The question I get asked more than any other, usually by someone who just picked up six chicks from a feed store with zero instructions, is simple: what do quail eat? The short answer is a game bird feed with the right protein level for their age, plus clean water and a little greenery on the side. The long answer is where people mess it up, because chicken feed is not quail feed, protein needs change every few weeks, and the bag your feed store hands you by default is usually wrong for at least one stage of your bird’s life.
I have raised coturnix for three years now, run chicks through brooders, and fed adult layers through two winters. Here is exactly what goes in my feeders, when I switch it, and where I have wasted money learning the hard way.
What do quail eat at each age?
Quail need a higher protein diet than chickens at every stage. That is the single biggest thing people get wrong, usually because they already have a bag of chick starter in the barn and assume it will work fine.
| Age | Feed type | Protein target | What I actually feed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 3 weeks | Game bird starter crumble | 25 to 30% | Purina Game Bird & Turkey Startena |
| 3 to 6 weeks | Grower or developer crumble | 20 to 25% | Same bag, or a grower crumble if switching brands |
| 6+ weeks, not laying | Maintenance feed | 18 to 20% | Game bird maintenance crumble |
| Laying hens | Layer feed with added calcium | 18 to 20% protein, 2.5 to 3% calcium | Purina Game Bird Layer Crumbles |
Quail chicks eat almost nothing their first day, maybe a gram, and ramp up fast. By day seven mine are eating around 8 grams a day each. By 28 days they are up around 28 grams (about 2 tablespoons) a day, and that number holds pretty steady into adulthood. Adult birds settle in around 15 to 20 grams of feed per bird per day depending on the season and whether they are laying.
Starter feed: the first 3 weeks
Chicks need 25 to 30% protein from day one. That is well above the 18 to 20% in most chicken starter crumb, and it matters because quail chicks grow faster than chicken chicks relative to their size. Skimp on protein here and you get slower feathering, weaker legs, and chicks that take longer to hit laying weight.
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If your feed store does not carry a dedicated game bird starter, a non-medicated turkey starter crumb is the standard substitute keepers reach for, since turkey starter runs a similar protein level and a similar crumble size to what young quail need.
Grower feed: 3 to 6 weeks
Around week 3, protein needs ease slightly to 20 to 25%. You can stay on the starter bag through this whole window if you want, since most starter formulas are made to cover 0 to 6 weeks anyway, and switching feed mid-flock is one more thing to manage. I only bother switching bags if I am also changing brands for cost reasons.
This is also the window where quail can start earning small treats, capped at under 10% of total intake so protein stays the main fuel source. Mine get a few dried mealworms scattered in the litter starting around week 4, mostly for enrichment.
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What adult and laying quail eat
By 6 weeks most coturnix are fully grown, and by 8 to 12 weeks the hens start laying. This is the switch people forget: once a hen is laying, she needs a feed with real calcium in it, not just protein, or you get thin shells, soft shells, or no shell at all.
A layer feed running 18 to 20% protein with roughly 2.5 to 3% calcium is the target. I keep my flock on Purina Game Bird Layer Crumbles year round once the first hen starts laying, and I do not bother switching non-laying birds to a separate ration since mixed-sex flocks all eat from the same feeder anyway.
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For a tighter budget option, Manna Pro Gamebird & Showbird Crumbles run a lower 20% protein and work fine as a maintenance feed for adult birds that are not actively laying, though I would not use it as a starter for young chicks.
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Do quail need grit, greens, or extras?
Greens matter more than people expect. Fresh grass, dandelion leaves, and other leafy greens from the yard are a normal part of a healthy quail diet, and mine get a handful of clippings most days when I mow near the run. Just keep any greens or treats under 10% of daily intake so the balanced feed stays the bulk of what they eat.
Grit helps birds that free range or get whole grains digest their food, since quail have no teeth and rely on grit sitting in the gizzard to grind feed down. If your birds are entirely on a commercial crumble and never touch whole grains or forage, they need less of it, but offering a small dish of insoluble grit free choice is a cheap way to cover the gap either way.
The quick answers: what do quail eat
Quail chicks need 25 to 30% protein starter feed from 0 to 3 weeks old. Grower feed at 20 to 25% protein covers weeks 3 to 6. Adult and maintenance quail eat 18 to 20% protein feed. Laying hens need 18 to 20% protein plus 2.5 to 3% calcium in a dedicated layer feed. Adult quail eat roughly 15 to 20 grams of feed per bird per day. Chicks should have feed available at all times, especially in the first two weeks. Treats and greens should stay under 10% of total daily intake. Chicken feed alone is too low in protein for quail at any life stage.
If you are still working out how many birds to start with before you commit to a feed budget, my guide on how many quail to start with walks through flock size math, and my full cost of raising quail breakdown shows exactly what feed adds up to per bird per month. For the basics of getting set up before your chicks arrive, start with how to raise coturnix quail.
For the research behind the protein numbers in this guide, Mississippi State University Extension publishes solid breakdowns of both quail feeding programs and quail feed formulations.