Raising Quail

[GAFarmer]

GareyD,

Where did you get your feed from? I seem to be having some problems finding a reliable food supplier.

[GareyD]

I bought my feed from Gold Kist / Southern State...

Flint River Mills (FRM) makes a very good game bird feed, but it is rather pricey and sometimes hard to find.

Ya can use TURKEY starter and grower and quail will do just fine... <font color="red"> DO NOT USE CHICKEN FEED </font color> it can contain additives that will kill game birds [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[GAFarmer]

GareyD,

Did you vaccinate or put the meds in their food???

[GareyD]

If ya feed the turkey ration, it will ususally come medicated...

About the only time that ya have to vaccinate is for the pox...do all ya can to keep the skeeters away and it will help prevent the pox [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[GAFarmer]

Where do you get the pox vaccine???

[GareyD]

My vet always ordered it for me....you are looking specifically for Bio Pox Q ...if all else fails contact McMurray or one of the bigger hatcheries and get their fowl pox vaccine...doesn't work as well as the Bio Pox Q, but is better than nothing.

Your second biggest problem will be Ulcerative Enteritis...Turkey feed should contain Bacitracine which will help prevent this

Ulcerative Enteritis (Quail disease)

Ulcerative enteritis is an acute or chronic infection of game birds, chickens, turkeys and other domestic fowl. Death losses may be high for young quail or pullets being raised for egg production.

The cause of the disease is Clostridium colinum, a spore forming bacterial rod. The infection spreads by the droppings from sick or carrier birds to healthy birds. The disease organism is very resistant to disinfectants and will persist under varying environmental conditions.

Birds with the acute form may die suddenly while in good flesh, whereas more chronically affected birds become listless, have ruffled feathers, whitish watery diarrhea, and develop a humped-up posture. Such birds usually die in an extremely emaciated condition.

The dropping may be confused with those of birds with coccidiosis and the two diseases are often seen in the same bird. Droppings of birds with only ulcerative enteritis never contain blood.

The postmortem lesions are characteristic. The entire intestinal tract often has button-like ulcers but the lower portion is most often affected. These ulcers often perforate, resulting in local or generalized peritonitis.

Although the disease is characteristic in nature, anyone suspecting the infection should seek professional confirmation before treatment is started. Bacitracin and penicillin are the most effective drugs in the treatment and prevention of this disease. If bacitracin is used, it should be incorporated in the feed at levels up to 200 grams per ton of feed. Addition of bacitracin to the water at the rate of one teaspoon per gallon aids in controlling an outbreak of the disease. Either method of administering bacitracin will control the disease within two weeks, unless a bacitracin-resistant strain of the disease organism is present. Penicillin is also used to treat the disease if bacitracin is not effective.

Raising birds on wire is an effective preventative measure. Specific drugs (bacitracin or penicillin) fed at low levels, are effective for controlling the disease in operations where the use of wire flooring is impractical. <font color="green"> </font color>

[ALHILLDIRT]

"IF YOU BUILD IT - THEY WIIL COME". I followed the advice of the wildlife biologist and cleared openings, planted small grains, created bare dirt and edge habitat. The second year I had a small covey move in. Now in the 4th year, and have 4 coveys of 6 to 10 birds each, on a 35 acre plot. Have yet to stock any birds.

[kellenw]

Sorry to revive this old post, but I just wanted to put in my own two cents on why we've seen such a decline in wild quail numbers.

Lack of quality habitat is really the issue. Quail prefer natural prairie. This includes native clump type grasses, usually of the warm climate varieties, mixed with shrubs. As we've revived pastures by eliminating native grasses and replacing with more productive cold climate grasses, we've destroyed the native quail habitats. Cold climate grasses form a thick turf that is difficult for quail to forage in. Since shrubs are considered undesirable in hay fields and animal pastures, we've elminate those as well. I'm not condeming the practice, just illustrating the cause.

If you want to bring back quail on your property, you'll have to "build" habitat. Shorter clump style grasses and shrubs will act like magnets for the birds. Good target areas for this project are areas that really don't produce anything anyway. Establishing a habitat strip around your fence row areas around row crops, pastures and hay fields costs next to nothing, is virtually maintenance free and can provide some quality hunting opportunities.