Can someone suggest a feed and source?

[pac]

Also want to add mine do pellets just fine, I get tired of grinding feed and switch them to pellets at two weeks (doesn’t come in crumbles). They sulk for a day and prefer to use it as bedding but figure it out pretty quick.

The Bluebonnet has what they call niblets. I see where they have feed they call pellets, too. So I'm guessing the niblets are a smaller size even though they look the same as pellets. I can't find a comparison pic.

 

[Zenmonkey]

Also want to add mine do pellets just fine, I get tired of grinding feed and switch them to pellets at two weeks (doesn’t come in crumbles). They sulk for a day and prefer to use it as bedding but figure it out pretty quick.

I feed a lot of Kalmbach feed.* They make some of their products in a "mini-pellet" which works well. I also feed coturnix regular sized pellet feed, as @Susan Skylark suggests, the quail eat it just fine from an early age.

Purina dog food is, IMNSHO, not good dog food. However they have long had their cat and dog food separate from their livestock feeds. As in separate companies managed by the same parent company. And yes that parent company owns a *large* chunk of the pet and livestock brands out there.

I won't feed Purina dog and cat foods, at least not to dogs and cats. They're not bad for feeding rodents (various species of rat / mouse) and insects (typically feeder insects for other animals).

The Purina live stock feeds are acceptable to me, though sometimes a little pricey.

Thirty years ago I bought a lot of feed from Agway. I understand that most / many Agways are still independently operated? I'm not 100% sure about that. I haven't done so in a long time, as I've generally found a better selection at smaller feed stores. Agway can be great, and if there was one closer to me, I'd at least stop in to check out what they've got from time to time.

If you're far enough out from the city, there may be a co-op group of feed mills. While each co-op is different, they often are small feed mills that come together for group purchasing power, and often buy grain from local farmers to blend their own feed mixes. I've had great success with such establishments.

*Kalmbach, in large part because it is carried by two of my favorite feed mills, and one of which will deliver to me for practically free.

Also Kalmback *does* make a 28% non-medicated turkey starter that is a crumble and is useful for starting quail. It's always a special order anywhere I go though, and I've had challenges getting the staff to find the non medicated version. The non medicated version is also the GMO-free version, and so I'm guessing a little more expensive. For simplicity, I'm including the link to their site here.

https://www.kalmbachfeeds.com/collections/poultry/products/28-non-gmo-start-right-turkey-gamebird

Visually the big difference is the medicated variety says "turkey starter" and the non medicated says "turkey AND GAMEBIRD starter", emphasis added.

 

[pac]

Very informative @Zenmonkey .
(and spot on about Purina )

Well, no more local Agway. It's a greenhouse now and of course closed. Shame. That's where I used to get my pine shavings and chicken feed from way back when. Which was why I went to TSC in the first place. I live in a small farm town, but like a lot of places the chain stores have taken over.

I can't think of a feed store in the area.
And when I first went to the co-op looking for a bulletin board that might have a quail person selling eggs, they asked me what you do with quail. "Can you eat them?"

What is your feed store ZM? I'm in Western PA. Maybe they are semi-close.

Although things are looking more like I'll be ordering from an online source.

No garage @Nabiki
And I don't want to keep it in the house in case there are Millers Moths in it or something.

I used to keep my chicken feed in the shed behind my quail hutch, but that has gotten more full since then.
A big part of the reason I was trying to get one food does everything in a larger bag, but have supplements on hand in smaller bags if needed.
Which seems to be working for @Susan Skylark .
But I know, quail aren't chickens

 

[Daniel Grey]

I picked up some Purina Gamebird starter crumbles for my quail chicks.
Looking ahead, I wanted to get another bag but it seems the local TSC is having a hard time getting stuff in. Including another small trough waterer, because I'd like to have another one.

So I'm looking for a simple solution. Order something online and have it delivered. But I am getting bombarded with every kind of poultry feed made, even though I typed gamebird. Chewy, Amazon... these places have gotten so big they need some kind of filters to help narrow down your searches now.

So I am hoping someone can say, buy this from here

And also, a popular youtuber says that he keeps his Coturnix on starter for their whole life (he appears to keep some beyond harvest time).
Thoughts? It would sure make things simple. Especially for the limited amount of birds I intend to keep.

Thanks for any help.
And yes, I read the article by @Nabiki

I used heygates as they have pellets for all stages of growth but I am in the uk so if you are overseas it might not be as available.

 

[Nabiki]

Very informative @Zenmonkey .
(and spot on about Purina )

Well, no more local Agway. It's a greenhouse now and of course closed. Shame. That's where I used to get my pine shavings and chicken feed from way back when. Which was why I went to TSC in the first place. I live in a small farm town, but like a lot of places the chain stores have taken over.

I can't think of a feed store in the area.
And when I first went to the co-op looking for a bulletin board that might have a quail person selling eggs, they asked me what you do with quail. "Can you eat them?"

What is your feed store ZM? I'm in Western PA. Maybe they are semi-close.

Although things are looking more like I'll be ordering from an online source.

No garage @Nabiki
And I don't want to keep it in the house in case there are Millers Moths in it or something.

