Quail Feed Formulations
Several diets are available that provide adequate levels of all nutrients for the type of birds cited. Growing diets for meat-type bobwhite quail, flight-conditioned bobwhite quail, and coturnix or pharaoh quail. All ingredients must be used without substitution or alteration of quantities if satisfactory results are expected. Any deviation from the recommended diet will alter the levels of all nutrients and possibly create undesired problems.
Attention to high quality ingredients is required when making bird feeds. Prior to the start of feed manufacturing, make sure that all ingredients are available. High quality ingredients are mandatory if satisfactory results are expected. Often poor quality ingredients are used when making diets for other types of farm animals and poor performance is not observed. If these same ingredients are used in game bird feeds, it is assured that you will experience production problems. Never use a feed ingredient unless it is of highest quality.
Often high-quality commercial game bird feeds are not available and substitutes are needed. Comparable turkey feeds can be substituted for game bird feeds without reduction in performance. In most cases, chicken diets can be fed to growing bobwhite quail that are raised for slaughter. Check with a qualified nutritionist before making dietary substitutions.
Additional information on feeding of game birds can be found in Extension Publication P2383 Feeding Quail.
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Poultry is big business in Mississippi, and poultry producers are having to manage disease and high feed costs to produce the meat and eggs that Americans consume in great quantities. Poultry is the most consumed meat in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, followed by beef and then pork. Eggs are also popular, with Americans eating close to 250 eggs per person each year.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi Board of Animal Health reported Feb. 23 that a backyard poultry flock in Copiah County tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, often referred to as HPAI or H5N1.
This is the second backyard flock to test positive for HPAI. The first confirmation was in Lowndes County in November 2022. There have also been two detections in commercial broiler flocks, one in Lawrence County in November 2022 and the other in Leake County in February. All affected facilities were quarantined, and the birds were depopulated to prevent spreading.
Shoppers facing sticker shock at the grocery store know that eggs are part of the cost increase, but they may not know why.
Josh Maples, an agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said egg prices over the Christmas holiday were more than double what they were at the same time in 2021.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Poultry was already Mississippi’s top agricultural commodity before its overall value increased even more in 2022.
The estimated value of production for the state’s poultry in 2022 was $3.8 billion. This 48% increase over 2021’s record production value of $2.6 billion will rewrite the record books if these totals hold when the final numbers are released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture next April.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi Board of Animal Health is asking backyard bird owners to be vigilant in their biosecurity procedures after a commercial breeder chicken flock in Lawrence County tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI.
