I have a bunch of questions I need answered, if you can at least read through a few of them that'd be GREAT!
1. What male to female ratio should I have? I have heard 1m/1f, I've also heard 2-5f/1m, so what is preffered for no fighting and a good little community pen? In what ratio can I stop overbreeding to the point of featherloss.
2. Can I call the males a Rooster or Cock and the ladies Hens? I don't wanna miscall them something and get in "trouble" by an expert Lol (and I heard people calling the males "Calls", crowing. Is that okay to say?)
3. Are they like chickens and lay whenever/or depending on bird or are the morning/afternoon layers?
4. How do you sex a tuxedo? Wait until they lay an egg or not?
5. Do Button Quail Males"Call" like a Cotournix Male would? Just quieter like a bantam vs a standard? Or do they make a different "Male Sound" ?
6. Is having a "Bachelor pad" a bad idea? Just like 5 males together? Would they fight?
7. The buttons I have had too many males (I think) over the girls and they seem to have gotten torn up from over-breeding. But some of the Males have this feather loss too (and they dont have bugs) Is it domiance/signs of fighting in the boys? Or do I have some girls with white chin stripes? XD Lol
8. What temperature do (I dont wanna call them adults) breeding age buttons need to be at? Would they need heat tonight in my garage?
9. I have heard to feed them non-medicated game bird feed, is that correct? And they will need grit too I assume?
10. My mother wants me to keep only like 2-3 females. Will they cause trouble without having a mate? Or do they just need company? Should I just keep a pair or two instead of a few ladies?
11. Do they need to sand bath/dust bath like chickens do? Our friend who keeps cotournix says no but I am hearding contradiction to that...
12. Can I use a 2 story rabbit hutch to house them? Would they use the two stories or should I just make it into 2 seperate houses for them? (I could have one bachelor pad or something and one with pairs, or have one pair per layer or something?)
13. If I am to have them graze for a few hours a day like my larger chickens should my father make us a little tractor/trailer thing for me to have them out and still protected from our chickens, dogs/cat and hawks?
14. Do they smell less than chickens/ducks? I know I'll be cleaning the hosing and them regularly but you know, like after 3 days chicken poop piles can start to smell. Do quail poops do the same?
15. Stress reduces egg production but in a few days will they calm down and lay eggs regularly? I am trying to use this to sex my tuxedo's XD Lol
16. Do they need straw tonight to make nests and lay eggs? My friends cotounix's just lay anywhere (and its admitidly pretty messy XD You have to really watch your step)
17. What is average fertility this time of year? I am going to probably pick out a pair or two and hatch some eggs. What should I expect, half to be fertile? Should I expect 1/2 hatchaility too?
18. Would a broody chicken raise/hatch button eggs? It seems silly but our incubator is a pain in the butt.
19. They have a stress mechanism that when you pick them up or hold them they start loosing feathers, could that be why our babs are missing head feathers?
20. LASTLY what do you reccomend I put in their cage to make it more "wild", like what kind of branches, stones, elevation changes ect?
1. What male to female ratio should I have? I have heard 1m/1f, I've also heard 2-5f/1m, so what is preffered for no fighting and a good little community pen? In what ratio can I stop overbreeding to the point of featherloss.
2. Can I call the males a Rooster or Cock and the ladies Hens? I don't wanna miscall them something and get in "trouble" by an expert Lol (and I heard people calling the males "Calls", crowing. Is that okay to say?)
3. Are they like chickens and lay whenever/or depending on bird or are the morning/afternoon layers?
4. How do you sex a tuxedo? Wait until they lay an egg or not?
5. Do Button Quail Males"Call" like a Cotournix Male would? Just quieter like a bantam vs a standard? Or do they make a different "Male Sound" ?
6. Is having a "Bachelor pad" a bad idea? Just like 5 males together? Would they fight?
7. The buttons I have had too many males (I think) over the girls and they seem to have gotten torn up from over-breeding. But some of the Males have this feather loss too (and they dont have bugs) Is it domiance/signs of fighting in the boys? Or do I have some girls with white chin stripes? XD Lol
8. What temperature do (I dont wanna call them adults) breeding age buttons need to be at? Would they need heat tonight in my garage?
9. I have heard to feed them non-medicated game bird feed, is that correct? And they will need grit too I assume?
10. My mother wants me to keep only like 2-3 females. Will they cause trouble without having a mate? Or do they just need company? Should I just keep a pair or two instead of a few ladies?
11. Do they need to sand bath/dust bath like chickens do? Our friend who keeps cotournix says no but I am hearding contradiction to that...
12. Can I use a 2 story rabbit hutch to house them? Would they use the two stories or should I just make it into 2 seperate houses for them? (I could have one bachelor pad or something and one with pairs, or have one pair per layer or something?)
13. If I am to have them graze for a few hours a day like my larger chickens should my father make us a little tractor/trailer thing for me to have them out and still protected from our chickens, dogs/cat and hawks?
14. Do they smell less than chickens/ducks? I know I'll be cleaning the hosing and them regularly but you know, like after 3 days chicken poop piles can start to smell. Do quail poops do the same?
15. Stress reduces egg production but in a few days will they calm down and lay eggs regularly? I am trying to use this to sex my tuxedo's XD Lol
16. Do they need straw tonight to make nests and lay eggs? My friends cotounix's just lay anywhere (and its admitidly pretty messy XD You have to really watch your step)
17. What is average fertility this time of year? I am going to probably pick out a pair or two and hatch some eggs. What should I expect, half to be fertile? Should I expect 1/2 hatchaility too?
18. Would a broody chicken raise/hatch button eggs? It seems silly but our incubator is a pain in the butt.
19. They have a stress mechanism that when you pick them up or hold them they start loosing feathers, could that be why our babs are missing head feathers?
20. LASTLY what do you reccomend I put in their cage to make it more "wild", like what kind of branches, stones, elevation changes ect?