I used to keep my chicken feed in the shed behind my quail hutch, but that has gotten more full since then.
A big part of the reason I was trying to get one food does everything in a larger bag, but have supplements on hand in smaller bags if needed.
Which seems to be working for @Susan Skylark .
But I know, quail aren't chickens

have you looked for horse supply stores? They often carry poultry feed too. I get mine from an equine supply store and they special order the Bar Ale for me. They also carry a local feed that has really good nutrition and I would buy that if they didn't have a problem where their crumbles are actually mostly powder.

 

[pac]

Whew. What a rabbit hole I am going down.


But I'm onto something.
I found a feed store! A couple actually. And one is a pleasant drive, but it's in NY so higher sales tax. Among other stuff.

They both sell Kalmbach according to Kalmbach's store locator. But that was before 30 minutes of additional phone calls, lol.

There's one store that tells me they have a store brand that is made by Kalmbach and in stock. I'm trying to find the percentages on it now. Kalmbach said they never heard of it

It's called Country Spirit.
More info when I get it.

 

[pac]

Here is the ingredient list on the adult feed.
But 22% seems like a good percentage. It's not 30%, but it's not that far off from 28% like some turkey starters.
Not sure of the size pellets.

The food and price
https://www.familyfarmandhome.com/country-spirit-game-bird-and-turkey-feed-211706.html

Percentages
Ca seems low, but I have oyster shells already.

ETA: I'm probably going to pick up a bag of their starter

 

[Zenmonkey]

Very informative @Zenmonkey .
(and spot on about Purina )

Well, no more local Agway. It's a greenhouse now and of course closed. Shame. That's where I used to get my pine shavings and chicken feed from way back when. Which was why I went to TSC in the first place. I live in a small farm town, but like a lot of places the chain stores have taken over.

All the more reason to patronize the snake establishments, IMO. It's a tough place to compete, and I like to encourage the smaller people who are more inclined to help me out. Pity about the closing of your local Agway.

they asked me what you do with quail. "Can you eat them?"

Yeah. And then "will they go broody".

What is your feed store ZM? I'm in Western PA. Maybe they are semi-close.

Local recommendations via PM for situational awareness reasons.

Although things are looking more like I'll be ordering from an online source.

I've ordered feed online for a while. It can be cost effective, depending on the situation. However shipping 50lbs sacks isn't trivial, and I've found that eventually the price changes to a prohibitive point.

No garage @Nabiki
And I don't want to keep it in the house in case there are Millers Moths in it or something.

I used to keep my chicken feed in the shed behind my quail hutch, but that has gotten more full since then.

I have found plastic trash cans, typically if the 45 gallon or so variety, to be useful. They'll cleanly hold two opened bags of feed of the 50lbs size. Or as I have set up on places, three 50 lbs bags opened and placed loose inside the bin.

1. Try to only store what you'll use in 3 months. Ideally 1 month or less. The receipt is whole grains like whole corn, and the better pigeon seed mixes. Whole seed / grain typically stores quite well, a year or more, if kept dry and pest free.

2. The trash cans do will against rain and snow, if you're diligent about closing the lid *every* time. I'll often use bungee cords on them if they're in a windy area. They do fairly well against rodents, and not well at all against large dogs, raccoons, or possums.

3. Empty the can completely before adding the next batch. Otherwise you end up with a bit at the bottom that's bin in there way too long and can start to get funky.

4. Uh, but a new can for this purpose. You'll likely not be half with a repurposed trash can.

 

[pac]

And I just happen to have a huge, plastic, unused trash can in the basement.

I'll keep the feed in the bag.
I learned years ago from the Canidae dog food rep not to store dog (or cat) food in any old plastic container. If it isn't food grade plastic the nutrients will leach into the plastic and affect the quality of the food.

I'll whip up some kind of fencing around the can. Probably just wrap some of that 2x4 green garden fencing around it. At the least it will cause a ruckus and my dogs will here it.
And/or make some room in my shed. But that can be snowed in in the winter.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[Zenmonkey]

There's one store that tells me they have a store brand that is made by Kalmbach and in stock. I'm trying to find the percentages on it now. Kalmbach said they never heard of it

MyShire farms on their YouTube channel basically tells a similar story. They have Kalmbach custom blend a feed, and others wanting to use the and feed contact Kalmbach. "Nope, we don't know anything about that, sorry. "

But I'm aware that Kalmbach absolutely will custom mill feed, for a certain minimum order. I don't know what that order is.

Here is the ingredient list on the adult feed.
But 22% seems like a good percentage. It's not 30%, but it's not that far off from 28% like some turkey starters.
Not sure of the size pellets.

The food and price
https://www.familyfarmandhome.com/country-spirit-game-bird-and-turkey-feed-211706.html

Percentages
Ca seems low, but I have oyster shells already.

I think that's fine for a non layer mix? Or layers with free feed Calcium?

I know Kalmbach produces a 22% meat bird feed. Possibly this is pretty much the same thing but as a pellet rather than as a crumble?

My understanding of the process is that all the feed are ground, mixed, and extruded as a pellet first. And then they are either bagged as pellets, or ground down to a crumble or a mash. So it might not be a huge ask for them to bag and custom label the existing 22%?

I recently purchased 16% Kalmbach maintainer mini pellets in a generic Kalmbach bag, with the specific variety and ingredient list as a sticker on it. So, not really sure what that says about their process, other than there's some flexibility.