Button Quail Color ID Help

[SeattleButtons]

Hi all! I just brought home my new buttons today!

The farm didn't really have the colors I was looking for, but I picked out what I thought I could work with. It was funny, actually, because I was looking for a tuxedo, and right when I thought they didn't have any, I saw one! The guy went and grabbed it and then FLAP! off he flew into the brush....the only tuxedo they had..........lol.................................

But Yeah! I was wondering if you could help me ID all the traits in these guys. The pics are a little blurry, but it was the best I could do.

Sarah Vaughn (she loves singing!) looks like a cinnamon normal to me... and Unnamed 1 looks like a normal blue breasted wing pied... not too sure about Unnamed 2 and 3.

Also, I hadn't noticed at the time, but a couple of their backs are just plucked up, and some have some missing toes/claws...is there any real permanent damage from missing toes? They walk around fine and don't really show any injury...

Thanks everyone!

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[Hybridchucks]

I can't see pics!

 

[Hybridchucks]

try posting again, another way......

 

[SeattleButtons]

I guess I accidentally made my gallery private lol... here are the pics

 

[Hybridchucks]

male and female, female the light one and the mixed one is a male........
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ed-quail-button-quail-color-varieties.567309/

 

[SeattleButtons]

male and female, female the light one and the mixed one is a male........
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ed-quail-button-quail-color-varieties.567309/

I know the sexes, I just was having a hard time figuring out which had what color trait. I have all the color charts already.

 

[DK newbie]

I'm not really good at combination mutations, but I'll venture a guess:
Last picture, female Cinnamon Red breasted, male blueface and something else? I read on this forum that double factor blueface can apparently cause white markings, so that might be the it.
For the other hen, I agree on cinnamon.
Are there two males? If so, I can't really tell them apart from the pictures.

With regards to the missing toes, the roo I gave away as snake feed was actually missing the tip of at least two toes. That never caused any problems. The most likely cause is probably untreated poo balls - the birds step in their poo, the poo sticks to the toes and dries, perhaps along with a little bedding, then more poo gets stuck and eventually the tip of the toe is covered in a ball of poo that might restrict blood flow.

Pay attention that they are not pecking at the bare backs - even a bird that might normally not peck could be tempted by the sight of a new feather just poking through the skin as a little black dot. And then if could become a habit you'll never get rid of. So if you see any pecking, it's better to separate the pairs till the feathers have regrown (though in my case it didn't solve the issue).

You do have the pairs in two separate enclosures, right?

 

[SeattleButtons]

I'm not really good at combination mutations, but I'll venture a guess:
Last picture, female Cinnamon Red breasted, male blueface and something else? I read on this forum that double factor blueface can apparently cause white markings, so that might be the it.
For the other hen, I agree on cinnamon.
Are there two males? If so, I can't really tell them apart from the pictures.

With regards to the missing toes, the roo I gave away as snake feed was actually missing the tip of at least two toes. That never caused any problems. The most likely cause is probably untreated poo balls - the birds step in their poo, the poo sticks to the toes and dries, perhaps along with a little bedding, then more poo gets stuck and eventually the tip of the toe is covered in a ball of poo that might restrict blood flow.

Pay attention that they are not pecking at the bare backs - even a bird that might normally not peck could be tempted by the sight of a new feather just poking through the skin as a little black dot. And then if could become a habit you'll never get rid of. So if you see any pecking, it's better to separate the pairs till the feathers have regrown (though in my case it didn't solve the issue).

You do have the pairs in two separate enclosures, right?

Thanks DK! I was wondering if either of the males were pied, but they didn't seem to have much white on the wings, so that probably is the case with the double factor...rats! I hope all their babies aren't bluefaced... I was really wanting silvers, but they didn't have any at the farm!

I'm glad it doesn't have any health impacts... the way they were kept at the farm was pretty dismal, and I felt so bad! there was at least 100-200 in a average sized chicken coop, and most of them had plucked backs...and a good few of them had scalped heads! I could see the poo feet becoming an issue fast with that many birds in such a small space..

I will keep a close eye on them in regards to plucking. They haven't really been doing much because of the shock of the move, but I think they're doing OK. I was surprised that the males had the plucked backs, and not the ladies! But the male with the totally bald back has some good pins coming in.. so hopefully the girl doesn't see it as an opportunity.

Thanks again, DK! You're great

 

[DK newbie]

I guess they could be pied or split tuxedo as well. The outcome of your breeding might tell.
There are people on here who keep buttons in large groups as well. Some say it works just fine. Some say it works well but also say they have birds with bare backs. To me, that would mean it doesn't work well, but I guess there are different opinions there..

Anyway, don't make the mistake of thinking only over crowded birds will get poo balls. They are much more likely to, but depending on bedding, temperature, humidity, feed and possibly other factors, even birds housed with 4 sqft/bird can get them. So look carefully at their feet every now and then, just to be sure. Actually the missing toes are probably a benefit here - nothing for the poop to accumulate on.

It's probably the more dominant males that have been pecking the lower ranking ones. Males can usually be housed together if there are no females around, but put females in the same cage and you get such issues.

 

[MageofMist]

I have a group of 7 painted/button quail in one pen and despite there only being 2 females (only recently started laying, I thought they were males as one is a cinnamon with a male-like bib and another is a silver tux) there's been no over-mounting or fighting among the males in there, no bald backs or bald spots, but they have been raised together ever since they hatched which probably helped as the pecking order was already established and it seems the two hens are at the top of it, as the males bow in submission when a female merely bumps into him and I see a lot of social preening between all of them.

The rest of my pens are quails who are paired up, barring Rex and Speckles who had a bunch of babies and raised them, and despite them being over 5 week old now, they are still fine with em' so I don't feel the need to separate them.