and feeders is a common source of overwhelming infections.
Nipple waterer's significantly reduce the occurrence of wet litter and are simpler to clean than trough waterer's. Prevention must start with good management practices (eg, avoiding the introduction of new birds into existing flocks). Often, because of their individual attention to management, smaller quail breeding farms surpass achievements of larger quail breeders. Due to different conditions and different management on each quail farm, what works well for one quail breeder does not necessarily work well for another. Never attempt to substitute drugs for good management.
Two of the more basic production facilities used for raising Bobwhite quail are referred to as flight pens and quail barns. Breeders are typically housed in one of three ways: in large community floor pens with 1 square foot of floor space per bird, in smaller communal cages designed for 10 to 20 birds each, or caged as pairs or trios. With small quail breeding farms it is often advisable to introduce unrelated breeder stock at least every third year to prevent inbreeding problems.
Bobwhite quail are definitely a declining species that is not debatable.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find out more about Raising Quail visit:
How to Raise Quail.com
Copyright © Gary Ortlieb
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Breeding of Northern Bobwhites is now a profitable business. Bobwhite Quail, noted for its flavorful fat free meat, has become a high-end alternative to chicken for many connoisseurs.
Most successful quail farmers typically raise breeders with the intent to market the resultant quail chicks at one day of age to grow out producers, or they specialize in the grow out of day-old chicks until approximately 17 weeks of age to sell as flight-ready birds to game preserve owners.
Bobwhite Quail chicks are tiny- about the size of bumblebees. Bobwhite quail, especially the young chicks, are sensitive to poor feed quality. Never feed moldy food because some molds produce micro toxins that can cause serious health problems or poor growth. There is a multitude of diseases that affect quail raised in captivity that can be prevented with proper management. Coccidiosis normally attacks birds at the age of 2-6 weeks and birds that are on litter or ground environment. Wet litter and buildup of droppings around waterer's and feeders is a common source of overwhelming infections.
Nipple waterer's significantly reduce the occurrence of wet litter and are simpler to clean than trough waterer's. Prevention must start with good management practices (eg, avoiding the introduction of new birds into existing flocks). Often, because of their individual attention to management, smaller quail breeding farms surpass achievements of larger quail breeders. Due to different conditions and different management on each quail farm, what works well for one quail breeder does not necessarily work well for another. Never attempt to substitute drugs for good management.
Two of the more basic production facilities used for raising Bobwhite quail are referred to as flight pens and quail barns. Breeders are typically housed in one of three ways: in large community floor pens with 1 square foot of floor space per bird, in smaller communal cages designed for 10 to 20 birds each, or caged as pairs or trios. With small quail breeding farms it is often advisable to introduce unrelated breeder stock at least every third year to prevent inbreeding problems.
Bobwhite quail are definitely a declining species that is not debatable.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find out more about Raising Quail visit:
How to Raise Quail.com
Copyright © Gary Ortlieb
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, June 11, 2007
Raising Chinese Painted Quail.
The Chinese Painted Quail (excalfactoria chinensis) is about 4-5 inches in height, much smaller than other members of the quail family such as Japanese and Harlequin quail. Chinese painted quail don't need very many fancy foods, and are very cheap to feed. Japanese and Chinese Painted Quail are ideal aviary inhabitants. There are various mutations of Painted Quail but in the normal form males have a brown back with dark streaks and highlights. Because their feet are not made for perching, Chinese Painted Quail will usually need an aviary with a solid bottom. Although there are many species known as "Button Quail", the Chinese Painted Quail is the most commonly kept and is often used synonymously when referring to captive Button Quail.
The basic diet for Chinese Painted Quail is a mixture of mixed millets and chick crumbs, at the ratio of 50/50 in a dish or hopper, which will prevent them from emptying the contents on to the aviary floor. When raising these small quail chicks be sure to provide watering devices either filled with marbles or very clean stones to prevent drowning. Chinese Painted Quail much like the Coturnix mature very quickly. They also start laying eggs at a very early age 6 to 8 weeks and are very easy to care for.
Painted Quail can be successfully maintained in bare aviaries or flight cages, you will usually get best breeding results by housing them in a planted aviary with access to the ground. Chinese Painted Quail will lay one egg per day if they have 12 or more hours of sunlight; usually from mid-February to the beginning of November. A lot of breeders feel it is best to house a trio of Painted Quail in colony breeding flights pens. Chinese Painted Quail lay a average clutch of 6-12 eggs but in most cases will lay them where ever they happen to be standing at the time.
The most efficient way to hatch Chinese Painted Quail is by artificial incubation, using an incubator.
Other breeders will tell you it it best to wait till the hens go broody and set to hatch them. So I would say you will have to determine what best fits your situation.
The Chinese Painted quail is probably the most widely kept of the ornamental aviary breeds. Chinese Painted Quail are peaceful towards all other bird species.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find out more about Raising Quail visit:
How to Raise Quail.com
Copyright © Gary Ortlieb
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The basic diet for Chinese Painted Quail is a mixture of mixed millets and chick crumbs, at the ratio of 50/50 in a dish or hopper, which will prevent them from emptying the contents on to the aviary floor. When raising these small quail chicks be sure to provide watering devices either filled with marbles or very clean stones to prevent drowning. Chinese Painted Quail much like the Coturnix mature very quickly. They also start laying eggs at a very early age 6 to 8 weeks and are very easy to care for.
Painted Quail can be successfully maintained in bare aviaries or flight cages, you will usually get best breeding results by housing them in a planted aviary with access to the ground. Chinese Painted Quail will lay one egg per day if they have 12 or more hours of sunlight; usually from mid-February to the beginning of November. A lot of breeders feel it is best to house a trio of Painted Quail in colony breeding flights pens. Chinese Painted Quail lay a average clutch of 6-12 eggs but in most cases will lay them where ever they happen to be standing at the time.
The most efficient way to hatch Chinese Painted Quail is by artificial incubation, using an incubator.
Other breeders will tell you it it best to wait till the hens go broody and set to hatch them. So I would say you will have to determine what best fits your situation.
The Chinese Painted quail is probably the most widely kept of the ornamental aviary breeds. Chinese Painted Quail are peaceful towards all other bird species.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find out more about Raising Quail visit:
How to Raise Quail.com
Copyright © Gary Ortlieb
-----------------------------------------------------------------
