Ralph B. Nestler

Nutrition of bobwhite quail: Summary of nine years of research

Ten years ago the Fish and Wildlife Service (then under the old name of Bureau of Biological Survey) felt that a knowledge of nutritional requirements of upland gamebirds might help to uncover fundamental principles underlying their survival and increase. In 1938 the Service, in collaboration with the Bureau of Animal Industry, obtained funds under the Bankhead-Jones Act to start nutrition research on gallinaceous upland gamebirds. It chose the popular indigenous bobwhite quail as the first subject. During subsequent years the project grew away from Bankhead-Jones support, and became firmly established in the Fish and Wildlife Service. Much information on the dietary requirements of bobwhites has been uncovered, but, as in the case of similar studies on domestic animals, only a very small portion of the vast field has been explored. Up to 1948, the research has involved primarily the requirements of quail for protein; four minerals, namely, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and chlorine; and three vitamins, namely, vitamin A, riboflavin (formerly called vitamin B2 and vitamin G), and pantothenic acid (formerly called filtrate factor). This paper summarizes and evaluates the results of Federal research into bobwhite quail nutrition, since the beginning of the project to the present time. Observations on managerial problems, other than dietary, have been published from time to time, but are not considered here. While it is true that pen-reared birds have been the chief subjects of study, and professional gamebird propagators have received much direct benefit from

Calcium and phosphorus requirements of bobwhite quail chicks

The most prominent function of calcium and phosphorus is, of course, the formation of the skeleton, approximately 99 per cent of the calcium and 80 per cent of the phosphorus of the body being present in the bones. Nevertheless, in addition to this very weighty role, these minerals have a significant part in maintaining the necessary osmotic pressure and surface tension of the body-fluids, regulating the hydrogen ion concentration of blood and tissues, maintaining acid-base equilibrium, acting as integral portions of living protoplasm, and influencing the response of muscles and nerves to stimuli. Serum calcium also, like vitamin K, is essential for the clotting of blood. These two elements, like other minerals taken into a vertebrate animals

The salt (sodium chloride) requirements of growing bobwhite quail

mal pH of blood is partially maintained by the carbonates and phosphates of sodium. Sodium is needed by all planteating animals for the elimination of the excess of potassium contained in the feed. In the case of growing chickens fed mainly on ingredients of cereal origin, the addition of a small proportion of common salt (sodium chloride) to the diet leads to accelerated growth (Branion, 1938, and Ewing, 1947). According to Halpin and associates (1936), 0.5 per cent of salt in the feed will meet the requirements of growing domestic chicks. In fact, they found that when poultry rations contain the usual amounts of meat scraps, fish meal, and dried milk, even as much as 0.5 per cent additional salt can be excessive. Nevertheless, studies by Quigley and Waite (1932) show that chicks have a high tolerance for sodium chloride, a finding which is contrary to general belief. Therefore, for best all around results, 0.5 per cent of additional salt in the feed is now generally advocated for all poultry. In several previous articles, the author has pointed out the value of salt in the control of picking among bobwhite quail in captivity, and its high tolerance by this gamebird (Nestler, 1940, 1943; Nestler, Coburn, and Titus, 1945). However, according to the literature, apparently no studies have been made on the salt requirement of quail. Therefore, in 1947 two experiments with bobwhite quail chicks were conucted at the Patuxent Research Refuge, Laurel, Maryland, to obtain information on this point.

The potential value of islands for controlled field studies with upland game birds

to be obtained. Unless such knowledge gained in the laboratory can be applied directly or indirectly to the field, its value is academic rather than practical. In the laboratory the wild subjects are confined closely in a strange environment; they generally receive unfamiliar foods in an unusual manner; and they are often exposed to bizarre treatments and much handling. In the wild, by contrast, game birds do not live in narrowly restricted areas, seldom find a mass of one kind of food in one pile, are not force-fed, usually have a selection of food that varies in more ways than can be duplicated in the laboratory, and must meet environmental vagaries and dangers throughout their lives with no assistance from man. Only by carefully controlled field studies conducted in conjunction with laboratory research can knowledge (obtained in the latter manner) be applied to game birds under natural conditions.