Manna Pro Gamebird Showbird Crumbles, 5 lb

Very very poor products

The nutrition in this crumble is good for starting quail, but unless you have a special case, I suggest you find a larger bag. It was a good bag to start the quail on, but as they get larger, a dozen quail will go through this bag in a week. The cost goes down quickly with bigger bags. There is quite a bit of conflicting research on quail needs nutritionally. I am raising coturnix (Pharoah/Japanese) quail. The most reliable information (where a university tested different nutrition levels) I've found indicates to start with a protein as close to 24% until 6 weeks old. This starter feed has a minimum of 24% protein. At 6 weeks, you can drop the protein to 18% but for laying eggs or breeding, raise calcium to 2.75%. This is a starter feed so it only has 1.5 % calcium. For harvesting meat, you can drop protein to 18% and not worry about calcium. So if you found this cheap enough, you could stick with it for meat birds. Typically you'll switch to something with higher calories to push the growth though. If you make your own feed, the protein is usually the most expensive cost. I have not experienced this when buying crumble - brand seems to dictate price more than anything else. Finding a layer feed with 18% is kind of difficult - so this gamebird starter is a good one to boost the protein in a layer feed. Again this starter doesnt have enough calcium for layers by itself.. For ease of storage, having a single feed with higher protein content (20s) could work, but for fastest growth and quicker to laying production, you want to start with something like this. The main result of low protein after hatching is smaller adult birds - which is likely more a concern if you breed for eating the meat. I have read the chick will mature slower too, but coturnix mature fastest of all quail, so if a hen lays at 9 weeks instead of 8, I don't really care but I do start with 24% any time I buy eggs to ensure I get best results from introduced strains.

Quail love this.

I knew this before buying it but being as I am in Canada and I could not find Gamebird Chick starter anywhere else this was my only option if I wanted to raise quail Chicks. Be warned it's in a small bag and in stores where it's readily available its only $6.99 USD. But its a good feed as my chick grew up happy and healthy with no health issues.

There aren’t a lot of brands for this gamebird food so luckily this one is great. I use it for my quail and they thrive. And I mix it into my silkie chicken food. Everyone is healthy and happy