Nutrition in Quail, Pheasants, Turkeys, and Other Gallinaceous Birds

Many gallinaceous birds are omnivorous. Commercial diets for domestic fowl, domestic turkeys, and Japanese quail are available and are fed to domestic species of these birds (see Nutrition and Management: Poultry). During nonbreeding periods, nondomestic bird species should receive a maintenance diet; food should be offered 2 or 3 times daily and generally should contain < 20% crude protein. During the breeding season, food should be offered free choice and contain a higher protein content (20–25% crude protein) (1).

Most quail are primarily seed-eaters and are easy to feed. Some Old World quail species are insectivorous and must be provided a diet to meet specific protein requirements. Peafowl in general (Pavo spp) consume invertebrates, mollusks, beetle larvae, and in the case of Indian blue peafowl, even venomous cobras.

Other gallinaceous birds consume almost exclusively vegetable material. The tragopans (Tragopan spp), some pheasants (Syrmaticus spp), and several species of grouse are largely vegetarian. Tragopans consume sprouts, grasses, mosses, berries, and a few insects. In captivity, tragopans can be fed alfalfa (lucerne), grasses, cucumbers, apples, and different kinds of berries. Grouse are noted for their ability to feed on plants containing quinones, which are not consumed by other animals. Captive grouse should receive foods in their natural diets or at least large amounts of leaves, grass, and berries, supplemented with a limited quantity of pellets and grain. Feeding these largely herbivorous species with game bird or domestic fowl commercial diets will result in suboptimal fertility and health.

Coccidiostats are added to some poultry feeds. Monensin is commonly used and is toxic to guinea fowl.All gallinaceous birds should have access to both indigestible grit (to help them grind up and digest whole seeds in the gizzard) and digestible grit (cuttlebone, oyster shell, limestone) as a calcium supplement during egg-laying. Poultry pellets generally contain adequate calcium and vitamins, and additional supplementation should be done only when a deficiency exists.