Feeding Quails.

Question:
As a new comer to keeping quails I would welcome advice on the management,
and especially feeding of baby quails of the Chinese painted, bobwhite
and Californian varieties.

I have kept Italian for a while and have raised them on egg food for two
to three weeks, then added in chick crumbs. The adults eat layers
pellets finch food, chick grit, mealworms and fresh greens.Would
this be the same for the adult quail listed above?

Answer:
The management of Chinese painted, bobwhite and Californian
quail is similar, because at the chick stage they are all ground birds.

Rear them on either chick crumbs, which are 20- 22 percent protein,
or turkey starter crumbs, which are 26-29 per cent protein. Put pebbles
in the water dish so that the young quail, which resemble bumblebees,
don't drown. If the chicks are adult-reared the parents
will brood them if the aviary is large it will make sense to confine the birds in part of the floor area until they fly at about three weeks of age, so that
they don't become separated from their parents.

At this age you can begin diluting their crumbs with cheaper and less nutritious food. If the chicks are hatched in an incubator you will need to offer them heat, such as a brooder or infrared light, for the first couple of weeks. Handle them as little as possible at this stage.

_{source Bird Keeper Mag}