Button Quail

I just bought 12 button quail eggs and I have some questions about button quail.

1. Will 29% protein game bird starter work for the chicks and the adults, and do I need to mix it with bird seed?  Yes 29% gamebird food is fine. Hold off on the seeds for the first 6 weeks and when you do add seeds, offer grit. 

2. Will 60% humidity be fine for all 16 days of incubation? Yes. 

3. I started the eggs on March 25 so on what day do I stop turning the eggs. Stop turning the eggs 14 days after incubation started, which I believe would be on April 8th. At this time, up your humidity by 10%. (so you want 70%)

4. Can I keep the adults pairs in storage totes? This is where I am unsure...many people do keep them in storage totes, you can also keep them in aquariums, bird cages etc...I am not sure about how to pair them however.

5. Can I keep the chicks on paper towels or should I use non-skid liners? Paper towels work well after hatch because you want to sprinkle feed around so they can find the food. But anything that is non skid is best for their feet.  After they learn where the food is, pine shavings work really well.

Good luck!!

You did a darn good job on answering questions!!! Your protein is great as well as humidity. We use shelf liner and this seems to do a great job...just as long as they aren't slipping around or they can suffer from splayed leg and will eventually die. You stop turning eggs 13-14 days after you put them in the incubator. The last three days they are trying to figure out where to start pecking at. Hatching occurs between 16-22 days so three days "late" is actually perfectly normal.

Storage totes or glass aquariums are fine. As for males getting along, maybe we are just lucky. But most of our males get along great. The key is making sure there are more females than males housed together.

Have fun! They are the most awesome little birds!