Howdy & welcome to Tully River Quail Co.
served up for your viewing pleasure is a how to stop wasting Quail feed DIY project that you can do to
- stop feed waste
- decrease feed chores by days
- minimize Poop tray cleanings to just poop... not mounds of wasted feed.
We use 11.5" Econo J-feeders (you cam find on the USQuail.com/ USQuailCoop.com stores on the complete layer cage systems we sell through TullyRiverQuail.com. These j feeders hold up well, and can hold a weeks worth up feed for a 1:5 roo:hen covey set. (our divided layer cage systems holds two covey sets and includes 2 feeders.
Although we have a less mess grid over the feed trough, we have been using these "Feed Screed" designed inserts to keep the trough level to a perfect height. With out the insert, the trough fills with feed and hence so does the poop tray, and the feed only lasts 3-4 days instead of 5-7 days.
We do sell these inserts for folks who do not have the materials, time or skills to fabricate them, but obviously, if you can cut out a rectangle, you can make these yourself.
the trick is to get a good material stock to work with, a thick mil plastic sheet.
the "feed teeth" allow just enough feed to trickle through and the trough is maintained at a %35 fill level, vs a %85+ level that is more easily spilled during the Quail "head shake" feeding habit behavior. with the wire grid and the feed screed insert, we have almost zero waste. we have to refill the feeders less (taking days off your refill chore), and the droppings tray doesn't have mounds of wasted feed under the j-feeder box. the weight of the feed keeps the feed screed insert in place and after time the plastic creates a static attraction to the inner feed box wall and stays in place even when much of the feed is gone. no need to "fix" the insert to the feeder... it just stays. you could probably even use a laminated cereal box cardboard for a trial run.
if you have any questions as to how to measure for your sized j-box feeder (measure from the top of the inside wall of the wall next to the cage wall with a ruler to where it hits/meets the angled floor. that is your height. measure the outer width of your j feeder, subtract for the thickness of feeder walls to get the inner measurement. cut out rectangles of this size, test fit and trim as necessary.
next draw a line 1" up from the bottom. measure 1" on either side to serve as "footers". measure the distance between to two footers to determine how many 1" base triangles can fit across this width allowing for 1/2" flats between the triangle teeth. for our 11.5" feeders, we have 7 triangles with the 1/2" inter teeth footers across the bottom. next cut a small dog ear off the far side of the insert as you imagine it placed in the feeders based on how your cage is set up. this allows to see the insert clearly when you open the lid and can use a fingernail to remove it for occasional cleaning & vinegar sterilization.
We've used these for the past two years and has saved us $100's in feed cost and chore time. give it a try or contact us and we will make a set for you. $5/2, $10/5, $20/10. TullyRiverQuail 484-325-6678