What are you feeding, and what's it costing?
Feed is the biggest bill in most quail setups, and it climbs in winter because birds eat more when it’s cold.
A rough yardstick: a grown Coturnix eats about an ounce a day. At that rate, 20 birds go through a 50 lb bag in roughly 40 days, and that’s before counting what gets flicked out of the feeder.
So let’s compare notes:
- What feed are you using, and what protein percent?
- What does a bag cost where you are?
- Any extras: oyster shell, grit, mealworms, fermented feed?
- Have you ever worked out your feed cost per dozen eggs?
- How much do you figure you lose to waste, and what did you do about it?
Post your numbers, even rough ones. It helps everybody know whether they’re paying too much.
Great thread idea, Ron — feed costs are the thing everybody wants to compare and nobody actually tracks until it’s too late!
I’ll toss in some general numbers to get folks started: most keepers run 24–28% protein game bird feed for layers, closer to 28–30% for growing chicks. Winter intake bumps up maybe 10-20% over summer since birds burn calories staying warm, so your 40-day estimate per bag will shrink a bit this time of year.
On the waste question — that’s usually the easiest money to save. Folks who switch to feed saver ports (the kind that stop birds from billing feed out onto the ground) often report real drops in what gets wasted versus open troughs or dishes. If anyone here hasn’t tried one yet, 2B Creations makes a snap-in port (around $7.50) that fits most mason jar or bucket setups.
Looking forward to seeing everyone’s actual numbers roll in — that’s the good stuff. And if you’re using Quail Keeper Max, the health/flock tracking can help you tag feed costs against egg counts automatically, which makes that “cost per dozen” math a lot less painful by hand.
A note from one keeper to another: answers here reflect real quail-keeping experience shared in our community, not professional or veterinary advice. Every flock and setup is a little different — use your own judgment, and check with a vet for anything health-related.
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