How much protein do adult laying quail need?

Laying and breeding Coturnix need 18–20% crude protein and 2.4–2.8% calcium. NRC (1994) sets the breeding requirement at 20% protein and 2.5% calcium; Mississippi State Extension gives 18% protein and 2.75% calcium for coturnix layers.

Can I feed game-bird starter to adult quail?

Not as their whole diet once hens are laying. Starter runs 24–30% protein but only 0.75–1.25% calcium, while a laying hen needs 2.4–2.8%. Hens kept on starter without a separate calcium source lay thin-shelled or shell-less eggs.

Do quail need 28% protein?

Chicks do — starter feeds run 24–30%. Adult laying hens do not. The 28% figure quoted for layers traces to a single 1979 study of rearing diets; NRC set the breeding requirement at 20%, and a 2024 Poultry Science trial found 22% performed worse than 20% in laying hens.

Quail food guides / Feed protein by age

Quail feed protein by age

Coturnix need different feed at different ages, and the number most keepers argue about — protein — is not the one that matters most. Calcium is. It roughly triples when a hen starts laying, and getting that switch wrong is the most common cause of thin-shelled and shell-less eggs.

Stage	Age	Protein	Calcium
Starter	Hatch to about 6 weeks	24–30%	0.8–1.25%
Finisher — meat birds	6 weeks to processing	18–22%	0.65%
Layer / breeder	From about 6–8 weeks, once laying starts	18–20%	2.4–2.8%

Starter · Hatch to about 6 weeks

24–30% protein · 0.8–1.25% calcium. The highest protein a quail ever gets. Game-bird or turkey starter — chick feed for chickens is far too low. Low calcium on purpose: growing birds do not need shell-building minerals and too much harms them.

Where these numbers come from

NRC 1994, Table 6-2: "Starting and Growing" 24.0% protein, 0.8% calcium
Mississippi State Extension P2383: Coturnix Starter 0–6 wk, 24.0% protein, 0.85% calcium
Purina Game Bird 30% Protein Starter label: 30% protein, 0.75–1.25% calcium, "Coturnix Quail: feed from hatch through 5 weeks"

Finisher — meat birds · 6 weeks to processing

18–22% protein · 0.65% calcium. For birds being grown out for meat, not for laying. Protein comes down and calcium stays low — this is the stage most often confused with the layer ration, and the calcium is the whole difference.

Where these numbers come from

Mississippi State Extension P2383: Coturnix Finisher 6 wk–market, 18.0% protein, 0.65% calcium

Layer / breeder · From about 6–8 weeks, once laying starts

18–20% protein · 2.4–2.8% calcium. The calcium roughly triples. That jump is what builds shells — it is the single most important switch you make, and the reason a hen left on starter lays thin or shell-less eggs.

Where these numbers come from

NRC 1994, Table 6-2: "Breeding" 20.0% protein, 2.5% calcium
Mississippi State Extension P2383: Coturnix Layer 6 wk+, 18.0% protein, 2.75% calcium
Poultry Science 103(1):103170 (2024): 20% protein recommended for laying Japanese quail 8–20 wk; 22% performed worst of the three levels tested
Purina Game Bird Layer label: 18% protein, 2.45–2.95% calcium

About the ages. NRC (1994) lists only two categories for Coturnix — "Starting and Growing" at 24% protein and "Breeding" at 20% — and attaches no ages to either. The six-week boundary below comes from Mississippi State Extension and from feed manufacturers. NRC itself notes the data behind its quail figures is thin, especially for breeding birds.

“But quail need 28% protein.” You will see 28% quoted for laying hens. It traces to one 1979 study that varied the rearing diet and measured egg production later; NRC weighed it against five other results and set the requirement at 20%. A 2024 Poultry Science trial fed laying hens 18%, 20% and 22% and 22% performed worst. No extension service and no commercial quail layer feed recommends above 20%.

The practical version

Chicks: game-bird or turkey starter. Never chicken chick feed.
When hens start laying, move to a game-bird layer feed, or keep them on a lower-calcium ration and offer crushed oyster shell free-choice in a separate dish so hens take what they need. Do not mix it into the feed — roosters and non-layers should not be forced to eat it.
Meat birds after six weeks want the finisher, not the layer feed. Same protein, a quarter of the calcium.
Treats stay under about 10% of the diet, whatever the stage.

A note from one keeper to another: these are published requirements, not veterinary advice, and jumbo and meat lines selected for fast growth may need a little more than a random-bred bird — NRC says so but declines to put a number on it. If a bird is unwell, contact an avian or poultry veterinarian.

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