Quail Food?

[Mal Paso]

The last few years I've been putting out bird food during the Winter when food is scarce. Lately the Quail have been hiding in the bushes waiting for me to put food out and descend on the it the minute I go inside. They cover the food keeping other birds out and keep working the spot for 5 minutes after the last seed is found. Quail being Quail won't approach if I stand there so I've been doing that for a few minutes to give the other birds a chance.

Years ago I was hanging out with a Catskinner who kept a sack of something in his barn and he would throw a handful to the Quail every so often. He had some Big Quail too.

Is there a cheap feed I can distract the Quail with?

Pic: The Bluejays are waiting to see if the Quail leave them the sunflower seeds. LOL

[Walla2]

Chicken scratch. About $12 for a 50# bag. They go for it in a big way.

[Minerat]

Maybe use cracked corn and sorghum for the quail and put it out closer to the brush so you separate the 2 feeding places?

[Vegas Vince]

I have several bird feeders large & small. Hang them in trees about 6 ft off the ground. The quail come in morning & night to roost in the trees. They clean up the ground! Wal mart economy bird seed $8. for 20 ib.
The quail drive my German short hair nuts!!

[Ural Driver]

I wish we still had quail. Almost never see any that ain't pets........dang fire ants!

[country gent]

A mix of cracked corn wheat and grains would duplicate the natural diet. chicken mash would be close.

[Minerat]

It might have a little oyster shell in it too that won't hurt them any.

[WheelgunConvert]

Cover some areas off the the side with a half inch of sand and/ or diatomaceous earth. Quail are nuts for a dusting area.

[Yellowhouse]

Whole lot rather have quail than blue jays.

[shtur]

I am following this, also. I got some great ideas from a couple of post already. I'm going to make a dusting area and also get some chicken scratch.

[sparky45]

Chicken Scratch; Quail as well as other birds really like the mix.

[JWFilips]

+1 on Scratch grains ( Feed) Game birds love it ...In my case it is turkeys but even Song birds love it
Photo taken this morning out of my kitchen window
http://www.jimfilipski.com/forumphotos/Turkeys-%202-13-21SMALL.jpg

[ShooterAZ]

The Gambel's Quail here in AZ aren't the least bit picky about bird seeds. Most bird feeders have a ton of spillage due to the Juncos and Finches, who love to shovel it to the ground. The quail will come and do clean-up on it. Any cheap mix of millet or milo will bring them in. Wheat and milo aren't all that nutritional to them, but sunflower seeds certainly are. You'll need to mix it up a little for them for best results.

[monadnock#5]

The chicken scratch has got to be more nutritious, but you can't go wrong with cracked corn. It's odd though. I occasionally get a few bits of corn mixed into the black oil sunflower seed. As long as they have sunflower seed the song birds toss the corn on the ground and ignore it.

[Mk42gunner]

Been a long time since I hunted quail and looked at the crop to see what they were eating, but as I remember the wild Bobwhite quail around here had mostly lespedeza seeds in their crop.

Very small seeds, I don't remember ever seeing corn, milo sometimes, but not corn.

Robert

[Teddy (punchie)]

I'm thinking (that can be a bad thing) anyway. I recall doves will starve if there feed corn only. Recalling the report, saying say very little corn and more seed, that would have

[.429&H110]

Quail come through this old folks village early summer with their chicks. Popcorn will start a quail riot. Old folks learned not to feed the javalinas, keep the bird food off the ground. Coyotes come and go, but the javalinas think they own the place. Suppressor? Back yard? No, that's illegal.

[woody1]

Use a hanging feeder with a small perch the quail have difficulty perching on for the song birds. The quail will try sometimes successfully but if easier feed available on ground will generally get it there. It's what I do. YMMV. Regards, Woody

[gwpercle]

Chicken scratch. About $12 for a 50# bag. They go for it in a big way.

Chicken Scratch is good commercial chicken feed , much cheaper than birdseed sold to fill bird feeders .
Quail are ground feeders ... put Chicken Scratch on the ground for them . Place an elevated bird feeder for the other birds , fill with a mix of bird seed and chicken scratch ...to extend the bird seed .
The Quail will leave the elevated feeder alone ...usually !
Gary

[JWFilips]

I get my Scratch grains at Tractor Supply It is a 50 lb bag for about 12 bucks...and nothing goes to waste. I use to by cheap bird seed and a bout 40 percent never was eaten by any bird

[rockrat]

My farm store is Murdocks. They had a sale earlier in the year with bird seed for $6.49 for 40 lbs. Bought six bags, think I have two left

[Mal Paso]

My farm store is Murdocks. They had a sale earlier in the year with bird seed for $6.49 for 40 lbs. Bought six bags, think I have two left

That's a great deal, I would have stocked up too. I paid about $20 for 40 lbs. Sounds like I'm off to the Hay and Feed or Tractor Supply. My neighbor and I have both tried elevated feeders but it doesn't stop the Quail. Chicken scratch on the ground sounds like the solution.

Check this out, woodpeckers stashing acorns in the holes they made in the Oak bark.

[John Wayne]

You're lucky to have quail and you can always eat a few. We have several bird feeders out so the littlest birds have a chance of getting food. Yesterday we had 10 male Cardinals in the small tree next to our feeder. The most I had ever seen before was 7. I've also built and installed Blue bird houses and had them building a nest inside the same day I hung it.

[10x]

If you are feeding birds, especially birds like quail and grouse- sunflower seed mixes give the most nutrient for dollar spent. Also for every 50 lbs of seeds mix in a pound of crushed oyster shell. Good for their gizzards and good for bones and the eggs they lay in the spring.

[gwpercle]

If you are feeding birds, especially birds like quail and grouse- sunflower seed mixes give the most nutrient for dollar spent. Also for every 50 lbs of seeds mix in a pound of crushed oyster shell. Good for their gizzards and good for bones and the eggs they lay in the spring.

I realized a lot of what was in the commercial bird seed mixes went uneaten ... the year round resident birds in my yard were pairs of Cardinals and Blue Jays , so I started putting out black oil sunflower seeds ... with nothing else in it . I use less and the Cardinals and Blue Jays get more of the seed they eat ... no sense buying seed that no one eats and simply goes to waste .
Gary

[Mal Paso]

Go to waste? Even the sunflower husks are GONE! LOL The birdfood I bought is sunflower seeds whole and shelled and millet.

[Multra]

Chicken layer crumble.