Ordered quails; need information

Kneedles said:

Today I pre-ordered a pair of King Quails ("Button Quails"); these will be the first that I have ever owned. I know where I am going to keep them, but I would like to have these questions answered:

1. If they breed, will it be possible for the female to incubate the eggs herself, and if not, can I get my hen to do it?

2. Do chickens eat them? I know that they can eat mice, so I would like to know how safe the King Quails will be, should they ever come into contact with my hen.

3. Do they have any special dietary requirements?

Thanks in advance for any help.

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dc3085 said:

Some female buttons do go broody but you can't count on it. Do what you can to encourage it and hope for the best or use and incubator.

Chickens carry a lot of diseases that they are resistant to but can be fatal to quail. It is really best to keep quail and chickens separate. Here is an example of quail with advanced coryza, there is another in my sig. The other factor here you have already considered. Chickens are HUGE compared to buttons and could easily kill them just stepping on them.

Buttons need more protein than chickens by a lot. Buttons should be kept on 24-28% protein but will do ok with anything over 20%. Feed the hens oyster shell freely because they are outputting a lot of calcium laying those eggs every day.

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Sill said:

I had a button quail go broody and raise chicks, I got two...out of all the hundreds of eggs that hen layed during her life. Most of the time she would just lay her eggs everywhere even though there were nesting sites in the aviary that she would sometimes use. I ended up selling them all, but I probably should have kept a female chick to see if it would go broody eventually. If you really want chicks through you will want to incubate those eggs.

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Kneedles said:

How will I be able to tell whether or not the eggs are fertile? What equipment do I need?

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