Quail Feed Guide
Quail Feed Per Month: How Much Do Coturnix Quail Eat?
An adult Coturnix quail eats about 22 g of feed a day — roughly 0.66 kg a month. Small per bird; the covey multiplies quietly.
The daily rates: 22 g for adults, 12 g for chicks
Quail eat grams, not scoops, and that is exactly why their feed maths surprises people in both directions. Two rates drive everything on this page — the same ones the Quail Feed Calculator uses:
| Stage | Feed per bird per day | Feed per bird per month |
|---|---|---|
| Chicks | about 12 g | about 0.36 kg |
| Adults / layers | about 22 g | about 0.66 kg |
The adult figure averages the 20–25 g range a Coturnix hen actually eats — in teaspoons, roughly 4–5 teaspoons per bird per day before spillage. Chicks start on just a few grams and climb quickly; by the time a fast-maturing Coturnix is laying at 6–8 weeks old, she is eating as an adult. In pounds, an adult’s 22 g is about 0.05 lb a day, roughly 1.5 lb per bird per month — which matters because quail feed is often sold in the same 50 lb bags as chicken feed.
Monthly feed by covey size
Multiply 22 g out across real coveys:
| Adult quail | Per day | Per month | 50 lb (22.7 kg) bags per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 132 g | about 4.0 kg | 0.17 |
| 12 | 264 g | about 7.9 kg | 0.35 |
| 20 | 440 g | about 13.2 kg | 0.58 |
| 24 | 528 g | about 15.8 kg | 0.70 |
| 50 | 1,100 g | about 33 kg | 1.45 |
A typical starter covey of 12 adults eats about 7.9 kg a month — a third of a standard bag. Even a serious 50-bird laying covey gets through only about a bag and a half a month. Compare chickens, where 6 hens eat 45 lb (about 20 kg) a month: quail are cheap to run, which is half their appeal. Still choosing a covey size? The How Many Quail Do I Need? calculator works backwards from the eggs you want each week.
How long does a 50 lb bag last a covey?
A standard quail feed bag is 50 lb (22.7 kg), and at 22 g per adult per day it holds about 1,000 adult-quail-days:
- 12 adults make a bag last about 12 weeks
- 20 adults get through a bag in roughly 7 weeks
- 50 adults finish one in about 3 weeks
That long bag life for small coveys cuts both ways. One bag a quarter is cheap and convenient — but feed stored for months in a warm shed loses freshness. Buy the bag size your covey finishes in a couple of months, store it sealed and dry, and let the bags-per-month figure tell you which side of that line you are on. Cost is the same figure with your price attached: bags per month × your bag price.
The protein question: quail are not small chickens
The amounts above assume the right feed, and for quail the feed itself is where beginners go wrong. Quail need higher protein than chickens:
- Chicks: a game bird or turkey starter at around 24–28% protein
- Adult layers: around 20–24% protein, with added calcium
- Standard 16% chicken layer feed is too low in protein for quail to lay and feather well
Adults can survive on chicken layer feed, but they will usually lay less and feather worse — the protein is too low and the calcium balance is aimed at hens. If game bird feed is unavailable, a 20%+ protein chick starter (unmedicated for layers) is a closer match than layer pellets. Chicks should never be raised on low-protein feed: the 12 g a day only builds a quail if the protein is in it.
Why your real feed use is higher than 22 g: spillage
If your bag is emptying faster than the tables say, the birds are probably not eating the difference — they are wearing it. Quail bill feed out of open dishes enthusiastically, scattering it through the cage floor, and a tray-style feeder can lose a third of its contents to the floor. Feeders with narrow slots or a grill over the trough bring real-world use much closer to the calculated 22 g.
So work out how long a bag should last your covey from the table above, and if the real bag life is weeks shorter, fix the feeder before you blame the birds’ appetites. Spilled feed is also feed you paid for that made no eggs.
Worked example: a 12-hen laying covey for one month
- Birds: 12 adult Coturnix hens at 22 g a day each
- Per day: 12 × 22 g = 264 g
- Per month: 264 × 30 = 7.92 kg — call it 7.9 kg (about 17.5 lb)
- Bags: 7.9 ÷ 22.7 = 0.35 of a 50 lb bag per month — one bag lasts about a quarter
- Eggs for that feed: at about 5 eggs per hen per week, roughly 60 eggs a week, about 260 a month
Set against a chicken flock, the contrast is the whole quail pitch: a similar egg count from hens would take about 45 lb of chicken feed a month — quail do it on under 8 kg, in 12 sq ft of cage at the standard 1 sq ft per bird. The Quail Coop Size Calculator covers the housing side of that comparison.
Frequently asked questions
How much feed does a quail eat per day?
An adult Coturnix quail eats about 20–25 g of feed a day — the calculators use 22 g. Chicks average around 12 g a day across their first weeks, starting on just a few grams and climbing quickly. In teaspoons that is roughly 4–5 teaspoons per adult bird per day, before spillage.
How much feed do 12 quail eat per month?
About 7.9 kg. Twelve adults at 22 g a day each is 264 g a day, and over a 30-day month that is 7.92 kg — roughly a third of a standard 50 lb (22.7 kg) bag. The Quail Feed Calculator gives the same figure in pounds and bags for any covey size.
How long does a 50 lb bag of quail feed last?
A 50 lb (22.7 kg) bag holds about 1,000 adult-quail-days: a covey of 20 adults gets through it in roughly 7 weeks, and 50 adults in about 3 weeks. A small 12-bird covey makes one bag last about 12 weeks.
What protein level does quail feed need?
Higher than chicken feed. Quail chicks are typically started on a game bird or turkey starter around 24–28% protein, and adult layers do best around 20–24% protein with added calcium. Standard 16% chicken layer feed is too low in protein for quail to lay and feather well.
Why is my quail feed use higher than the calculator says?
Almost always spillage. Quail bill feed out of open dishes enthusiastically, and a tray-style feeder can lose a third of its contents to the cage floor. Feeders with narrow slots or a grill over the trough bring real-world use much closer to the calculated 22 g a day.
The bottom line
An adult quail eats 22 g a day, about 0.66 kg a month; a covey of 12 eats about 7.9 kg a month and makes a 50 lb bag last a quarter. Keep the protein at game-bird levels (24–28% for chicks, 20–24% for layers), fix the feeder before you question the appetite, and run your own covey through the Quail Feed Calculator for the exact grams, kilos and bags.